"Prepare" – Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, December 4, 2022.

The list could go on.

From the outside, these signs of hope may not look like much—a shoot coming out of a stump, a branch springing forth from a root, a step forward, an opening, a light—but it’s enough, Isaiah says. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. But seeing such a sign of hope doesn’t always come naturally to us. So we have to watch, get ready for it, pay attention for when it comes."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/while-we-are-waiting-prepare/ 

"Repent" – Matthew 3:1-6

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, November 27, 2022. "Frustration. Anxiousness. This is not the waiting Advent calls us into. The waiting Advent calls us into is one of hopeful anticipation. Advent-waiting is not only to celebrate something that has already happened. Yes, we are to celebrate the incarnate birth. But we now wait for something different! We are waiting for the coming of the Lord in a way that we have not yet seen; we wait for something we have not experienced before."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/while-we-are-waiting-repent/ 

"Remembering Thankfully" – Deuteronomy 16:1-15

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, November 20, 2022. "The goodness we have to offer comes of the good we choose to remember. Fear, resentment, hatred provide great cause to cling to what we have. Remembering thankfully gives clear cause to do for others the kindnesses done for you."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/remembering-thankfully/ 

"When Wrong is OK" – Luke 5:29-32

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Preschool Sunday, November 13, 2022. "...I am suggesting that the way to authentic self-esteem begins with authentic self-acceptance. And the first thing to accept is that we’re human. We’re going to mess up. We want to get it right, but we are going to make mistakes. We want to be right—to be good and decent human beings—but we are going to do what is wrong. . . . What I hope for children at home and children in this preschool is that they be seen and loved for who they are. . . . What I hope for is that they know grace, which helps them gain an honest and thus healthy self-acceptance and true self-esteem. We all need that grace. We all need to know that it is OK to be human."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/when-wrong-is-ok/ 

"That Still Small Voice" – 1 Kings 19

Sermon by Dr. Ben Witherington III, renowned New Testament scholar and our guest speaker for the 2022 Edmunds Lecture Series, from Sunday, November 6, 2022. 

"Zacchaeus" – Luke 19:1-10

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, October 30, 2022. "Jesus is once again turning our world upside down. He doesn’t see Zacchaeus the ways his neighbors saw him. Jesus doesn’t see you the ways your neighbors see you—or, for that matter, the ways you even see yourself. Jesus sees deeper than that. Jesus sees who and what you truly are—your deepest self, who God made and called you to be."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/zacchaeus/ 

"What Wonder Below" – Psalm 8, Genesis 1:26-28

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, October 23, 2022. "And among the creatures placed upon the land are humans; 'male and female he created them.' There is something different about these creatures for there is placed within them the image of God. This means at least in part that humans are to be God’s representatives—God’s stewards—on earth. They are put in the garden to tend it and keep it. They are not put there to be owners of the land who are accountable only to themselves. They are put there to be stewards of the land accountable to God. Progress is encouraged: 'Be fruitful and multiply.' But, progress should not mean exploitation; expansion should not lead to extinction. The reason is simple. As God’s representatives, we are here to love what God loves."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/what-wonder-below/ 

"Covenant Hearts" – Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Commitment Sunday, October 16, 2022. "Into the darkness God is speaking. From the darkness the light of hope glimmers, if only we see it faintly, forcing us to seek it out and respond. And in the darkness of exile, in the darkness of generational trauma, generational blame that made the people point fingers saying, 'The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge'... into this generational darkness, Jeremiah lights a candle of hope, a bright light that will roll back the exile’s darkness."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/covenant-hearts/ 

"The Fruits of Faith" – Philippians 2:12-13, Galatians 5:22-23 

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, October 9, 2022. "Paul is not writing to individuals but to bodies of believers. Considering the fruits of the Spirit that he listed, he would want us as a body of believers . . . to consider the impact we can make if you would bear the fruit that comes of knowing that we are loved by God and saved by grace. We can look for the best in each other while seeing with grace the worst in each other. We can be forgiving. We can be patient and kind. We can be generous and giving. We can show some self-control as we place a priority over what benefits us all over what benefits just ourselves."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/the-fruits-of-faith/ 

Narrative Budget Video: https://youtu.be/_Y2G_qNmuvg 

"The Man Who Said Thank You" – Luke 17:11-19

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from World Communion Sunday, October 2, 2022. "At first glance, this is a healing story. Ten men were healed, and one man said, 'Thank you.' But on a deeper level, our story is about gratitude from an unlikely place. . . . And it’s about the kingdom of God. It tells us something important about who is invited, who belongs, and who thrives in the realm where God dwells."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/the-man-who-said-thank-you/