Second on the Mount

"Until Our Hearts Find a Home" – Matthew 4:12-23 Sermon by Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, January 22, 2023. "Often, when we think of calling, we think of these first disciples and all that they gave up – two leaving their father, all leaving their livelihoods. Or perhaps when you think of calling, you may picture a priest or a pastor. It’s easy to look at someone in a robe or a clerical col...

"Servanthood" – Isaiah 42:1-9 Sermon by Rev. Benjamin S. Brannan from Sunday, January 15, 2023. "Just as the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on Jesus, God’s love washes over us through the waters of baptism as we are called beloved children of God, with whom God is well-pleased. So too, it is our commissioning to a vocation of Servanthood. "

"Real World Faith" – Galatians 2:15-21 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, January 8, 2023. "Any Christian faith- any faith in a God among us as the Word made flesh- fleshed in life and in history- has to be a faith about life as it is lived in the world as it is. See the world as it is, and then love the world as it is because God loves the world as it is. Then work for the causes of th...

"A Different sort of Resolution" – Philippians 1:9-11 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, January 1, 2023. "Yes, learn what Christians should learn. But become. Worship weekly, pray daily, give generously… I encourage the disciplines of church, but not because church is the point. Becoming is the point. Becoming those described by Paul’s fruits of the Spirit is the point. So, resolve you...

"Seek" – Luke 2:8-15 Part IV of the Advent sermon series, "While We Are Waiting." Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, December 18, 2022. "Could this passage be inviting us to seek signs of God coming not just into the world, not just in history, but into the lives we live. Are we not invited to a Confirmation Bias of a different sort, a bias that seeks the signs that God is here, and tha...

"Watch" – Matthew 25:1-13 Part III of the Advent sermon series, "While We Are Waiting." Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, December 11, 2022. "It is the interior work of waiting [Jesus] is speaking of; the ways we can prepare to recognize the signs of God. Prayer that listens more than speaks so, one might actually gain insight, find comfort, or accept what cannot be changed. Learning t...

"Prepare" – Isaiah 11:1-10 Part II of the Advent sermon series, "While We Are Waiting." Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, December 4, 2022. "• A man who thought he’d never find joy after the death of a beloved spouse, opens himself to new people and relationships. • A parent who’s experienced the excruciating loss of a child returns to worship and, despite grief and pain and doub...

"Repent" – Matthew 3:1-6 Part I of the Advent sermon series, "While We Are Waiting." 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 incarnat...

"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...

"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...

"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, w...

"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...

"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 pare...

"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...

"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...

"Moral Joy" – Philippians 2:1-11 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, September 25, 2022. "The Gospel doesn’t promise happiness. The promise is for a life with God, and that comes with an 'Uh oh!' as much as an 'Oh boy!' . . . When happiness is the promised blessing of faith, then being unhappy is just one more thing to feel guilty about. Here’s the problem: We speak of God’s blessings, a...

"Who Counts?" – Luke 15:1-10 Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, September 18, 2022. "In the Christian tradition, people often understand parables as allegories. For example, many consider the sheep and the coin to represent repentant sinners; and the man who seeks the lost sheep or the woman who searched high and low for the coin are symbols for God. I have often interpreted them...

"The Middle Rings" – Philippians 2:14-18 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Rally Day Sunday, September 11, 2022. "[Paul's] whole letter goes back to what I read as our scripture lesson: 'Do all things without murmuring and arguing. Shine like stars in your witness to give cause for what we all need, for we are living in a crooked and perverse time that needs cause to rejoice.' Paul writes with...

"Self-Inventory" – Luke 14:25-33 Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, September 4, 2022."Have you taken inventory of yourself? Have you considered who you are and what you have in order to more fully, and more completely, follow Jesus? . . . The cost of discipleship is high because the cost of discipleship is transformation. And this transformation is entering into an intimate relationship...

"What Glory!" – Isaiah 40:3-5, John 1:14 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from the Mission Build Campaign Worship Service of Celebration held on Sunday, August 28, 2022. "Our worship service celebrates the successful completion of the Mission Build Campaign. On the surface, it might seem that our celebration is more of what can be built to impress. . . . But God’s glory will not be seen in the bui...

"Sabbath Freedom" – Luke 13:10-17 Sermon by the Rev. Ann-Henley Nicholson, Director of Alumni Relations at Princeton Theological Seminary, from Sunday, August 21, 2022. 

"A God Nearby" – Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Jeremiah 23:23-24 Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, August 14, 2022. "Hebrews isn’t giving us a cast of sinless saints. This letter isn’t about being champions for God; rather, it’s speaking the truth about what it means to be a human redeemed by grace. It’s offering an important word about the life of faith. Because the life of faith is hard....

"Tell Me What to Do" – Proverbs 1:1-7 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, August 7, 2022. "The Bible is, in its entirety, from stem to stern, a book about the way of wisdom. It is a book of moral discernment as people in their own circumstances strive to understand what it means to be a people who are devoted to God and who walk in the ways of justice, mercy and peace. . . . The Bible sh...

"A Better Barn" – Luke 12:13-21 Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, July 31, 2022. "As we continue to make decisions about money in our nation, in our city, in our church, and in our families, who do we need to invite to be part of the conversation that isn’t currently heard? Whose voice should be valued that is left sitting off to the side? "To the man in the parable, a bigger barn was th...