Second on the Mount

Romans 12:9-21
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026.
"'Bless those who persecute you.' Can we really do that?
"This is where Christianity stops being theoretical. Loving people who love us is not especially difficult. Most people can manage that. But praying for people who wound us, refusing retaliation, refusing cruelty, refusing to dehumanize those we oppose, it doesn’t get much more countercultural than that. That kind of living requires transformation.
". . . And that transformation is desperately needed today. Because the world does not need more Christians who merely claim the name of Jesus. The world needs Christians who resemble Jesus. The world needs people who are genuine, who bless instead of curse, who refuse to repay evil for evil, who practice hospitality, who honor others, who overcome evil with good."
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Sung Prayer for Illumination: "Open My Eyes, That I May See." TEXT and MUSIC: Clara H. Scott, 1895. Public domain. CCLI #20105821 | ONE LICENSE, License #A-742472

Acts 2:1-21
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2026.
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

Mark 4:30-32
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, May 17, 2026. 
"The greatness of the kingdom is not found in spectacle or domination. Its greatness is found in the life it makes possible… the life it shelters.
"Perhaps that is the impressiveness of Jesus himself. We call him 'king,' yet he commands no armies and occupies no palace. Instead, he heals the sick, touches lepers, welcomes the outcast, forgives sinners, feeds the hungry, and announces good news to people who really need to hear some good news.
"Jesus teaches people to see differently. To see greatness where others see weakness. To see possibility where others see insignificance."
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Mark 4:1-20
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, May 10, 2026. 
"In the Bible, the sea is never just water. It is the place where things come undone. And the beach—where land meets sea—is where order meets chaos. 
"So, while many of us go to the beach for vacation, Jesus goes to the beach to work.  For where better to do his work than right there at the edge—where things feel like they could come apart?"
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Luke 18:1-8
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, May 3, 2026.
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

Luke 12:13-22
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, April 26, 2026.
"The problem is not that the man had a good year. The problem is that he could not imagine that his life still belonged to God. And so his world shrank… to himself.
"But when God is present—really present—everything changes.• Abundance becomes opportunity.• Resources become relationships.• And life becomes something to give… not just something to store."
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John 21 (selected verses)Part VIII and conclusion of the Lenten Sermon Series "On This Rock"
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, April 12, 2026.
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/ 

John 20:1-10Part VII of the Lenten Sermon Series "On This Rock"
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026.
"We belong here… you and I.
• "Whether our faith feels strong or uncertain,• Whether our life feels settled or unresolved,• Whether we are celebrating with confidence,or simply hoping something true might still meet us.
"Easter is not just a celebration at the end of a journey. It is a celebration at the beginning, too.
"Easter does not require that our faith be complete or our life be resolved. It declares something that is true before we fully understand it:that Christ is risen—for all of us."
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John 18:1-14Part VI of the Lenten Sermon Series "On This Rock"
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, March 22, 2026.
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

Matthew 16:21-27Part V of the Lenten Sermon Series "On This Rock"
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, March 22, 2026.
"This rebuke isn’t just for [Peter]. It’s for us—when the path feels too hard. It shows up in small, ordinary moments.
"When we know we need to say something that is true—
but we soften it so much that it is no longer true anymore.
When we need to have a hard conversation—
and we keep putting it off.
When we sense God calling us to step into something—
and we quietly step back instead.
When we think we’re being kind—
when we’re really just being careful.
"Not because we don’t care,          but because it might cost us."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/