Second on the Mount

"Who Goes With You?" – Revelation 21:1-6
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Senior Recognition Sunday, May 18, 2025.
"'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.' And in that declaration, God makes a claim—not just over cosmic history, but over your story.
"When your beginning feels uncertain, or your ending unclear, God still speaks: 'I am with you. I am your beginning and your end.'
"There has not been a place in your story where God has not already been. And there is not a moment ahead where God will not be waiting for you."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Teach Me How to Pray" – Luke 11:1-4
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, May 11, 2025.
"What difference would it make to remember God is in the room?
"It doesn’t necessarily mean you stop being frustrated or stop being angry. That awareness doesn’t mean silencing conviction. Stay honest. Keep caring about what you believe is right and true. But remembering God’s presence might also slow your speech. Open your ears. Inspire humility. Help you see your own blind spots. Soften your heart just enough to wonder what grace might ask of you."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"A Calling Passed On" – Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 6:19-20
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Legacy Sunday, May 4, 2025.
"What does it mean to live well when you believe in a God who loves selflessly—and calls you to love others the same way? The boy, in his conversation with the mole, leaps right to Micah’s answer.
"'What do you want to be when you grow up?'
"The boy doesn’t say he wants to be a
superhero or famous athlete,
astronaut,
jet pilot, race car driver, or train conductor,
general, or president, or veterinarian.
"He knows the question isn’t about doing. It is about being. And he wants to be… kind."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Ready for New Lenses?" – John 20:19-31, Revelation 1:4-8 
On the occasion of the 2025 Kittye Susan Trent Symposium for Newly Ordained Ministers, Dr. Ken McFayden, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, was invited to preach at the 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. worship services.

"Wisdom Resurrected" – Luke 24:13-27Part VII of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025.
"Friends in Christ, much of the wisdom we need right now is the wisdom we’ve forgotten. But it’s an old wisdom that can be resurrected. Just as Jesus rose from a tomb, this wisdom can be resurrected from Scripture. 
"And because Jesus is risen, he is with us even when we do not recognize him, talking to us if we will listen. He is teaching us… reminding us… what we know to be true: That God so loves the world."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Wisdom Crucified" – Matthew 27:45-50, Acts 3:14-18Part VI of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025.
"This is not for someone else. This is for us. For those of us who follow Jesus, who sit in pews, who pray unceasingly and sincerely and yet still carry assumptions and perspectives that betray the very Gospel we claim and the very Jesus we love. . . . And like Peter, we are not called to shame each other, to point fingers, blame and deflect—but to tell the truth, the God’s-honest truth to each other. To acknowledge our ignorance so that grace can do its work. To confront our illusions so that real transformation can begin."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"New Wisdom" – Matthew 5:1-12, 38-45Part V of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, April 6, 2025.
"'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' This idea was meant to limit the escalation of violent retaliation. It was intended to break the cycle of violence by ensuring the punishment never became greater than the crime. The concept was about seeking true justice. But justice in God’s kingdom brings about something greater than quid pro quo. In God’s kingdom, justice is about restoration and healing. It’s an entirely different way to relate to each other—relationships governed not by power, but by vulnerability and love."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Broken Wisdom" – I Corinthians 1:18-25Part IV of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, March 30, 2025.
"There is a phrase that might be over-used, but I think is so helpful in talking about how to move forward. It is living into a “new normal.” Your old wisdom about how to live in the world won’t serve you anymore because your world has changed. The only healthy way forward is to figure out how things are now and deal with them well. 
"The Bible is all about this. Some say it isn’t, that when it comes to the Bible as the Word of the Lord, wisdom doesn’t get broken. It is fixed. Only then you read the Bible and you see that wisdom is not something fixed but is fluid. That fluidity has been called the work of the Holy Spirit, the dynamic presence of God that speaks new words for each new day."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"A Chorus of Wisdom" – Psalm 150, Luke 18:9-14Part III of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from March 23, 2025.
"If we want to reach Psalm 150’s unshackled praise, we must not only humble ourselves before God—we must also release the false belief that others are beyond God’s mercy, set free our notion that some people are just too far gone from God’s love, and swing open the prison doors of our hearts that so often commodify God’s grace. The praise of Psalm 150 is not exclusive; it’s not reserved for only those we deem worthy. It does not say, 'Let all who have lived rightly,' or 'Let all who have been faithful in every season' praise the Lord. No! It is an all-encompassing, all-inclusive invitation to 'everything that has breath.'"
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Forgotten Wisdom" – Hosea 4:1-6, Luke 16:19-31Part II of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, March 16, 2025.
"Jesus uses his stark parable about eternity to make a point about life right now… his now, and our now. He reminds us that in any life-giving, community-enhancing moral tradition, there is a conservative streak. We need to conserve the moral tradition that has brought us this far, the tradition that demands justice and compassion. No matter how fast things change, no matter what popular influencers are telling us should be acceptable, it is dangerous to ignore old wisdom about how to live in a way that is responsible and compassionate.
"Later in the sermon series, you’re going to hear about the progressive streak that has to be in any healthy wisdom tradition. Wisdom adapts as the world changes… and, I guess, as time speeds up.  . . . but today, I want to remind us that most of the best wisdom for how to live good and faithful lives has already been figured out, if we will only remember it."
Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/