Second on the Mount

"Honor Your Grandparents" – Proverbs 1:1-7Part I of the Lenten Sermon Series "Wisdom"
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, March 9, 2025.
"Wisdom isn’t about having all the answers. Wisdom is about having the courage to question the status quo. It is the willingness to question, reflect, and remain open to God’s Spirit. It is about listening and remembering where we come from—not this kingdom, but God’s."
Read the manuscript: https://www.spres.org/wisdom-honor-your-grandparents/ 

"Daily Duties – Romans 7:14-25
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, March 2, 2025.
"Here is how I would, today, boil down Paul’s perspective on how to live the best life in following Jesus, with falling short being part of the equation:
Be humble because you cannot be God,
Be stubbornly grateful even in hard times (sometimes for the hard times),
Be honest about yourself and accept, not deny, your flaws and mistakes,
When you have wronged others, ask for forgiveness…, and be ready to forgive,
Deal with others with the grace with which God deals with you."
Read the manuscript: https://www.spres.org/daily-duties/

"Love as an Action Verb" – Luke 6:27-38 
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, February 23, 2025.
"Friends, love of enemies, forgiveness as we have been forgiven, these actions, these decisions do not always come swiftly. They often do not come easily.
"This is where and why I think it’s important to note – I think it’s important for you to remember – that Jesus preached this sermon to a great number. This command wasn’t to one or even to a few. It was to the community. There is no way we’d be able to live the commands of Luke 6 on our own. . . .  set yourself in a community that helps do this with you, that can help do this for you.
"When you can’t find the strength to do it on your own, look around you, look within you, seek God’s help to find it for you."
Read the manuscript: https://www.spres.org/love-as-an-action-verb/ 

"One" – John 8:12
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, February 16, 2025. "Not that I know what I’m talking about, but it seems to me that checking out a church online is like using a dating app. It is a way to check out a church from a safe distance before taking the risk of an in-person meeting. The rest of my sermon is for everyone, but I have those online visitors especially in mind. As an introduction for them and as a reminder for the rest of us, I want to describe the kind of church community we are..."

"Deep Dive: Part 2" – Luke 5:1-11
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, February 9, 2025. "Yet if we go even deeper, we find that casting our nets for our own sake is not enough. There is more. It is in the deep waters of transformation that our purpose is redefined: 'From now on you will be catching people.' 
"So, I wonder if the invitation and call to deeper waters and to cast our nets is not about us at all. I wonder if it is more about lifting others up from the deep waters they are experiencing. And if so, looking at this passage, we see the need for two things: proximity and praxis."
Read the manuscript: https://www.spres.org/deep-dive-part-2/ 
 

"Deep Dive" Youth Sunday Sermons 2025 – Ephesians 3:14-21
Sermons by graduating seniors McLure Bailey (2:12), Sebastien Croteau (6:08), Kylie Young (13:58), Kit Polly (18:53), and Cara Wardell (23:19). Our Youth Group theme for the year is "Deep Dive." May God's spirit touch the deepest parts of you are, that you might experience the breadth, length, height, and depth of God's love made known in Jesus Christ.

"A Prophet in His Hometown" – Luke 4:16-30
Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, January 26, 2025."When we approach scripture, we ought to do it with the intelligence, wisdom, and insight God has given us. And when we interpret scripture, it should be with the heart of Jesus Christ himself who extended welcome, healed without question, loved with abandon, and calls us to do likewise.
"When Jesus preached his inaugural sermon to his home congregation, he made people he loved uncomfortable. Perhaps we need to accept the possibility, the nudge of holy discomfort. . . . It’s one thing to look out on the horizon for the someday of God’s kingdom, but it’s another to live boldly in that kingdom now.
"This is where we are called to be countercultural. This is where it gets tricky to be a Christian in the midst of a crowd that values privilege for some and not love and grace for all. Living, extending, testifying to that kingdom now—Jesus never said it would be easy; he never promised we would be comfortable. But he did say we’d never have to go alone. Jesus walks that road before us. Jesus calls us to follow."
Read the manuscript: https://www.spres.org/a-prophet-in-his-hometown/ 

"Preacher Paul" – Acts 20:7-12
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, January 19, 2025. "And what is Paul’s message? All those idols are promising something they cannot deliver. Because here’s the deal: There is no deal! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We are saved by the unmerited grace of God. There are no political leaders, not even Caesar himself, who should be given the status of gods. There is no Law of rules that can be followed that will secure your place in God’s good graces. There is nothing you can buy that will buy out your guilt or buy you a better seat in heaven. Be Roman or not be Roman, be Jewish or not be Jewish. Whatever you are, be loving, be kind, be compassionate because while we were yet sinners and deserving no place in God’s good company, God showed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that there is room for us."
Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/preacher-paul/ 

"God's Nickname" – Exodus 3:7-17
Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Confirmation Sunday, January 12, 2025. "God knows each of us by name… which is to say that God knows what makes you 'you' and knows what makes me 'me.' I hope you understand that. I hope you understand that you specifically matter to God for specific reasons. And . . . I hope you understand that you matter specifically to the world because you are going to have a specific impact on it. The good that you do, and the harm you do—to yourselves, to others, and to the world—is very specific to who you have been, who you are, and who you will become."
Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/gods-nickname/ 

"What's Next" – Jeremiah 31:7-14
Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, January 5, 2025. "Nobody wants to hear that pain comes before healing, or darkness comes before light, or dishonor before glory. But it is a pattern that is repeated in all aspects of faith. . . . Beloved, no matter where you are in that cycle, hear this: God is there with you. God is in the pain. God is in the darkness. God is there, wherever you are, extending grace and love."
Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/whats-next/