Second on the Mount

Matthew 4:1-11 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, August 31, 2025. "The temptations Jesus faces may sound distant from our lives—turning stones to bread, leaping from a tower, bowing to the devil—but what they represent is very real, and just as present in Roanoke as they were in the wilderness. . . . Just as a tuning fork causes an internal string to vibrate, these three temptations strike chords within us as they did with Jesus—our desires, our fears, our arrogant self-righteousness, our certainties, our longings for significance, control, or reassurance." Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

Matthew 5:13-16 Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from our Rally Day Picnic on Sunday, August 24, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

Scripture: Luke 12:49-53 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, August 17, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"By Faith" – Hebrews 11:1-10, 12:1-2 Sermon by Nancy O. Gray, Parish Associate for Visitation, from Sunday, August 10, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"The Armor of God" – Ephesians 6:10-20 Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, August 3, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Grace in Letting Go" – John 12:20-26, Philippians 3:7-14 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, July 27, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Why?" – Luke 13:1-9 Sermon by Nancy O. Gray, Parish Associate for Visitation, from Sunday, July 20, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"God's Consolation" – II Corinthians 1:3-7 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, July 13, 2025. "Your self is a good gift. It helps you dream, build, grow and relate, live your life. But it’s a perishable item. "Thank God you are not just a self with a shelf-life. You are a soul—named, known, and beloved, not because of what you do, but because of who God is. "And when the self is lost, the soul remains. That… is God’s consolation." Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Burdensome Work" – Galatians 6:1-16 Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, July 6, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Let Go, Let God" – Matthew 6:25-34 Sermon by Nancy O. Gray, Parish Associate for Visitation, from Sunday, June 29, 2025. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"The Blame Game" – Luke 8:26-39 Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, June 22, 2025. "Friends, this moment calls us to something deeper. Something braver. Because we live in a world of scapegoating. A world eager to name enemies so we don’t have to name our fears. A world quick to assign blame so we don’t have to shoulder responsibility, shoulder any responsibility for our economic instability, our divided communities, our imbalance of power and wealth, our climate disasters, our fragile mental health. "But we must not play along. Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Saving Time for What?" – Ephesians 5:15-16, Luke 10:38-42 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, June 15, 2025. "Ephesians reminds us that if all our time-saving just leads to more rushing and more anxiety, maybe we’re not saving time at all. Maybe we’re losing it. To 'make the most of time' is not to fill every moment, but to remember that time itself is a gift from God. "It’s a subtle distinction, but • do we rush to save time to spend it, • or do we live wisely within the time God has given us?" Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Endurance" – Job 42:1-6, James 5:7-11 Sermon by Dr. Ed McLeod, our Evening VBS guest speaker, from Sunday, June 8, 2025.

"What Makes Patience a Virtue" – Romans 8:18-25 Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, June 1, 2025. "...all of us are living with situations we can’t fix. Never mind the global problems, or the social or political realities we’d love to see change. We live with people we can’t change. Pain we can’t escape. And in those places, what might hopeful endurance look like? "What difference might patience make in a relationship that can’t, right now, be fixed? Well— "...when someone waits with love that often groans—waits not passively, but prayerfully—things can change." Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"Peace Be With You" – John 14:23-29 Sermon by Nancy O. Gray, Parish Associate for Visitation, from Sunday, May 25, 2025. "Jesus, who promised peace to his disciples the night before his own crucifixion, never promised us a life without hardship or a world without troubles, but he did offer us a way forward through the gift of his deep and abiding peace. No matter what difficulties we face in our lives or what challenges the world presents, we can trust in the powerful peace of Christ that comes from the love of God." Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: https://www.spres.org/worship/sermons/

"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 "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 24:13-27 Part 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/