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Dear Friends in Jesus –
We are a community living into a future enabled by a multi-dimensional presence – the God of creation, redemption and advocacy.
This Sunday we engage a conceptual reality – our God still creating, redeeming and providing.
Another chance to gather in obedience, anticipation and joy!
With great joy in being your pastor –
Pentecost is so much more than the beginnings of the Christian church. It was also the day that our commission began.
How do we look at our commission?
Are we a "covert" Christian, or do we let our fire burn brightly for all to see?
See you Sunday! Wear red for Pentecost, to signify the presence of the Holy Spirit in our community and our unity in Christ.
– Ken Carrington
Ken Carrington is a K5 teacher at Second Presbyterian Kindergarten and is Director of Children and Youth for Second Presbyterian. His greatest joy is teaching the Children’s sermon. Ken is currently a candidate for Commissioned Pastor in the Presbyterian Church.
Dear Friends in Jesus –
This Sunday we acknowledge Ascension Day. 'What?' you may ask. Good question. This day commemorates a moment post-resurrection when Jesus, who has called the disciples to gather on the mountain, takes his leave.
Scripture says he raised his hands to bless them, then, rose - "being carried into heaven".
The language of two thousand years ago offers challenges, but the Gospel writer Luke offers us purpose.
We are to continue the work of the realm inspired by, led by, accompanied by the Holy Spirit of God in and with the power of God’s love.
What we get to do! See you this Communion Sunday!
In anticipation,
Dear Friends in Jesus –
In many communities, grateful citizens will pause to remember the mostly young men and women who gave their lives in service of our country, of freedom and democracy.
I ran across these thoughts by Tom Erich, Episcopal priest and commentator:
“We live in an era driven by fear and bigotry and exploited by greed. So deep are the dark currents that we could lose our fundamental inheritance if we fail to carry its weight.
"Memorial Day is a sobering reminder that each generation must set aside self-interest, look beyond wealth and comfort, develop an attitude of tolerance, and stand tall for the freedom and mutual respect that enables this experiment to proceed.”
We are among those who would do the above, but with an overriding mandate in service to Jesus.
Come this Sunday for Gospel singing and Gospel proclamation in the name of the one who offers peace –
In anticipation,
Dear Friends in Jesus –
There is a group of men that meet on the first Wednesday of the month at St. Philips. The “First Wednesday Men’s Luncheons” was organized by a group from St Michael's, St. Philip's, the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul… and Second Presbyterian Church.
I was talking with Ric, one of the fellows, and, as people do, we brought up personal interests and people whom we thought we might know in common. One fellow’s name came up and Ric said, “Yeah he’s a Kingdom guy.” What?
“He’s a Kingdom guy. He loves his church and the people there, but his heart is beyond the walls. He’s not a company guy, he’s Kingdom.”
This got me thinking: am I a company guy … or a Kingdom guy? Am I more concerned about the number of people in the pews?More concerned about the size of the offering than the size of someone’s heart commitment for Jesus?
Is Second Church Company or Kingdom? Our scripture this Sunday is clear. Jesus says, “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptize them, teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…”
Let’s gather Sunday as a Kingdom Church that seeks to follow Jesus’ mandates in his love for all people.
In anticipation –
How many times do we encounter something, a sound, a song or a memory, and you know immediately what that something is? This week we are celebrating many occasions in the life of our family – Cress and Rebecca are rejoicing with their daughter, Lily, as she graduates from the University of Miami; we continue rejoicing in the season of Easter resurrection; and we are celebrating the lives of mothers, those living and those now in eternal peace. In times of celebration and times of anguish, the embrace of one familiar or even the sound of their voice can express more than a thousand words.
As we prepare for worship this Sunday, the Lectionary has us revisiting Jesus addressing his detractors with these words, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” That’s a bold proclamation in God’s temple knowing many were seeking to kill him.
It is a proclamation I think most of us need reminding from time to time. Jesus knows us; he hears our voices, and we hear Jesus. The question we ask this week is what will we do in return? Ignore? Reject? Follow?
Hope to hear your voice this Sunday. Second Church embraces you!
– Steven
Dear Friends in Jesus –
Jesus spent a lot of time on the road. From Egypt to Bethlehem to the temple at Jerusalem. Then he left Nazareth to find his cousin to be baptized, then to the wilds and back. He was on the move.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he encounters two fellows with dashed hopes and heavy hearts, trudging home dispirited and defeated. “We had hoped…” for what? for whom? Certainly not the One who lived briefly, died violently, and rose unexpectedly rejoining on the road to Emmaus two of the clueless who stood at the foot of the cross.
Come to church. Hear of the work, be strengthened for the work and be inspired to do the work of the God who cozies up beside us, who won’t leave us in despair.
See you Sunday!
In great anticipation,
Dear Friends in Jesus –
The Sunday after Easter is widely called "low Sunday" – predicting low attendance after the excitement and swell of Easter. But it’s also referred to as "Doubting Thomas Sunday".
I checked all three lectionary years; yep – Thomas! Usually referring to his unbelief in the resurrection of Jesus without having seen Jesus himself in the flesh. But a couple of things:
Is that unreasonable?
Is he asking for any more than what others have experienced?
Is that a discipleship disqualifier for a follower?
I’ve grappled with this text many times and have found the reason for its ubiquity: we all want proof. We all want assurance. We all want to know that it's real. We all long for the certainty of a savior.
Come this Sunday to hear the Charleston Gospel Choir and to hear again that you are loved forever.
In love and anticipation –
“Christianity is simply good news. It is the news that something has happened as a result of which the world is a different place."
- N.T. Wright
Dear Friends in Jesus –
God became enfleshed.
Walked among us.
Taught, healed and loved extravagantly.
N.T. Wright remarks that in the reports of his life from the Gospels, "Jesus doesn't explain why there is suffering, illness, and death in the world. He brings healing and hope. He doesn't allow the problem of evil to be the subject of a seminar. He allows evil to do its worst to him. He exhausts it, drains its power, and emerges with new life."
This is the God, Jesus, worthy of our worship!
SUNDAY’S COMIN’
In anticipation –
Who’s up for a parade? If you found yourself in Jerusalem at Passover around 33 A.D. you could choose from two.
Entering one gate was the Roman Procurator on a high stepping, white Charger, nostrils flaring. On the other side of town an itinerant preacher bouncing on the back of a donkey. Each on a collision course in a narrative with cosmic consequences.
This Sunday we focus on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem – palms waving, coats spread on the road, shouts of "Hosanna – Save Us!" Can we celebrate knowing the end of the story? You betcha! We know that crucifixion isn’t the end. Jesus has said he is " the way, the truth and the life" and though the end of the story had yet to be written, we know it includes Jesus and life and us!
This Sunday we will worship in the park. The children will process. We will baptize Ruth Sophia Willoughby and welcome new members.
We will celebrate the fulfillment of ancient scripture, walk with Jesus through the darkness to the new life he promises! (We’ve read the end of the book!)
Let’s worship together this Sunday. Bring someone you love (or someone you don’t).
Let’s savor the grace that is ours and ours to share.
In great anticipation –
Dear Friends in Jesus –
We’re nearing the end of our Lenten journey that began with John the Baptizer ceding two of his disciples to Jesus. They trailed Jesus not knowing how close to get and whether to say anything before Jesus turned and asked, “What do you want?” “Where do you live?” they asked awkwardly. He replied, “Come and see.”
We have come alongside as Jesus traveled through hostile lands to mountain manifestations, not only healing and teaching, but revealing who he was. He was the incarnate, but more than enfleshed, he was human.
Sunday we see the intensity of his love, his grief, his resolve as he calls Lazarus from the darkness of the tomb to life and steps decisively toward his destiny.
In great anticipation –
Dear Friends in Jesus –
"One of the most barren and desolate places we can occupy as Christians is a place of smugness. Of rightness. Of certainty. The more convinced we are that we have full insight, comprehension, and knowledge, the less we will see and experience of God."
– Debie Thomas
Our scripture from the Gospel writer John is identified as ‘Jesus heals the man blind from birth’ but the narrative of the actual healing is a small portion of the periscope. The bulk of the text is questions from the temple authorities.
Who did this? How was it done? He’s a sinner – he healed on the Sabbath. Are you really the fellow who was blind?
The work of God is accomplished and we are shown the strength of the radical love unfettered. John wrote the entire Gospel that we would know that Jesus is God.
Thank you, John. Thank you, Jesus.
We baptize baby Evelyn this Sunday. We remember our own. See ya’!
Dear Friends in Jesus –
Before everyone carried bottled water, one could go to the water cooler at school or the office for refreshment and for conversation. In ancient Samaria the water cooler was the well – not just for community, but for life.
Today we look at an encounter at the "water cooler" at Sychar – at the town well. This encounter is between the creator of the cosmos and a Samarian woman with whom he had an appointment.
This Sunday we welcome new members as we keep our appointment with the one who has come to us.
In anticipation –
The Christian church we attend started many years ago, against all odds. A small group of individuals had lost their leader and continued on without him. It would have been easier to walk away, though they did not. They pushed on. Why? Join us on Sunday as we discuss the many reasons why.
– Ken Carrington
Dear Friends in Jesus –
The Gospel of John presents a different "call narrative" of the disciples. No beachside summoning like we saw in Luke for men to drop everything and follow this stranger.
In John 1, we are presented with John the Baptizer heralding Jesus walking past. To his followers, John says, “Behold – look there – the lamb of God. Then again, the next day, pointing out Jesus, identifying Jesus, Look the lamb of God – two of John’s disciples leave him and follow Jesus.”
Once Jesus saw the two disciples of John who were now following him, he turned and asked them a question. He did not ask who they were or for their credentials, instead he asked, “what are you looking for?”
They didn't know, or couldn’t articulate, what they were after. Do we ever know the detail and depth of what we seek? What we yearn for?
Their actual response is awkward: “Where are you staying?” Seems to imply "we don’t know what we want, but we want to know more." Their question kept the door open and led to Jesus' invitation: “Come and see.”
Jesus calls us and invites us to come together and discover the life for which we are created.
Join me and others for this first Sunday of Lent. Let’s experience the lengthening of days and the deepening of our faith together.
In anticipation –