Second on the Mount

Mark 1:21-39, Acts 17: 24-28

Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, September 21, 2025.

"You are the living church when you forgive in a culture of vengeance. You are the living church when you speak truth in the face of lies. You are the living church when you love your neighbor more than your comfort. You are the living church when you sow compassion in a world that rewards cruelty. You are the living ch...

Isaiah 53:2-3, Philippians 4:8

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, September 14, 2025.

"In the aftermath of [Charlie Kirk's] shooting—as with so many other publicized acts of violence, and the countless unseen ones—we all should be asking ourselves: Do our words carry the same ugliness we say we condemn and are we contributing to this dangerous climate? "Whether you're a leader, a public voice, someone on X,...

Exodus 14:10-16

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, September 7, 2025.

"The ways in which God is calling you to show your faith might surprise you. It might require courage. It might require you to risk comfort and convenience for the sake of love. It might require you to silence the bickering noise of the world and courageously take one step forward—and then maybe another."

Read the manuscripts of our latest sermons at: ht...

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 w...

"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 cons...

"Burdensome Work" – Galatians 6:1-16

Sermon by the Rev. Ben Brannan from Sunday, July 6, 2025.

"The life of faith was never meant to be lived in silos of self-sufficiency. It is a web of interdependence—each carrying their own load, yes, but never bearing the overwhelming burdens alone. But this burdensome work isn’t limited to individuals. Paul’s letter is saturated with communal responsibility. He says, 'Whenever we have an oppor...

"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 im...

"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 sa...

"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 tha...

"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 p...

"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 y...