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Sermons of the Rev. Allison T. Bauer, Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, OH
Episodes
Tuesday May 31, 2016
Tuesday May 31, 2016
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Sermon excerpt:
I wonder what your life would look like tomorrow, if you came just a little closer to God today.
If you came just a little closer to God today, what would you immediately STOP doing tomorrow? And what would you START doing?
What would happen to this church, if we chose, like the Israelites, to take just one step closer to God each week, maybe during or after worship each Sunday? How much closer to God would we be by the end of the month? By the end of the year?
Tuesday May 24, 2016
Tuesday May 24, 2016
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But you folks here at Second Pres, I think you get it. More than a lot of churches these days, I think you still have a little sense of God’s transcendence, of God’s power and majesty and might; I think you know a little bit of the unknowable God who is Almighty King and Incarnate Word and Holy Comforter, the great One in Three.
I mean, look at this sanctuary around you! The soaring architecture, the exquisite stained glass, the very furniture that adorns this room—it all positively RADIATES with holiness and sacredness and transcendence.The words of the music we sing, the language of the liturgy we say, the style of worship we embrace—it all exudes a sense of God’s transcendence.
You are here in this place because this is what you sense our world is lacking and because what you find here, you cannot find anywhere else.
Wednesday May 18, 2016
Wednesday May 18, 2016
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And just as God gathered the disciples together on that Pentecost Day, God gathers US together … and he gathers us around this table,HIS table.
God has a habit of gathering his children together around a table. Have you noticed that? Some of my very favorite memories have happened around a table—a kitchen table, a card table, a coffee table, a restaurant table … and the Lord’s Table.
At this Table, God gathers us together and feeds our bodies and souls with bread and cup, Word and Sacrament, and with the Easter promise that he’ll never leave us nor forsake us.
And then God sends us out.
Tuesday May 10, 2016
Tuesday May 10, 2016
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It makes me wonder … I wonder what this church would look like if we all just woke up one day and decided that we want to be as attuned to the Spirit’s power and as passionate about pointing people to Christ as Paul was. I wonder what things we would do and not do; what things we would say and not say; which people we would love and which people we would forgive.
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I am that this is EXACTLY what being the church is all about—being spiritually tuned in to the Holy Spirit and passionately pointing people to Christ.
Thursday May 05, 2016
Thursday May 05, 2016
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The call from the vision of the Macedonian manwas URGENT and their response was IMMEDIATE ... but things are still going tohappen in God’s time.
Wednesday Apr 27, 2016
Wednesday Apr 27, 2016
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People of God, who have you invited to sit at your table lately?
I ask because it matters; who we choose to share meals with says something about who we are. And who we choose to share meals with says something about who we think God is as well. Who have you invited to sit at your table lately?
God’s power can work in some unexpected and incredible ways when we invite someone new or different to sit at a table with us. We may just find ourselves in Peter’s shoes, with our worlds turned upside down and completely abandon some previous notions after sharing food and fellowship around the table.
Monday Apr 18, 2016
Monday Apr 18, 2016
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Read Acts 9:36-43 HERE.
Because sometimes God is in the interruptions.
And those interruptions will mess up our timelines and our schedules and our to-do lists … but more often than not, God is in the interruptions. God’s power interrupts and shows up in the most unexpected places, turning the world upside down one person at a time.
And I guess this week, it was my turn to be turned upside down.
Monday Apr 11, 2016
Monday Apr 11, 2016
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People of God,you have so much more power than you think you do—the power to make peace, thepower to lift up those who are broken down, the power to make a difference injust one person’s life like Ananias did for Saul. You have more than enoughzeal and passion and power to turn this world upside down. I know that becauseI’ve already seen it and heard it in my conversations with you. And I haven’t evenbeen here for a week yet!
But here’s the thing: it’s not really your power—it’s the power of Godthrough the Holy Spirit working in you and through you. It’s God using yourzeal and passion for HIS purposes. It’s God opening and softening your hearts.
Sunday Apr 03, 2016
Sunday Apr 03, 2016
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And Colossians says, "Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Jesus is the glue that keeps everything together.
Let me say that again: JESUS is the glue that keeps everything together; “in him all things hold together.”
This passage has been on my heart, and I think it’s God’s word to you.
It doesn’t say, “in Allison all things hold together.” Or even, “in pastors all things hold together.” That’s too much responsibility for one person. Too much can go wrong when a mere mortal is at the center; that place alone belongs to Jesus.
Monday Mar 21, 2016
Monday Mar 21, 2016
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You see, the crowd around him had some very definite expectations about what Jesus would do once he arrived in Jerusalem. They probably imagined him riding triumphantly into Jerusalem, marching right up the Roman authorities, and demanding the release of his people from their oppression, much like Moses did with Pharaoh on behalf of the Israelites.
But Jesus had another idea of what it meant to be a king. Gentle Jesus spoke words of love to his disciples at their last Supper and he washed their feet. And when he came face to face with Caiaphas and Pilate, his words were few and quiet.
This was NOT the Jesus the crowd expected. And one voice was all it took to capitalize on the fear and uncertainty and doubt of even Jesus’ closest friends and followers to change the entire mood of the crowd from rejoicing to anger.