Sunday Bulletin - November 16

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Sharing

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, November 16, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

The author of the letter to the Hebrews offers a list of actions for those who are members of the community of  ollowers.

First, they should love their brothers and sisters; treat one another like family.

Second, they should not become insular, focusing only on themselves.

Third, remember those who are in prison and those who are being mistreated.

Finally, a place should exist in their lives for contentment, acknowledging that what they have is sufficient which brings us to the text for this commitment Sunday: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Knowing within our hearts that we have the provision and the protection of God, we need not worry about material goods, so…

”Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets,” Hebrews 13:16 (MSG).

In great anticipation,

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Sunday Bulletin - November 9

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

You Gotta Serve Somebody (Bob Dylan)

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, November 9, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

Our text this coming Sunday is from the 16th chapter of Luke. It is known as the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, but I think it should be more rightly called the parable of the Shrewd Steward. 

This strange parable seems to highlight dishonesty, yet Jesus uses it to teach his disciples and us about cleverness for the Kingdom and total commitment to a singular goal – loving God by serving God’s beloved. 

For fifty years Bob Dylan has been a major figure in popular music - a performer, musician, but most of all a songwriter. He was born into a Jewish family as Robert Alan Zimmerman, but in the late 1970s, Bob Dylan became a born-again Christian. In 1979, the album, Slow Train Coming (1979) was released. He won Best Male Vocalist of the Year with a single from the album, Gotta Serve Somebody.  It starts out, 

"You may be an ambassador to England or France, 
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, 
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, 
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody, 
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."

In great anticipation, 

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Sunday Bulletin - November 2

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Growing In...

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, November 2, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

This Sunday clocks change – ain’t it weird how we decide another hour of sleep would be useful so we just change time!  

But another significant aspect of Sunday is that we begin a scant three week focus on our responsibility to Christ’s body, the church, this church – our stewardship.  

• We will receive new members.

• We’ll share communion.

• We’ll highlight the missions/ministries we support and enjoy a reception in the Fellowship Hall.

Individuals will share their observations, experiences and commitment to Jesus through Second Church- and you’re invited!

Ephesians 4:15-16 is the text. It’s concerned with church growth. We are growing in so many ways – numbers, activities. But how? why? I suggest through serving God’s beloved, the poor, the hungry, the unhoused, and through sharing God’s love in practical, purposeful, joyful ways. 

Big Sunday comin’! Don’t take my word, come see. And bring a friend!

What we get to do –
In anticipation,

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Sunday Bulletin - October 26

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Trapped

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, October 26, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

Church attendance (actually, temple attendance) was encouraged – meaning required. I haven’t seen statistics, but an attempt at obedience was expected. Hence the two characters of our text: a Pharisee and a tax collector.

At first glance the narrative is straightforward – on one side of the temple, a well-heeled Pharisee. On the other side, a crestfallen, guilt-ridden, ‘please don’t notice me’ tax-collector. The two fellows who couldn’t be more dissimilar, but are remarkably alike in their unrecognized need. 

This Gospel Sunday, we baptize Jaxon Patrick Brock. At 2:30 p.m. we’ll celebrate All Hallows (and processed sugar) at Trunk or Treat. At 4:30 p.m. we feed the unhoused with the Navigation Center. All in service to Jesus’ beloved for the abundant joy that is promised.

In anticipation,

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Sunday Bulletin - October 19

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

A Parable of Persistence

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, October 19, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

I write this to the sounds of hammers and laughter from the back lot as work on eight more Habitat for Humanity playhouses has begun for the delight of children and raising funds for new builds in our community. By a large group from across the community to know the joy of serving arm in arm (on a lovely morning, thank you Jesus :)

Here at Second Church we finished one of the most well-known series of Jesus’ parables last week that placed God as shepherd, determined housewife, extravagantly loving father. We could see ourselves as wandering, lost, impetuous and petulant, but never beyond divine love.  

This week we are offered a parable especially for these times, I believe, about a demand for justice. Again, one of the most vulnerable is the protagonist, a widow, as she refuses to be dismissed in seeking what is right. Accomplished through unceasing prayer, unshakable faith – our tools and our hope!

Invite someone to come along – in anticipation,

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Sunday Bulletin - October 12

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

The Petulant Prodigal

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, October 12, 2025

Dear Friends in Jesus –

The last few weeks we’ve engaged parables; Jesus telling stories to the people as the temple authorities murmur and grumble. He tells those gathered some stories that aren’t to avoid, justify or rectify wrong behavior, but to verify and glorify God. He tells of the crazy love of God who will not lose one lamb, one coin, one child, but who shamelessly, extravagantly, recklessly pursues and loves that which was lost – then calls folks together and parties! The prodigal God!

Randy Loubier offers, “The parables weren’t entertainment or intellectual riddles. They were invitations. Everyone heard the same story. But only those with open hearts gained more.”

This Sunday we complete this series of parables. The father of the story has two sons, the rascal we’ve looked at and another, rather ‘the other’ son, the elder, who didn’t disappoint, or test his Dad and to many might be the ‘good’ son. Really?

I asked you to look in these parables and find yourself. Surely in these stories you are there – the wandering lamb, the frenetic mistress of the house, the rascally younger son, the hyper pious elder son, or maybe you think of yourself with such stores of love that you would be the one to retrieve, hunt down, embrace and forgive. (Let’s talk:)

These days demand all of those things that constitute grace. We may not possess them all, but together we can create the safety of a Jesus loving community, open our hearts and accept the invitation to understand Jesus’ tales of loving.

See you Sunday –

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Your stories are needed!

Charleston Area Justice Ministry is a grassroots organization focused on local issues. It's more important than ever to stay engaged locally no matter what's happening nationally. Local issues are where we really have the power to make change. Whatever motivates you, we are here for the same thing- to do justice.

Do you have experiences with schools, transportation, policing, or environmental issues in the greater Charleston area? Inequities or issues you’ve seen that made you think ‘this shouldn’t be happening’ in Charleston? These stories help inform CAJM’s work to make changes. In education, CAJM has previously been able to secure commitments for Restorative Practices in all Charleston County schools and pushing for improved school board governance. In housing, their advocacy led to Charleston County investing millions annually in affordable housing. For environmental justice, they're educating the community on why and how to save Gadsden Creek. Together we can form a more just community.

More information will be shared at a CAJM House Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in West Ashley. Fill out a form at the house meeting, on Sunday, or online here.

Contact Jordyn Pritchard for more information.

Sunday Bulletin - October 5

THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME

 “Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Jesus”

LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and where you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here.

Watch Second Presbyterian videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Some Grey Poupon with Your Faith?

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

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SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, October 5, 2025

This week we continue with the gospel lection from Luke 17:5-10. It is a variation of the mustard seed parable found in all three synoptic gospels. In this telling of the story, we find Jesus making a lot of requests of his disciples followed by a plea from them to "please, Jesus, increase our faith!"

I am not sure about you, but with this week's storm, international wars on numerous fronts, divisive rhetoric at every turn, and exhortations not to lose heart, I am tempted to SCREAM, "Please, dear Lord, increase my faith!" 

Jesus had some sage words in response to his disciples, and they reverberate even louder in 2025. Maybe it's not the quantity of one's faith but the quality of one's faith that matters. Then how does Jesus judge the quality of the follower's faith?

Join us Sunday in worship to hear more. It might just be worth the mustard! 

With joy,

Steven

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Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.