Sermons from Second

A new podcasting adventure! Pastor Allison and Stan sit down to talk about Second Pres' upcoming Good Friday (March 29) performance of J.S. Bach's ST. JOHN PASSION at 3:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.   To those of you who are listening, we hope to see you on Good Friday, March 29, at 3:00 p.m. at Second Pres on Waller St for our performance of Bach’s St John Passion featuring a choir full of our favorite people, six excellent soloists, our friend Dr. Jerry Martin on the organ, and an orchestra. This performance is free and open to the public, and we hope that it will deepen your understanding and experience of both the agony of the crucifixion on Good Friday and the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. AND, if you’re looking for a place to worship on Easter, we’ll be gathering at Second Pres (801 Waller St Portsmouth, OH 45662) at 9:30 a.m. There’s a place for you with us.

Worship from Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Sun, June 14, 2020 (second Sunday of resuming in-person worship during COVID-19 pandemic)  Week 2 of The Lord's Prayer sermon series  Download the bulletin HERE. Other listening options: Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI (106.7FM 1010AM) or watch it on our YouTube channel.   Sermon texts: Exodus 3:1-15, Philippians 2:5-11  Sermon title: "Hallowed Be Thy Name"    Once again, I am grateful to the village at Second Pres that makes this worship service possible. This week I’m grateful … that the radio broadcast is sponsored by Debbie and George Esham     to Dr. Stan Workman, director of music here at Second Pres, and Dr. Carline Waugh (soprano) for providing the music; the lay leaders who have created a socially-distanced environment for us to worship in   If you’re still in a church-y mood later today, we hope you will join us at 4:00pm today right here on WIOI for a Vespers Hymn Sing led by the dynamic duo of Stan Workman and Justin Wiget. That’s 4:00pm today here on WIOI. A video of that service will also be available on our YouTube channel.  Again, I am grateful that you are worshiping with us today, and I pray that God comes close to you during this service and meets you exactly where you are.

Worship from Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Trinity Sunday; first week of The Lord's Prayer sermon series  Sun, June 7, 2020 (first Sunday of resuming in-person worship during COVID-19 pandemic)  Other listening options: Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI (106.7FM 1010AM) or watch it on our YouTube channel.   Sermon texts: Genesis 1:26-2:4; Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:7-15  Sermon title: "The Most Important Things"    Once again, I am grateful to the village at Second Pres that makes this worship service possible. This week I’m grateful … that the radio broadcast is sponsored in honor of our friends James and his gospel ministry in the Green Up County Jail    to Dr. Stan Workman, director of music here at Second Pres, and Jonathan Burton for providing the music; and those working on the technology so we can be live on the radio  If you’re still in a church-y mood later today, we hope you will join us at 4:00pm today right here on WIOI for a Vespers Hymn Sing led by the dynamic duo of Stan Workman and Justin Wiget. That’s 4:00pm today here on WIOI. A video of that service will also be available on our YouTube channel and a copy of the service will be uploaded to this podcast.  Again, I am grateful that you are worshiping with us today, and I pray that God comes close to you during this service and meets you exactly where you are. If you’d like us to mail you a bulletin to follow along in the service, feel free to give us a call at 740-353-4159.

  Worship from Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Pentecost Day with communion celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit  Sun, May 31, 2020  Download the bulletin HERE.  Other listening options: Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI (106.7FM 1010AM) or watch it on our YouTube channel.   Sermon texts: Numbers 11:24-30 and Acts 2:1-21   Sermon title: "Out of Control"  Once again, I am grateful to the village at Second Pres that makes this worship service possible. This week I’m grateful … to Second Pres member Wilma James for sponsoring today’s service on the radio in honor of the James and Cookson families.   to Dr. Stan Workman, director of music here at Second Pres, and Justin Wiget, director of music at All Saints’ Episcopal Church across town for providing the music; to Second Pres member Kara Penley for playing the flute for the anthem, “My Heart Ever Faithful” by Johann Sebastian Bach; to friend of the church, Sarah Simmons (mezzo-soprano) for singing the introit, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” (and to Stan and Justin who both played on this song!) and to Sarah and friend of the church, T.R. Beery (guitar), for the song which will follow the sermon, “Holy Spirit, the Dove Sent from Heaven;” and finally to Second Pres member Jason Kessinger for today’s readings. If you’re still in a church-y mood later today, we hope you will join us at 4:00pm today right here on WIOI for a Vespers Hymn Sing led by the dynamic duo of Stan Workman and Justin Wiget. That’s 4:00pm today here on WIOI. A video of that service will also be available on our YouTube channel and a copy of the service will be uploaded to this podcast.  Also as a side note, Second Pres will resume in-person worship next Sunday, June 7. While we are making several important adjustments to the ways we will gather in person, we will try to keep the worship service itself similar to what you’ve been hearing for the last couple of months. The service will continue to be available at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI as well as on our YouTube channel and this podcast. Again, I am grateful that you are worshiping with us today, and I pray that God comes close to you during this service and meets you exactly where you are. If you’d like us to mail you a bulletin to follow along in the service, feel free to give us a call at 740-353-4159.

    A NEW ministry from Second Pres: Hymn Sing Sunday at 4:00 p.m. on WIOI (106.7FM 1010AM)!  Download the song sheet HERE.  Also, watch it on YouTube HERE. 

(Photo: Ascension, Salvador Dali, 1958)    Worship from Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Ascension Day Sun, May 24, 2020  Download the bulletin HERE.  Other listening options: Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI (106.7FM 1010AM) or watch it on our YouTube channel.   Sermon texts: Acts 1:1-11 and 1 John 9:1-13  Sermon title: "No Body Now"    It always takes a village to create a worship service, and this week I’m grateful once again ...  - to Dr. Stan Workman, director of music here at Second Pres, and Justin Wiget, director of music at All Saints’ Episcopal Church across town for providing the music; - to soloist and Second Pres member Valerie Webb for today’s special music, “O Rest in the Lord” from Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio, “Elijah”; - and to Mike Raies, an elder at Second Pres, for today’s readings.   If you’d like us to mail you a bulletin to follow along in the service, feel free to give us a call at 740-353-4159.

Worship from Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Sunday, May 17, 2020  (A recording of a recording)  Download the bulletin HERE. *** Special thanks to the village who helps to make this service possible: Dr. Stan Workman and Justin Wiget (music) and Trustee President John Huston and Office Admin Rebecca Clark for the readings during the service.  Service is also available Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. on WIOI (106.7FM and 1010 AM) and on our YouTube Channel.  *** Anthem: "The Trumpet Shall Sound" (Jeffrey Tarr, bass; from our 2019 performance of Handel's "Messiah")  Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-22 Sermon title: "Hope in a Time of Quarantine" 

This podcast is an audio recording (of a recording!) of our Sunday worship service at Second Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, OH.   It's probably not the greatest quality, but we want to make worship available in as many avenues as possible, and that includes making it available to YOU, our podcast listeners!    Thanks to the generosity of Second Pres members, while we are not able to worship together, the weekly service will also be broadcasted on WIOI (106.7 FM 1010 AM) at 9:30 a.m. so if you're local, you can tune in to hear it "live."   And if you're curious, you can also check in on our YouTube Channel to see the visual pieces that accompany this audio.    Feel free to drop in on our website to stay up to do with everything that's going on at Second -- the building may be closed, but our mission and ministry continue! 

One of the ways we're trying to #stayconnected during this coronavirus pandemic is through worship.    This is the third episode of this week's "Poetry, Prayer & Piano" morning prayer series. It's also available on our YouTube Channel, but I'll let you in on a little secret: it's just this same audio + a pretty picture to look at! :-)   BUT we do have a playlist of other "Morning Prayer Services" if you'd like to listen to previous episodes.  

One of the ways we're trying to #stayconnected during this coronavirus pandemic is through worship.    This is the second episode of this week's "Poetry, Prayer & Piano" morning prayer series. It's also available on our YouTube Channel, but I'll let you in on a little secret: it's just this same audio + a pretty picture to look at! :-)   BUT we do have a playlist of other "Morning Prayer Services" if you'd like to listen to previous episodes.  

One of the ways we're trying to #stayconnected during this coronavirus pandemic is through worship.    This is the first episode of this week's "Poetry, Prayer & Piano" morning prayer series. It's also available on our YouTube Channel, but I'll let you in on a little secret: it's just this same audio + a pretty picture to look at! :-) BUT we do have a playlist of other "Morning Prayer Services" if you'd like to listen to previous episodes.  

  This podcast is an audio recording (of a recording!) of our Sunday worship service at Second Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth, OH.   It's probably not the greatest quality, but we want to make worship available in as many avenues as possible, and that includes making it available to YOU, our podcast listeners! (Also, sorry about the trains in the background!)    The special music featured are 2 recordings from our 2019 Good Friday performance of the complete "Messiah" by G.F. Handel: "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" by soprano Carline Waugh and "Since By Man Came Death" sung by the combined choirs of SSU and the "Second Pres & Friends Choir."    The main Scripture reading is John 20:19-31, and the sermon is called, "Touch Has a Memory," taken from a line of poetry by John Keats.    Thanks to the generosity of Second Pres members, while we are not able to worship together, the weekly service will also be broadcasted on WIOI (106.7 FM 1010 AM) at 9:30 a.m. so if you're local, you can tune in to hear it "live."   And if you're curious, you can also check in on our YouTube Channel to see the visual pieces that accompany this audio.    Feel free to drop in on our website to stay up to do with everything that's going on at Second -- the building may be closed, but our mission and ministry continue! 

Technical difficulties are preventing me from uploading the video of the Easter vigil service, so here's an audio recording instead.    Get the bulletin here so you can worship along with us! https://tinyurl.com/SecondPresHolyWeekAtHome 

Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Sun, March 15, 2020  Rev. Allison T. Bauer, Pastor  Dr. Stan Workman, Director of Music  Download the complete bulletin here.   In this podcast ...  THE WORD PROCLAIMED  Prayer of Illumination  Old Testament reading  Exodus 17:1-7  The Psalter  Psalm 95  The Epistle reading  Romans 5:1-11    The Anthem "Come to the Water"  (John Foley/Lynda Hassleler)  Oh let all who thirst  Let them come to the water.  And let all who have nothing,  Let them come to the Lord.  Without money, without price,  Why should you pay the price,  Except for the Lord?  And let all who seek,  Let them come to the water.  And let all who have nothing,  Let them come to the Lord.  Without money, without strife,  Why should you spend your life,  Except for the Lord?  And let all who toil,  Let them come to the water.  And let all who are weary,  Let them come to the Lord.  All who labor without rest,  How can your soul find rest,  Except for the Lord?  And let all the poor,  Let them come to the water.  Bring the ones who are laden,  Bring them all to the Lord.  Bring the children without might.  Easy the load and light,  Come to the Lord.  The Gospel reading  John 4:5-42  The Sermon "Unwanted Sabbath"    RESPONDING TO THE WORD  Hymn: "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"  Affirmation of Faith - The Apostles' Creed  Prayers of the People & the Lord's Prayer  Stewardship Invitation The Offertory Doxology  Prayer of Dedication    CARRYING FORTH THE WORD  Hymn: "Come, Thou Fount"  Benediction: "Pandemic" (a poem by Rev. Lynn Ungar) What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life. Center down.   And when your body has become still, reach out with your heart. Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful. (You could hardly deny it now.) Know that our lives are in one another’s hands. (Surely, that has come clear.) Do not reach out your hands. Reach out your heart. Reach out your words. Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move, invisibly, where we cannot touch.   Promise this world your love– for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we all shall live.   –Lynn Ungar 3/11/20 Benediction response "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again"  The Postlude 

  Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  All Saints' Sunday - remembering the saints of the church who have passed away    Unlike our usual sermon podcast, this episode presents the entire service of the day, including the sacrament of communion. The sermon is based on Ephesians 1:15-23 and is called, "Preaching Hope." 

Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH    In this week's PRAYER EXPERIMENT, we revisit last week's experiment! (We are trying to create new prayer habits, after all!)  Pastor Allison collected another round of quotes about prayer, and we read through them asking which quotes spoke to our hearts either because they described how we felt or what we aspired to. Then we tried analyzing Psalm 25 using the ACTS model of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). The ACTS model is a helpful way of constructing a written prayer. It can be useful for verbal prayers too, but we're focusing on writing prayers for right now.  We explained to the person who was here this week but missed last week that our goal/homework, was to write a prayer using the words of Psalm 25 (or some other psalm) to be used as the "Prayers of the People" in worship.  We read the prayer we wrote together last week and agreed to each write our own before our next gathering.    Happy listening!    Download the guide to follow along with the conversation:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MNqPl7taX1GbgQJnRkX8K9FGc-g4dUhB/view?usp=sharing 

Weds, Oct 6  5:30pm  Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH    In this installment of PRAYER EXPERIMENTS, we embrace the spirit of magazines and Facebook quizzes to discover our "prayer types!" using quotes from goodreads.com about prayer.   Then we talk about the ACTS model of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.  THEN we write a group ACTS prayer using the words of Psalm 19 as our inspiration.    Homework: write your own prayer to be used on Sunday as the "Prayers of the People!"  Link to guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oxeXHUd7c9nzSgud7rictqfV83AyhDO3/view?usp=sharing    Here's the text of the prayer we wrote together using Psalm 19 as a guide: Dear Lord,  We see the heavens telling of your glory in the dewdrop on the pine needle, the sun breaking through the trees, and the waves crashing on the sand - powerful and gentle.  Use your glory to powerfully clear our hidden faults; keep our hearts gentle, resisting the temptation to transgress against you.  The Law of the Lord revives our souls. We are grateful for all the ways you enlighten our eyes, and our hearts rejoice in your glory.  In our times of prayer and prayer experiments, let the words of our mouths and the prayers that we feel (that have no words), be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  In Jesus' name, Amen. 

  Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  "Where Your Treasure Is"    Included in this podcast:  Prayer for Illumination  Old Testament reading  Joel 2:23-32  The Psalter - Psalm 65:1-13  Epistle reading  2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18    The Anthem "Fight the Good Fight" (John Gardner)    Gospel reading  Luke 12:22-34  Sermon "Where Your Treasure Is"    Sermon excerpt:  Your heart follows your money. Think about it. If you buy a new car, suddenly you love driving and look for every excuse to take someone somewhere. Buy a new house, and you want to have everyone over. Buy some new clothes or shoes, and you wear them the next day, even if they’re not the most weather-appropriate choices. Your heart follows your money, specifically how you spend your money. And “Jesus does not need your money. But he desperately wants your heart. Jesus knows that the key to having your heart is through your money.”ii    ii https://www.jordanrimmer.com/stewardship-what-is-the-big-deal-about-money/ 

  Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Prayer Experiment#2 (Wednesdays at 5:30pm - 801 Waller St, Portsmouth OH 45662)    Before we started recording, we reflected on last week's prayer experiments, sharing what was helpful and what wasn't. Some who struggle with staying focused or paying attention especially appreciated the physical cues of crossing their thumbs in a way that was not natural or praying with palms up helped to keep their mind focused. Others said even if they didn't actually pray more regularly, they THOUGHT about praying much more than usual. And we decided that's a great first step!  We also had a discussion about creating a designated prayer space in our homes - a "prayer chair" or space - where we would have all the tools we would need for structuring a prayer time.  Of course, prayer can happen at any time and any location, but if your goal is to be more regular or faithful in your prayer life, a structure can help you to be more disciplined. That's part of what we're focusing on in the beginning: creating a regular practice of prayer within the rhythm of our day.     Experiment #2  The Daily Examen  Today's topic is the "daily examen," "a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction for us. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience."   (Read more about it here: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/.)   The framework used for a simple daily examen in this podcast comes from the book, Sleeping with Bread. The handout below includes a more detailed format that can also be followed.      Download this handout to follow along with the experiments:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1StIqdywLC2m8y5ce_NNLD5zeJoe7lYEY/view?usp=sharing One of the group members led the evening prayer using a service from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. As soon as I get that service, I will upload it so you can follow along with that at the end of the podcast. 

  Second Presbyterian Church + Portsmouth, OH  Since our organ was feeling under the weather, we worshiped in the chapel. And I must have been a little preoccupied because I forgot to turn off the recording, so this podcast includes most of the service, including the lovely acoustic piano service music provided by Dr. Stan Workman during the offering. Enjoy!    Included in this podcast:  Prayer for Illumination  The Epistle reading  2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5  The Psalter  Psalm 121  The Gospel reading  Luke 18:1-8    The Anthem  "Come Thou Fount" (Craig Courtney)  The Old Testament reading  Genesis 32:22-31   The Sermon "The Sun Always Rises"    Sermon excerpt:  Being a follower of Jesus Christ does not protect us from dark nights of the soul. Our faith in God does not protect us from having loved ones die suddenly or marriages ending badly or keep terrible accidents from happening. We will be tested, and we will struggle to meet the challenge of that test. In fact, those who open their hearts to Jesus also open their hearts to the world and will inevitably have those hearts broken again and again. One of my favorite authors writes, “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” Being a follower of Jesus Christ does not protect us from the terrible things that will happen … but our belief in the faithfulness of God even in the darkest times gives us one more reason to keep going, to keep believing, to keep fighting.