Second City Sermons
by Second City Church
Welcome! Here you will find the weekly sermons of Second City Church in Harrisburg, PA. We hope these sermons will help you worship God and celebrate the good news of Jesus.
Podcast episodes
Season 3
Beginning in Jerusalem
After the long Emmaus road resurrection narrative where the Cleopas and his companion have burning hearts for God's Word and their eyes opened by the broken bread of Jesus, Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and he leaves them with a commission that they would take the news of Jesus from Jerusalem with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the "power from on high"! But what news of Jesus are they to take? What is the core of the message that they are to proclaim? Christ's death and his resurrection, his suffering and his glory! And because of that suffering on the cross and because of that glorious resurrection the door is open for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus sums up what they are to say he sums it up with suffering and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and it is to be proclaimed to all people!
Resurrected Bread
It is very easy to get lost in the theological ramifications of Jesus’ death and miss the perspective of those who witnessed his crucifixion in all of its gory spectacle. As they walked home from Jerusalem, after Jesus’ death, Cleopas and Mary were most likely emotionally overwhelmed. Despair was their companion when they meet one whom they did not at first recognize. In describing Himself in the scriptures He would enter their despair, and showing them what a “body broken” means.
Resurrected Word
Jesus has risen. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James have encountered the empty tomb and an angel. Peter races to the tomb and finds only empty strips of cloth. What is going on here? The obvious answer has yet to manifest himself. Next in his account, Luke tells us the experience of Cleopas and his wife Mary as they walk back to Emmaus reflecting on the tragic events in Jerusalem, where they encounter a mysterious traveler....
The Cost of New Creation
Henry David Thoreau said "The price of anything is the amount of life you are willing to exchange for it". That's an amazingly insight for budgeting and for how we spend out resources, whether that be our money or our time or our intellect or anything else that we have. It is also an amazing insight into the gospel of Jesus. New life broke forth into the world that first Easter morning and we are told in Holy Scripture that just as Jesus rose from the dead, so also death itself doesn't have the final say for those who are in Jesus. But at what cost? What was the price of Christian hope? What did it cost to bring life where death was the order of the world? The price for that was the very paschal passion of God's Son, our Lord Jesus himself. That is the cost of our hope and Jesus paid it all!
God's Answer to our Suffering World
The last words in Jesus' ears were not "Crucify him!" but rather "save yourself." He had entered Jerusalem to cries of "Hosanna!" which means "Save us!", Jesus stays on the cross not to save himself, but to save us. He doesn't save himself, but rather he saves the guilty, he saves us. This is the good news. And this good news is received as we, like the thief on the cross, know that we have nothing to bring to Jesus and all we can do is receive him. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom", is answered with "Today, you will be with me in paradise!"