A couple of weeks ago a Baptist pastor in Memphis (Cordova) lamented to his congregation that he was “disappointed” in the new policy of the current administration to no longer observe the sanctity of churches when it comes to arresting undocumented immigrants He said he didn’t “like the idea” of a church being “raided” and he said didn’t want people to be afraid to come to the church if they were in need (You can read his full statement and even see a video of it on the Fox 13 Memphis website.)
The pastor concluded by saying, “So I hope that we can give each other grace if we disagree.” Tennessee Senator Brent Taylor did not give the pastor grace. He stood up and walked out of the service and then posted about it, prompting a firestorm of social media backlash against the pastor. Almost all of the comments were along the lines of “Keep your woke, progressive politics out of the pulpit ”
Interesting When evangelical pastors use their pulpits to parrot the political agenda of the Republican party and say that the President has been anointed by God to save America, conservative Christians do not complain about politics from the pulpit In fact, they cheer it I hope you can appreciate the irony and hypocrisy
It might not surprise you to hear people have walked out of sermons while I was preaching. In my first congregation one gentleman slammed a door on his way out, shattering the glass that was in it. In my last congregation a gentleman stormed up to me after worship as I was greeting worshipers and slammed me up against the wall as he yelled at me for what I had said.
To my knowledge, no one at 2nd has gotten up and walked out during a sermon, but some people have stopped coming to worship altogether because they say I’m too political Some have said this to me directly, which I have appreciated Others have simply told others who have then told me
gh the years Comments like, “you’re too political” or “I don’t like politics in the pulpit” or “stick to the Gospel” are really just ways of saying, “I don’t agree with you ” That’s the reality When people cry about “politics in the pulpit” what they are really upset about is “politics different from mine in the pulpit ” I have never – not once in 25 years – been criticized for being too political by someone who liked or agreed with what I said in a sermon In fact, just the opposite; I have been thanked and praised. I guess when we like or agree with what is being said it’s not politics, it’s just the truth.
Please know it is never my intention to make any of you angry with something I say in a sermon. My intention is to help you grow spiritually and to help you understand the context of the Bible better. Sometimes challenging longheld or commonly-held beliefs is the best way to do that Sometimes applying Scripture to current political issues is the best way to do that
Also, please know that I would never tell you what to believe or how to think about any particular issue What I do want to do is challenge you to think critically about what the Scriptures say and how they apply to current issues so you can come to your own informed conclusion. Then, if we disagree, we disagree. But at least we are disagreeing on how we interpret Scripture and not what was or wasn’t said in a sermon.
Grace and peace…
Upcoming Sermon Texts and Topics
We continue our sermon series on The Life of Jesus as we move into Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. Jesus’ Kingdom Mission is coming to a conclusion and from now through Easter we will be focusing on the last week of Jesus’ life, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel.
March 2nd Luke 9:28-36
The Life of Jesus: Transfiguration
March 5th Joel 2/Mt 6 Ash Wednesday
March 9th Luke 19:28-40
March 16th Luke 19:41-48
March 23rd Luke 20:9-26
*March 30th Luke 22:47-53
The Life of Jesus: Enters Jerusalem
The Life of Jesus: Cleanses the Temple
The Life of Jesus: Argues with the Authorities
The Life of Jesus: Arrest
*Even though March 30th is a 5th Sunday, we will worship in the sanctuary since our friends from Church of the Savior are in the Fellowship Hall
Ash Wednesday - March 5th
The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5th. We will celebrate with a service of Imposition of Ashes in the Sanctuary at 6:00 p.m. This will be a joint worship service with our friends from Church of the Savior.
Second Readers will meet at the church in the Mary Chambers Room, March 19, at 11:30. Our book is The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris. Leslie Matthews will lead our discussion. Everyone is asked to bring their lunch and enjoy the discussion. We would love to have anyone interested join us and if there are questions, call Margaret Sullivan at 865-363-3967.
New Organist - Sarah Warner
Sarah is a passionate organist, holding a B.M. in Organ Performance with an emphasis in Composition and a B A in Theology and Religious Studies from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. Graduating Summa Cum Laude, Sarah has earned the Faculty Merit Award in Music and has presented at two Music Teachers’ conferences on the local and state level. Having only begun her musical journey as an adult in 2019, Sarah has performed solo works for organ, piano, and various collaborative works. Viewing music as an opportunity to lift our entire being to God, Sarah enjoys arranging hymn tunes and writing chamber works centered around Christian Spirituality. Her most recent piece, Purgation, was written for the Archdiocese of Louisville and debuted in April 2024 at St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church. As a singer, Sarah enjoys lifting her voice to God as a mezzo-soprano and has sung major works in several university and church choirs. Professionally, Sarah is a member of Knoxville’s American Guild of Organists and teaches piano, organ, and voice
Arts and Crafts
The arts and crafts group is changing its meeting date to the first Monday of each month. The group meets at 10:00 am in Room 227. They are always looking for new members! Contact Cheryl Ragsdale (cherylintennessee@yahoo.com) for more information.
We moved to Knoxville from Wausau, Wisconsin in September 2024. We left our three adult sons (and two granddaughters) back in Wisconsin. Since we have no family in the area, we look forward to forming friendships here that will become like family. We decided to move in our retirement because we were tired of the long winters in Wisconsin, but we still wanted the four seasons. Of all the places we considered and visited, Knoxville felt like home to us. We visited a number of churches in Knoxville, but none of them were where God was leading us. We attended 2nd Presbyterian after reading about the congregation on the internet. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly every time we attended an event or service that we wanted to be part of this congregation spreading God’s love throughout the community. We love traveling the world and experiencing different cultures. We will make it to our 7th continent (Antarctica) with our next trip.
Our Lenten book this year is Hope Is Here!: Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community by Luther E. Smith, Jr. This book examines how we truly perceive and join the work of hope, enlivening us to a life that is oriented toward immediate and future experiences of personal fulfillment, justice, and beloved community. Interpreting five spiritual practices for individuals and congregations to experience the power of hope, Smith prepares us to engage racism, mass incarceration, environmental crises, divisive politics, and indifference that imperil both justice and community. Luther E. Smith, Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Church and Community at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University.
We will be reading the book together with Church of the Savior and gathering weekly to discuss the readings at a day/time to be determined. The book is available at all major online book sellers. A very limited supply of is available in the church office for $16.50 each.
Spring Forward - Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 9th. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour before going to bed on Saturday, March 8th, or you’ll be an hour late for worship!
Thank you SO much for your overwhelming generosity in during our Love Your Neighbor Knox 2025 campaign! Thanks to you our food bin is overflowing with nonperishable food items to share with 2nd Harvest Food Bank during their slowest season of the year. Additionally, we raised $1,162 for the Souper Bowl of Caring, which will also be shared with 2nd Harvest Food Bank. We are truly a welcoming, faithful, and hopeful congregation!
ACTUAL 2024 BUDGET 2024
(SHORTAGE)
y I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t a y i n g ( G y m )
4 : 3 0 p m C O N N E C T t e a m ( B a r b o u r R o o m )
5 : 0 0 p m F a c i l i t i e s ( Z o o m )
6 : 3 0 p m S c o u t l e a d e r s 7 : 0 0 p m S c o u t s ( G y m , S c o u t R o o m )
8 : 4 5 p m U k i r k B a s k e t b a l l ( G y m )
9 : 4 5 a m S t a f f m e e t i n g
( S M C o n f e r e n c e R o o m )
1 0 : 0 0 a m : A r t s a n d C r a f t s
( R o o m 2 2 7 )
3 : 0 0 p . m . B u d g e t F i n a n c e
T e a m M e e t i n g ( Z o o m )
5 : 0 0 p . m . Y o u n g A d u l t L a d i e s L i f e G r o u p ( Y o u t h )
Presbyterian Women (Fellowship Hall) 6:00 p.m. Worship Team (Barbour Room ) 7:00 pm Scouts (Gym) 8:45 p.m. Ukirk Basketball (Gym)
5 : 0 0 p . m . Y o u n g A d u l t L a d i e s L i f e G r o u p ( Y o u t h )
1 1 : 3 0 a m 2 n d R e a d e r s B o o k C l u b ( B u c k i n g h a m C l u b h o u s e ) 6 : 0 0 p m : L e n t e n B o o k S t u d
6 : 0 0 p m S e s s i o n M e e t i n g ( B a r b o u r )
7 : 0 0 p m S c o u t s ( G y m , S c o u t R o o m )
8 : 4 5 p m U k i r k B a s k e t b a l l ( G y m )
9 : 4 5 a . m . S t a f f M e e t i n g ( S m a l l C o n f e r e n c e R o o m )
5 : 0 0 p . m Y o u n g A d u l t
L a d i e s L i f e G r o u p ( Y o u t h )
5 : 3 0 p . m . P r e s c h o o l B o a r d M e e t i n g ( Z o o m )
6 : 0 0 p m : L e n t e n B o o k S t u d y ( M a r y C h a m b e r s )
5 : 0 0 p . m Y o u n g A d u l t L a d i e s L i f e G r o u p ( Y o u t h ) 9:00 a.m. FISH Pantry (Fellowship Hall) 7:00 pm Scouts (Gym) 8:45 p.m. Ukirk Basketball (Gym)
