A Teaching Moment
Listen to the 1/29/2012 Sermon
Text: Mark 1: 21-28
Who was your favorite teacher? Was it a kindergarten teacher who made you feel welcome? A grade school teacher who had a special interest in you? A middle school teacher who helped you get through some rough times? A high school teacher who helped you understand a difficult subject? A college, university or graduate teacher who took you to new depths of understanding? Or maybe your favorite teacher didn’t work in a school at all, but was a grandpa who taught you the ways of nature, and lots more when you went hunting or fishing together, or a grandmother who took you special places, or another relative, or a Sunday school teacher who really cared about you, or a scout leader, or a mentor at work who taught you how to do your job. Maybe today you can swap stories with your family about some of your favorite teachers. Or better yet, say thanks to somebody today who has taught you about Jesus Christ and who has helped grow your faith.
More than a Fish Story
Listen to the 1/22/2012 Sermon
Text: Jonah 3:1-10
On July 29, 2007, the Second Best Players made their debut performance with a play called “After the Whale.” We had a lot of fun, and learned something, too, I think, about a gracious God and a grumpy prophet. You can see the grumpy prophet on your bulletin cover. Today, I thought it might be fun to look at this little book again.
Who’s Calling
Listen to the 1/15/2012 Sermon
Text: John 1: 43-51
1 Samuel 3:1-18
Samuel was just a boy in a very dark place, but it didn’t frighten him. This place was a temple to Israel’s God, and he was used to finding his way around in the shadows. Always, before the altar, there burned a lamp to signify God’s eternal presence.
Songs and Sonnets Service
Listen to the 12/04/2011 Sermon
Give God the Best
Listen to the 11/20/2011 Sermon
Text: Matthew 25: 31-46
My first church after seminary was in Oelwein,Iowa. We moved to Oelwein in February, 1968, and 3 months later, on May 15, 4:53 PM, a tornado ripped through the town, right up main street. I remember the exact time, because we were without electricity for about a week, so it was like time had stood still—4:53 by the electric clocks, 24 hours a day. The twister caused such severe damage to the church building that it had to be torn down. I had come to town to preach up a storm, but that was ridiculous.
A Magnificent Diversity
Listen to the 7/31/2011 Sermon
Text: Revelation 7: 9-15
John Stott died this past week at 90 and the “NY Times” did a good obit on him. You probably don’t know this name but a few years ago “Time” magazine named Stott one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Stott was an Anglican minister in England and the author of more than 50 books, selling over 8 million copies. As Scott lay dying, the obit said, family gathered and they listened to Handel’s “Messiah.”
Say What You Know
Listen to the 7/17/2011 Sermon
Text: John 9:13-25
Do you remember the old testimonial times people used to have in church? I remember them in my home church. As a little kid, I loved them and always wished for more. People would be invited to stand up and speak out—testify as to what God has been doing in their lives. For me it was church at its best. I was always eager to hear how God was working in people’s lives. Every story was just fascinating to me—it was church at its very best every time it happened.
Prayer: Offering Everything to God
Listen to the 7/10/2011 Sermon
Text: Romans 12: 9-17
A researcher went around the country to explore why some churches thrive. Why some churches seem full of purpose. Why some churches meet their challenges. Why some churches are vibrant. She found some, of course. And she kept going back to them. Kept talking to them and listening to him. She wanted to get to know each one, not as statistical evidence but as living congregations of hope and ministry. Some of these congregations were in small towns and rural. Some were in large cities. They were each what we would call “mainline” however. That group of churches that once dominated the landscape and enjoyed filling the pews and Sunday School rooms weekly-- but which now are struggling to keep the doors open and the bills paid in many, many, many places.
Healing: A Journey to Wholeness
Text: Acts 3:1-9
“’Look at us’” Peter said to the man who was lame, a man who never once in his life took a single step. Lame was the man from day one of his life. He never once ran with the boys in the games boys play. He never walked a girl home from school. Not a single step did he ever take.
We Practice Hospitality Here
Listen to the 6/19/2011 Sermon
Text: Luke 10:30-37
The parable of the Good Samaritan is probably the best known story in the Bible. Anyone who has spent time in church or Sunday School will have read and discussed this story. And will have heard many sermons preached on it. The term “good Samaritan” is immediately understood even by people who have never opened a Bible. We even name hospitals and clinics, “Good Samaritan.”
Sermon Audio for 5/22, 5/29, 6/5 and 6/12 Sermons
The Sermon Audio Recordings are Available here for
the 5/22 (sermon text below), 5/29 (sermon text below), 6/5 and 6/12 sermons (text unavailable):
May 15th Sermon Audio
May 15th sermon audio available here:
The Highway of the Upright
Text: Proverbs 16:16-24, James 4:13-17
On one occasion my wife and I found ourselves looking up at a road with the name, “Going to the Sun Road.” It’s a fifty mile road at Glacier National Park. It’s a two lane road. It’s a two lane road with no guardrails. And I pretended to be unfazed and unafraid but inside I was terrified, to tell you the truth. It just looked to me like a very dangerous thing to do—go up that road, winding around curves, looking down and knowing that survival required no mistakes. Driving the “Going to the Sun Road” was one of the best things I have ever done. But it was scary all the way. I would not have missed it. But I am not sure I would want to do it again either.
May 1st Sermon audio
May 1st sermon audio available here:
Listen to the 5/1 Sermon
Living a Great Reversal
Listen to the 4/17/2011 Sermon
Text: Psalm 118: 1-4, 15-25; Matt. 21:1-11
Use your imagination a bit. Picture the scene, what it must have been like when the Roman army marched into Jerusalem. Each year a man who went by the name, Pontius Pilate, would enter the city right before Passover to remind the people who had the power and the authority. To remind them that Rome was in charge and could tax them and rule them and execute them on a cross in whatever manner it pleased the Empire. Imagine. Legionaries on splendid horseback. Imagine. Roman standards flying in the wind. Imagine the Roman eagle for all eyes to see. Imagine the sound of clanking armor. Imagine. The sound of stomping feet of the soldiers, the beating of drums. Imagine the proud face of Pilate, his war horse, his splendid chariot. Pilate was full of himself.
Good Friday Concert and Service: César Franck’s Mass in A
The public is invited as the combined choirs of Second Baptist Church of Greater St. Louis and Eliot Chapel of Kirkwood present…
César Franck’s Mass in A
Good Friday Concert and Service
April 22, 8:00 pm
In the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes of Second Baptist Church
9030 Clayton Road at McKnight Road, ½ mile west of the St. Louis Galleria
Free adjacent, lighted parking – Child care provided
Under the direction of Brad Short
Marilyn Short, organist, with Chamber Orchestra
The Best Place One Could Ever Be
Text: Psalm 63
How fortunate is the person who knows their true needs. A person can spend years, even a life-time, chasing some idea that promises to make us right—or happy, or fulfilled or secure or something. Only to discover at last a terrible disappointment.
The Words Everyone Can Pray
Listen to the 3/27/2011 Sermon
Sermon series on the Lament Psalms of the Psalter
Text: Psalm 22
The one prayer that unites us all is the one prayed by Jesus on the cross. The words are so familiar and so often felt. All of us here today have prayed this way: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But please note: when Jesus prayed this psalm, he most certainly had in mind and heart the entire psalm, not only the first verse.
The Prayer Nobody Prays
Listen to the 3/20/2011 Sermon
Sermon series on the Lament Psalms of the Psalter
Text: Psalm 109
There is a verse in the NT that goes like this: “In your anger do not sin” (Eph. 4:26). Someone has said that keeping that counsel is possible—but it is extremely difficult. I suppose that all of us could give a resounding “amen” to that. What is likely is that we will be angry and sin.
Holding On in the Storm
Listen to the 3/13/2011 Sermon
Sermon series on the Lament Psalms of the Psalter
Text: Psalm 13
When my children were small they would occasionally say to us—my wife and me—“Why are you fighting?” That always surprised me when it was voiced because Audrey and I don’t fight. Now we do occasionally have “discussions” – you know, the airing and sharing of views and opinions and ideas and values where she and I are not in the same place. Every relationship is a process of negotiation; a never ending give and take, words and silence, action and waiting, failing and starting again. Fighting is when negotiating has ceased and one person advances their will—or tries to—over another.
Interim Minister Mike Dixon
Mike Dixon joined us as our Interim Minister on October 17, 2011.
We remember fondly Mike and Sandy’s time with us when Mike Dixon was our Interim Minister from August 2006 to August 2007.
Mike has been a trained intentional interim minister in the St. Louis area for the past ten years. Before that, he served as a pastor in Iowa for 12 years, and as an editor/curriculum developer at Christian Board of Publication here in St. Louis for over 20 years. Mike was educated at Culver-Stockton College and Christian Theological Seminary. He loves doing interim ministry because of the rich variety of churches and people that he gets to serve and learn from. Sandy and Mike have been married 46 years, and have 3 grown children and 3 grandsons.
Contact Mike at: pastor@2ndbc.org
The Time Between
Text: Psalm 31: 1-8, 19-24
I have a sister in hospice as most of you have read or heard. She was, until recently, a beautiful woman with striking red hair. On the outside she is no longer beautiful but on the inside she is richer than ever in her life. I have never been more proud of her than in these last several months.
For just over a year I was her pastor as well as brother in a church nearby. She was still strong then and every Sunday night she had me over for dinner and always wanted to talk about the sermon that morning. Her enthusiasm about what was happening in church and in her life made my life sing.
The public is invited to ST LOUIS JAZZ & BLUES VESPERS Sunday, Nov. 21, 6-8 pm
Our Third Season!
The public is invited to
ST LOUIS JAZZ & BLUES VESPERS
Sunday, Nov. 21, 6-8 pm
In the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes,
1/2 Mile West of the St. Louis Galleria
9030 Clayton Road at McKnight
Sandy Weltman
& the Hot Club Caravan
Free. Casual Attire.
Second Baptist Church Offers Free Brass Concert on Sunday, August 29, 6:00 p.m.
Press Release August 18, 2010
Free Brass Concert by Bethel Brass Quintet, Sunday, August 29, 6:00 p.m.
Second Baptist Church of St. Louis features a free brass concert by the Bethel Brass Quintet on Sunday, August 29, at 6:00 pm in the church’s outdoor memorial rose garden.
Performers in the Bethel Quintet are: Jim Kelhoffer on trumpet; Bill Hershey on trumpet; Tom Blackwell on horn; Neal Strebel on trombone and Mark Scharff on tuba. The group performs music ranging from baroque, show tunes, and spirituals to ragtime and jazz.
The public is invited. No tickets are necessary. In the case of inclement weather, the concert will be held in the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes on the church’s campus.
Second Baptist Church is located ½ mile west of the St. Louis Galleria at 9030 Clayton Road at McKnight Road . It is located one mile north of the McKnight Road-I-64 exchange. More information about the church and the concert is located at the church’s website: www.2ndbc.org or by calling 314/991-3424.
Good Friday Concert & Service
Good Friday Concert & Service
Featuring Camille Saint-Saens’
Requiem
Friday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.
Saint-Saens’ Requiem, op.54,
Newly re-orchestrated for Chamber Orchestra
by Brad Short
Under the Direction of Brad Short
Organist, Marilyn Short with Chamber Orchestra
Soloists:
Emily Heslop, soprano -- Leon Burke III, baritone
Roberta Hmiel, alto -- Daniel Pickett, tenor
with the Choir of Second Baptist Church
The Public Is Invited to
Join us for this musical reflection and evening of inspiration
Second Baptist Church , St. Louis
1/2 mile west of the St. Louis Galleria at 9030 Clayton Road at McKnight Road
Free, lighted adjacent parking -- handicap accessible -- child care provided
www.2ndbc.org 314/991-3424
9030 Clayton Road
Songs and Sonnets of Christmas
For Immediate Release
On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, at 10:30 am, the choir of Second Baptist Church of St. Louis will present Songs and Sonnets of Christmas. The choir is under the direction of Bradley Short and the organist/accompanist and director of music is Marilyn Short.
The service will follow a similar format to the traditional lessons and carols service first developed by King’s College, Cambridge , England ; however, along with scripture readings and anthems and carols, five poets from the congregation will read their poems related to the lessons and carols. We are delighted to feature original poems by these poets in our congregation: Elizabeth Brooks, Brooke Justis, Linda Novak, Melissa Bancks, and Judy Gurley.
Dr. Stephen D. Jones, pastor, will offer a brief homily entitled, “What do you really want for Christmas?” based on Luke 2:36-38. This is a part of Dr. Jones’ advent preaching series entitled, “The Greatest of All Gifts.”
Second Baptist Church of St. Louis is located at the corner of McKnight and Clayton Roads. The church is located 1 mile north of the McKnight/I-64 intersection and ½ mile west of the St. Louis Galleria at 9030 Clayton Road . There is a large adjacent parking lot and the building is handicap accessible by entering off Clayton Road . A nursery is maintained for young infants and toddlers and a children’s church is available for preschool through 5th grade children during the worship hour.
Second Baptist Church is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches in the USA and warmly welcomes all who desire to celebrate this wonderful ministry of music and the word on December 20. For more information, visit our website, www.2ndbc.org or call 314/991-3424.
Launching Our Second Year: ST LOUIS JAZZ & BLUES VESPERS
Sunday, Oct. 18, 6-8 pm
In the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes,
1/2 Mile West of the St. Louis Galleria
9030 Clayton Road at McKnight
Bosman Twins
Free. Casual Attire.
PRESS RELEASE, Sept. 30, 2009
www.StLouisJazzandBluesVespers.com
St. Louis Jazz and Blues Vespers feature the Bosman Twins on Sunday, October 18 at 6:00 pm in the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes of Second Baptist Church of St. Louis . The acoustically excellent sanctuary is located 1/2 mile west of the St. Louis Galleria on Clayton Road at McKnight Road (one mile north of the McKnight intersection of Highway 40/I-64). This venue is offered to the best jazz and blues groups in the city to perform 100 minutes of popular music. The Vespers, held on the third Sunday of each month, are free to the public. No tickets needed. There is a lighted, free, adjacent parking lot.
Second Baptist Church to Premiere Original Musical
For Immediate Release, September 29, 2009
Second Baptist Church of St. Louis , MO is premiering an original musical entitled, Judson, on Sunday, October 11, in its 10:30 am worship service. This is no charge and the public is urged to attend. The church is located at 9030 Clayton Road at McKnight, ½ mile west of the St. Louis Galleria and 1 mile north of the McKnight interchange of Highway 40/I-64. Adjacent parking is available.
Good Friday Concert and Service
For Immediate Release __ March 24, 2009
Good Friday Concert and Service
April 10, 7:30 pm
In the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes of Second Baptist Church
9030 Clayton Road at McKnight Road, ½ mile west of the St. Louis Galleria
Free adjacent, lighted parking – Child care provided
Join us as the choirs of Second Baptist Church and Eliot Chapel present
Gabriel Faure’s Requiem
Under the direction of Bradley Short
Marilyn Short, organist with orchestral accompaniment
Emily Heslop, soprano soloist & Leon Burke III, baritone soloist
www.2ndbc.org 314/991-3424