Salem Presbyterian Church

Paul tells the Galatians to "walk around in the Spirit" but his point is that the Spirit is more than a means to something better. The Spirit is the source itself. Walking through Galatians 5 we see a life where believers walk about unshackled, out of chaos we receive one fruit, and we are walking toward Eden. Along the way we see the sin we rarely admit: trying to "program our way out of our flesh" through accountability and discipline. But because of Christ's finished work, we don't live in chaos, fear, and self-destruction. We do not need our own self-will. We are free and even better, we are not alone. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS Where do you, or the culture around you, hold the belief that growth is mainly self-improvement and restraint, rather than walking toward the Spirit as the source? What is your "concrete block" like Kiki the Gorilla? What is it you hold onto in anger, but in the freedom of the Spirit can lay down as a new creation? How do we see Christ's finished work walking us past Eden into a garden city, the New Heavens and New Earth--to a world being remade?

The French Revolutionary Jacques Hébert called for a system of zealous perfection. Eventually that standard consumed everyone, including himself. For us, we follow Christ's teaching on forgiveness until it is personal. We affirm his ethic on generosity until it costs us something real. Whether it's the legalism of the Galatians or our own selective faith, both confess the same thing: that Christ is not sufficient. This sermon works through Galatians 5:2-15 to show what falling away from grace actually looks like — and how the Spirit frees us to run to him with empty hands.

Paul the apostle tells two stories in parallel: the children with no future and the children of the promise. Contrasting tales of children of a servant with no future security and children of a covenant promise whose future is secure unfold in the history of Israel. Paul maps these on to the lives of the Galatians to remind them of their inheritance in Christ, something they have quickly forgotten. And something we are quick to forget as well. Discussion Questions for Small Groups: 1. Where do you see yourself returning to futile and temporary things because it is easier than remembering the promise in Christ? 2. What does Paul's appeal to history reveal about God's character? 3. How does this passage show that we are saved by grace alone?

Why did God give the law if his plan was always to save by grace through faith? In this sermon on Galatians 3:15-29, Austin Pfeiffer follows Paul as he steps back and re-explains the covenant from the ground up. From Abraham to Moses to now, God has had one unbroken plan: to redeem his people. The law was never a rival to that promise. It was always a servant of it. And in Christ, the inheritance that promise always pointed to has been purchased and given freely to everyone who belongs to him — no exceptions, no prerequisites.

In this sermon on Galatians 3:1–14, Austin Pfeiffer brings application Paul's ongoing, urgent plea to the Galatians and to us. That plea is to stop trying to earn our own way, when in Christ we have already received what we really need. Looking at Abraham's story in Genesis 15 and the image of a lighthouse guiding ships to harbor, the sermon diagnoses two forms of pride: striving to prove we are enough, and quietly trying to make God conform to what we want him to be. The wage we have actually earned, every one of us, is the same sentence handed to Adam: return to dust. The Gospel answer is not striving, but surrender.

In this opening sermon of an eleven-week series through Galatians, Austin Pfeiffer unpacks how Paul is fired up! Writing without his usual warm greetings, Paul blurts out his astonishment. The Galatians are making a trade they do not realize is terminal: exchanging the grace of Christ for a "different gospel." This list of obligations cannot do what grace does. Even hardworking, well-meaning people are vulnerable to it. And it misses that the answer to our sin and guilt is not trying harder. It never was.

This homily is a Maundy Thursday meditation on John 13:1-20 by Rev. Austin Pfeiffer. From the outdoor pavilion downtown, we explore whether Jesus knew about empires, about betrayal, about us? The answer—he does. And this makes his act of footwashing so startling. Like Paul writing to the Galatians, Jesus refuses to be distracted by the world's tumult, offering instead something smaller, but more radical: a towel, a basin, but ultimately a table, a meal, and his very own body and blood.

Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, where Peter's anxious chatter and the disciples' frozen silence reveal how easily we sort Jesus into a manageable category. A good teacher, a moral example, someone worth honoring, but not the God worth falling on our face before. When the Father interrupts with "This is my Son, listen to him," Jesus speaks the full claim of the text: that the Ancient of Days himself has come down the mountain, to the cross, to reclaim the Peters and the quiet ones alike. Not because of anything we do, but because he keeps speaking a better word.

In this sermon Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores why Jesus sent the disciples to Israel before going to the Gentiles. This section of Matthew, the "Sermon on Mission" shows how and why the disciples go amongst these "lost sheep of Israel" first. And the sermon looks to connect this with the experiences of those who grew in a Christian culture today. Especially how Jesus is the compassionate shepherd for all those who are lost.

In this sermon, Jackson Cole unpacks Jesus' radical teaching that the law of God isn't a hammer ready to beat you down until you obey, but an invitation into living life as the beloved.

In this sermon Rev. Austin Pfeiffer walks through each of the eight Beatitudes as Jesus introduces his Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than presenting a list of spiritual ideals to achieve, the Beatitudes reveal the kinds of people Jesus meets with grace and blessing. As we move through them, we see how Jesus himself lives the Beatitudes fully—becoming poor, meek, merciful, and persecuted for us. Through the cross, he offers us not a burden to carry, but his own blessings to receive.

Rev. Austin Pfeiffer highlights how the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry confronts our deep instinct toward self-reliance. In calling fishermen to leave their nets, teaching in synagogues, and healing the afflicted, Jesus exposes the ways we cling to work, religion, control, or productivity to sustain ourselves. Each of these three scenes asks whether we will admit our hunger, weakness, and need, or continue trusting what is familiar and manageable.

Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores our fear that God's love must be earned and how Jesus's baptism answers that fear. Jesus’ baptism reveals both his humility in identifying with sinners and his perfect righteousness given to us through his life, death, and resurrection. Not because of anything we've done, Jesus' answers the reality that we cannot earn God's love. Because we are united to Christ, the Father views us with the same approval and affection he declares over his Son.

In this Christmastide homily, Jackson Cole reflects on angels as created spiritual messengers who worship Jesus and proclaim His supremacy throughout all Creation. The messages they carry often begin with the same refrain, "Fear not," echoing a reality that is only true in union with Christ: "Perfect love casts out fear."

Rev. Austin Pfeiffer shows how the Christmas story reveals a deep human power struggle: from Rachel’s tears to Herod’s fear, Matthew is exposing our anxiety-driven desire to control what only God can rule. Herod becomes a mirror of our own hearts, where fear of losing our “little kingdoms” leads us to resist Christ the King. Advent invites us to lay down that anxious control and find true freedom by surrendering to the King who conquers not through violence, but through self-giving love.

Rev. Ben Tietje

Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores how Isaiah’s promise of Immanuel was partially fulfilled in Israel’s history but ultimately completed in the birth of Jesus. By looking closely at Matthew 1, we see that the virgin birth reveals Jesus as truly God with us, not just a sign but the fulfillment itself. Advent invites us to set aside our assumptions, live in the tension of longing and joy, and receive the surprising gift God has given in Christ.