Brian's Sermons

The Third Word: “Dear woman, here is your son.” (John 19:25-27) We have been looking at Jesus’ seven words from the cross. His first word was a word of forgiveness. He told his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, and even while he is being tortured to death, his heart is for those who caused his suffering. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The second word was a word of salvation. He told the criminal on the cross “Truly, today you will be with me in paradise.” He opens the door to heaven to those who will in faith accept him. Today we come to Jesus’ third word. While Jesus suffers on the cross, he is not the only one who suffers. He recognizes that there are others who are suffering along with him. What will happen to those who he leaves behind? What will happen to his disciples? Will they be able to carry on his work, or will they end up as he has? What will happen to his mother? In Jesus’ time, a woman was given her worth

The Second Word: “Very Truly, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) We are part of a culture who says one thing but does something else. Zambia is a Christian nation, but daily, we all see corruption, abuse of power, abuse of women and children, misuse of money, stealing, lying, and all sorts of other sinful behavior. Our politicians promise us heaven but don’t deliver. People attend church, or at least claim allegiance to a church, but their lives do not demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit. We are just like the people to whom Isaiah prophesied when he said, The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13) As Jesus hung on the cross, he was mocked by the religious leaders and the soldiers. He hung between two criminals, and one of them, even while being crucified himself, also mocked Jesus.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 [ Before we get started, I want to acknowledge several things. First of all, it is an honor to be invited to come and preach as a guest preacher. It is a distinct honor to be trusted with the Word of God, even though we have had little or no interaction before. This week as we worship together, I hope to get to know you better and for you to get to know me as well. The second thing I’d like to acknowledge is that it is hard to preach to people I don’t know. I don’t know your names, I don’t know what you’ve struggled with, and I don’t even know your language. I apologize for needing to use a translator, but I thank you for the chance to bring God’s Word to you. ] I also admit that I am not fluent in your culture. There are things that are perfectly normal here in Lusaka that are completely foreign to me as an American. There are things that I do that you would find completely crazy, but they happen