Brian's Sermons

Scripture: Acts 2:17-21 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. A prominent mzungu went to Builders Warehouse and asked for a chainsaw. The salesman took a chain saw from the shelf and commented that it was their “newest model, with the latest in technology, guaranteed to cut ten cords of firewood a day.” The customer thought that sounded pretty good, so he bought it right away.          The next day the customer returned, lo...

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  3  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  4  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Ever since the Holy Spirit Encounter, we have been talking a lot about the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he felt that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit was important enough that he told his disciples to wait there for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He never told them “go out and do your best. Take your best shot.” He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit. Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost was a celebrati...

Acts 1:8 When I was a kid, I had a paper route. I walked the route – it was about  1 ½  miles all told – a lot of time to daydream. One of my daydreams was about having super powers. I came to the conclusion on those walks that I would want the super power of teleportation. That would have cut at least nine blocks off my route. Plus, I figured that I would probably use most super powers for evil or at least for mischief if pressured. Have you ever wished for a super power? What power did you wish for? Today’s scripture is in the beginning of Acts – which is the second installment of Luke’s orderly account of the Truth concerning Jesus’ life. Luke and Acts are each about the same length, which is not-coincidentally the same length as a scroll was. At the end of scroll 1, which we know as Luke, Jesus told his disciples to stay in the city until they were clothed in power from on high. (Luke 24:49). Luke recaps the end of the first scroll with further details, as the ...