Brian's Sermons

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Last week we started our Advent journey in the passage from Isaiah, focusing on the prophecy in chapter 9, verse 6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Our focus last week was the first Name ascribed to Jesus: Wonderful Counselor. Jesus is our wonderful counselor, transforming us by the...

John 20:24-29 Every year around this time, back in Millersport, the local newspaper was always interesting to read. They would go to every length to write an April Fools’ Day cover story that would be both believable and audacious at the same time. One year they wrote a story claiming that Buckeye Lake was being sold and marketed as a party lake with floating bars everywhere and even the possibility of a new “clothing optional” island being built ( http://buckeyelakebeacon/news/2009-03-28/front_page/001.html ). NBC4 out of Columbus picked up on the story and gave it more credence by doing a live spot on location. Now, if you read the whole article, it got more and more unbelievable, to the point where, at the end of the article, they publicized a town-hall meeting at a non-existent middle school where they were offering “free beer.” Yet there were some who fell for the joke, hook, line, and sinker. “This can’t be true! But I read it in the paper, so it must be true…” Aside from...

John 20:24-29 What is your reputation? When did you get that reputation? How long have you had it? One day I found out what mine was. In a college German class, I had an assignment to interview a randomly selected classmate and give a speech about them. One of my soccer teammates drew my name, and the day of the presentation, he finally called me. I told him, “Mike, you know me well enough. We’ve played soccer together for three years. I trust you to tell the class about me.” He told the class that I was loud, arrogant, brash, and hot-tempered, and that I was someone you didn’t want to mess with. The class wondered who this guy was that Mike was talking about. I didn’t usually exhibit those attributes in German class – but he assured them that these were good traits for a college goalkeeper! Today we are looking at a Bible character who brings the reputation with him. " Doubting Thomas. " We first meet Thomas in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, and Luke 6:15, where he is ...