Brian's Sermons

Today is Fathers’ Day, and there are probably some of you who don’t realize that the only “seasonal” sermons I do relate to Christian holidays, such as Advent and Christmas and Lent and Easter. I don’t structure my sermon series around our cultural holidays. If I did, But I will say something about and to fathers as I start. Our culture consistently ridicules and devalues fathers. Find me a current TV show in which the father is recognized as smart or relevant. Children are the smart ones and moms are the wise ones, and the dads are the bumbling fools. Fathers, whether through failure or success, pass something down to their children. It is up to each one of us to choose what it is we will pass down. And this isn’t just a message for biological fathers. Each of us has the opportunity to become spiritual parents to someone. The Apostle Paul was a spiritual father to Timothy. When Paul writes to Timothy, he calls him “My true son in the faith.” (1 Timothy 1:2a) Who are your spiritua...

This week our congregation had the privilege of hearing Eric Hoover preach. Eric is a member of our youth group and he will be starting his freshman year of high school in the fall. Below is Eric's sermon - I have included it verbatim and have only edited to highlight Scripture. I hope it touches you like it did our congregation. Blessings, Brian. Good morning! My name’s Eric Hoover, for those of you who don’t know me. The sermon that I’m about to preach, I did come up with on my own, but some of the material was inspired by three of the greatest influences in my Christian walk right now, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Paul Washer. I would encourage everybody, Google them, Youtube them, go buy books by them, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Paul Washer. They’re amazing pastors and authors and they can really help you in your walk with God. Alright, I’ll open with some Scripture, and then we’ll pray. Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is ea...

I used to belong to the YMCA, and there was one thing that really bothered me. No, not the people who were obviously there to be seen, not to work out (“really, you’re going to walk on the treadmill in flip flops?” Or “you chose to wear that to work out in?” or “Not so much perfume next time, please!”). The one thing that really bothered me was the lack of attention to the rules. The track was the big place where some people constantly chose to disregard the rules, especially regarding the direction traffic was flowing. I don’t know how many times I had to dodge people who were going the wrong way! My mom would laugh at me for saying this, but I am a rule follower. I like to know exactly what the rules are, and honestly I can tend toward a Pharisaical attitude toward the rules. I can find myself thinking, “Well, I would never do that, ” when there are other rules I obviously would break. That reminds me of a parable Jesus told: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee ...

A few years ago, I got the chance to visit my brother and his wife in England. While we were there, we went a few hours west of London for a few days. We rented a car; you might have guessed; I was a little wary of driving in England. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do; shifting gears with the wrong hand, driving on the wrong side. And that didn’t even take into account the fact that we were following unfamiliar maps on unfamiliar roads, going places we had never been before. I found a couple of things very helpful. First, the traffic moved very politely. Secondly, though I missed my turn about as many times as I made it, there were lots of handy traffic circles. So every time I missed my turn, I knew in a mile or so I’d be able to easily pull a legal U-turn and get back on track. One thing that is important to find out before getting on the road is what the rules of the road are. Are you legally allowed to make a U-turn? Who has the right-of-way in a traffic circle? The rules of th...

On the Journey: Sanctification As we continue in week 3 of “The Journey” I want to share with you something that happens every year at Annual Conference. In the course of Ordination in the United Methodist Church, every candidate must go before the assembled Annual Conference and answer what are known as “The Historical Questions.” There’s always a nervous laugh at one of the questions: “Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?” But the first four questions we are asked are as follows: 1.       Have you faith in Christ? 2.       Are you going on to perfection? 3.       Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life? 4.       Are you honestly striving after perfection in love? The first one is an obvious but unfortunately necessary question; faith in Christ is necessary for new birth; as we discussed last week, it’s the one condition of justification, which is when Go...