Brian's Sermons

John 11:1-44 They say that the two things we can count on in this life are death and taxes.  And although it’s almost taboo to talk about death in our culture, I’m sure not touching taxes with a ten foot pole.  So we’re stuck talking about death. Think about how hard it is to talk about death; we have all sorts of phrases we use to avoid even saying the word.  “passed away” “passed on” “went to be with the LORD” or (Tara’s grandfather’s old favorite) “six feet under.”  We have our bodies embalmed and we say things at funerals like “oh, she looks so natural!” – and sometimes it’s true.  Our culture is obsessed with looking younger and staving off old age.  Just ask a woman how old she is… or maybe don’t!  But here’s the deal: we’re mortal.  We will all die.  The only thing we can be absolutely certain of is that this life always ends with death.  And I don’t think we like that much.  So we do everything we can to avoid even the t...

John 9:1-41: Look Out I don’t know what it was like in your school, but in my school, the cool kids were in the science club.  Well, maybe not the cool kids, per se, but anyway, I was in the science club.  We actually did some really fun activities, including spelunking.  That’s the fancy science word for cave exploring.  We trekked a couple of miles into the backcountry until we got to the cave entrance, and then, flashlights in hand, we went into the cave.  As we got deeper in, it got darker until the only light came from our flashlights.  At one point our guide told us to turn off our flashlights and to be silent.  If you’ve been there, you know how dark it was.  It’s can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark. We only stayed in that darkness for a few moments, but it was striking. It was so good to get to see again.  As we once again turned on our flashlights, as light shone into the darkness and illuminated the cave, we once again ...

John 6:16-24 Are any of you avid boaters?  We are right on Buckeye Lake, so I expect that some of you have pretty much grown up on the water.  But let’s remember that Jesus’ disciples weren’t in powerboats like yours; they were driven by wind or by oar.  And since the wind was against them, they were driven by oar.  I personally did a lot of my growing up in a canoe, but there’s a reason I prefer river canoeing to lake canoeing.  Even the slightest wind makes for a tough lake crossing.  Matthew’s account of this event tells us that the wind was against the boat.  They were struggling. And in the midst of their struggle, they look out into the storm and they see Jesus.  Now remember that Jesus wasn’t in the boat; they had left without him. For those of you who have grown up in church and have heard this story again and again, let it sink in.  Here you are, out in the middle of the lake, fighting against a terrible headwind.  You’re...

John 6:1-15, 25-40 One of the great things about college ministry was that it was relatively easy to attract college students.  All you had to do was put up a sign that said, “Free pizza.” Everyone loves free food. I remember a really cool promotion held by Carmen’s pizza, the best Chicago deep-dish pizza place in Evanston (where I went to college) – during the first week of school, if you showed your student ID, proving you were a freshman, you got as much free pizza as you could eat.  The line was a block long. But college students aren’t the only ones who love free food.  Somewhat routinely, Chipotle offers free burritos (if you showed up on Halloween dressed like a burrito, you’d get a free one).  The first time I experienced this, we were driving by and saw a sign proclaiming “free burritos today” and of course we stopped! People were waiting for 45 minutes in a thunderstorm to get free food! Free food is always a draw.  But as this crowd gathered, th...