Brian's Sermons

We are in our second week of our Life Together series – trying to navigate life in community, to live out what God has called us to be.  Last week we encouraged one another; how did it feel to seek people out to encourage them?  I thought it was great; before I’d even left this building, I saw you rushing to encourage each other.  It was good, and I hope you keep it up.  What kinds of things did you do to encourage others?  Did anyone come up with anything creative? Did you use words, or did you think of other ways to encourage as well?  One of the most encouraging things that I saw actually didn’t come as a response to last week’s message. Back in January, I preached a message in which I included a story from the late Mike Yaconelli, in which a young woman in his congregation, in response to a sermon about God’s unconditional love, decided they ought to have a welcome dinner for the carnies.  Well, that stuck with some of you, and you decided that we...

These days there is a growing trend of “spiritual but not religious.” Another way of saying it is: “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” While I agree that I hear from God in different (sometimes unusual) ways, and often while I’m running alone, that is only one small segment of my spiritual life.  The truth is those who think they can live the Christian life apart from others are simply deluded.  I’ve heard an illustration that fits; a pastor went to the home of a church member who hadn’t been to worship in a while, one of the “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” crowd.  The man invited the pastor in, and they went and sat in front of the fireplace. Silently, the pastor took the fireplace poker and pulled a hot coal out of the fire and onto the hearth.  As they watched, it slowly changed from red hot to white to black as it cooled off.  Without saying a word, the pastor again took the poker and slid the coal back into the fire.  Im...