Brian's Sermons

Psalm 119:33-40 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. It seemed to happen every time we went on a road trip. Whether my best friend David was driving or I was driving, inevitably we would end up going the wrong way. When I say “wrong way” I don’t mean we got lost. I don’t mean we took a short cut or a long cut. We didn’t end up in bad neighborhoods or go to places our parents wouldn’t approve of. I’ll just tell you what happened. We were on Spring Break in Oklahoma, where...

Many of us remember the LA riots and the immortal words attributed to Rodney King “Why can't we all just get along?” It's an interesting question, one that the church has been wrestling with for some time. In fact, from an outsider's perspective, all we do is fight. I went to an awesome pastors' conference this past week in Minnesota (yeah, I know, who goes to a conference in Minnesota in February?) and made some good friends, but almost everyone there came from the Reformed tradition – not from the same sector as the United Methodist Church. I joked with some new friends about predestination and choice, one of the major differences between our theologies, but it made me think about denominations and what our differences demonstrate to the world. When people who aren't Christians see us not willing to get along with one another, what does that say about us? The reality is, we have lots of differences, not just between us and other denominations, but between us an...

Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous.  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. The Bible is comprised of 66 books, written by nearly 40 authors over 1500 years, and it has been translated into over 2000 languages. It contains history, philosophy, theology, systematic thinking, poetry, letters, visions, wisdom literature, rule codes, prophecy, apocalyptical literature, parables, prayers, and sermons, among others. There is no other book quite like the Bible. It is the best-selling book (and, accordin...