Brian's Sermons

Matthew 7:1-6 If you’ve ever watched a daytime talk show, or if you’ve ever been on one, or if you’ve walked in certain circles, you’ll hear the phrase “don’t judge me” or even “only God can judge me.” We have been studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and in today’s passage, Jesus is taking on judging. You all know the first part of this passage – everyone likes to quote it. In King James English, no less: Judge not, lest ye be judged. We generally seem to understand that God is the God of Justice. Psalm 50:6 tells us that the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. We also know that God will ultimately judge everyone. In Romans 12:19, Paul warns against taking revenge. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. The right idea that our culture has grabbed a hold of is that God is The Judge. But we’ve also kind of slid in a mandate,...

Matthew 6:19-34 When I was a little boy, I always loved going on a treasure hunt. One of my favorite moments was when I was hiking at my aunt and uncle’s house in Missouri along a dry creek bed, and I found a huge geode. But I loved poking around my grandma’s old barn where I would find other cool treasures (I loved finding feathers and coal – remember, I am from a generation that never used coal to heat the house). My grandma would give me a paper bag to keep my coal and feathers and I would take them home and put them in my trunk with my other treasures. Most of us have some treasures of some kind. In fact, people in our culture seem to really treasure material possessions. What are your treasures? If your house was on fire and you could only rescue the things you could carry in your hands, what would you save? Those things might be your top treasures. But most of us have more than just that. Some people treasure different things. Family heirlooms. Photo albums. Jewelry. Ele...

Matthew 6:1-18 Have you ever heard of the humblebrag? Listen to this explanation, courtesy Tim Challies, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. “Of all the words coined in response to the realities of this digital world, of all the words recently added to the dictionary, humblebrag must be among the best. According to the Macmillan dictionary, a humblebrag is “a statement in which you pretend to be modest but which you are really using as a way of telling people about your success or achievements.” It is bragging in the guise of humility, putting a thin veneer of humble over a clear expression of proud. And it seems to be an integral part of an effective social media presence.” http://www.challies.com/articles/the-art-and-science-of-the-humblebrag Here are some excellent methods of humblebragging: Tell others what you own . “When I bought this Ferrari no one warned me I’d get pulled over all the time.” Make sure they know who you know. “Bump...

Matthew 5:17-48 Have you ever had a conversation or a disagreement about something and after some discussion, you realize that what the person was saying was not what they were talking about at all? Maybe it was a totally different subject, but more likely, there was something deeper. When we get to this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is, but isn’t, talking about what he is talking about. I have heard sermons about all of these paragraphs in the rest of Matthew 5, sermons on anger, adultery, divorce, revenge, and so forth, but each of these vignettes is simply one of Jesus’ examples to make his point.  The key verses that tell me this are verses 20 and 48. Jesus uses a literary device called inclusio which bookends or brackets the material to add emphasis to it and to help the audience see how it holds together. So how does it hold together? He starts and ends with a similar concept: perfection. The unasked question that Jesus is addressing is similar to one tha...