Brian's Sermons

Laodicea: Revelation 3:14-22 The second and third chapters of Revelation contain seven letters to the seven churches in Asia. We have looked in-depth at each letter, and we have heard again and again: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. We have seen the reminder to return to our first love, to persevere in the face of suffering and persecution, to hold fast to solid Christian doctrine, to keep free from moral compromise, to remain spiritually alive, and to hold on. Today we hear a harsh warning to those who are lukewarm Christians. This letter is from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation, the reliable witness with true testimony. Because he is the firstborn of God’s creation and in him all things were created, he rules over it all. This letter comes to the church in Laodicea, the wealthiest city in its region. It was famous for its fertile ground for grazing sheep, especially a breed with a luxurious blac...

When I was a little boy, we learned that the way of salvation involved confession, repentance, baptism, and a final step, live-the-Christian-life. I don’t think this was intentional, but the way I heard it, it seemed like adults never had any trouble with this last step. It sounded like living out the Christian life was easy. Last week, as we looked at the Methodist way of salvation, we specifically looked at the end goal of Christianity, which is holiness, Christ-likeness, or Christian perfection. The last two weeks I have made the comparison of living the Christian life with riding the GoBus from Athens to Cincinnati. We have the choice to get off the bus at any time. But how do we stay on the bus? How do we live the Christian life? John Wesley was very methodical; this is where the term “Methodist” came from. He and his Holy Club figured out what helped keep them “on the Go Bus” and regularly, even religiously did it. From studying the Bible to fasting to caring for the hu...

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,...

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12. Jesus’ ministry started out all the right ways. He was baptized in the Jordan and was tempted in the wilderness. From there, he went, healing the sick and preaching good news. Then Jesus gathered his disciples to instruct them about the kingdom. Through these instructions, which we have come to know as the beatitudes, Jesus pronounced various blessings. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, and the peacemakers. As we wrap up this section of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims a blessing on those who are persecuted for their faith. As w...

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7 As we have been discussing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, something should be clear – we can’t do things the way culture dictates we do them. It’s back to the broad road and the narrow road – the broad one leads to death, and many are on it, while the narrow one leads to life, and few find it. It should also be clear that becoming the ones who Jesus pronounces “blessed” is not something that just happens by accident or by osmosis. It doesn’t happen because your parents were in church or even just because you come to services every Sunday! It all starts with being poor in spirit – realizing that we are absolutely powerless to save ourselves, that what we bring to the table is worthless for salvation. And so we empty ourselves for God to fill us. We mourn our sinfulness and through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God gives us comfort. We hold our power under control and are given ...

Six years ago at a conference clergy meeting, I was invited to participate in a “young clergy” group designed for pastors under 35 years old. A friend and I joked about being “grandfathered” in, as we were both 35. Though for years young people have been told not to trust anyone over 35, in clergy years, 35 is considered “barely out of diapers.” But, as I read to the children earlier, Paul writes to Timothy, telling him, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”   1 Timothy 4:12 Timothy was disregarded because he was too young. Now, there are some here who would consider themselves “young” but most of us aren’t, and none of us is getting any younger. But most of us have reasons why someone would look down on us. Maybe it’s not about youth, but instead we’re too old. Maybe we just don’t know the Bible well enough. Maybe we’ve got the wrong family name. Maybe we’re no...