Brian's Sermons

Psalm 96 There is something about music that captures us. I have been in nursing homes where there are residents who hardly recognize their own family members, yet they can sing every word of their old favorite hymns. Nothing melts my heart like hearing my own son singing “How Great Thou Art” – isn’t there something precious about a child singing? When we sing the old songs of the faith, many of our hearts are moved; we remember the context in which we learned the song or a particular time that song was sung. One Sunday, a family was in tears leaving church, and I was mystified. There hadn’t been anything really emotional about the service, not that I could tell, anyway. But at the back door they told me that this particular day was the anniversary of burying their son, and that the song we’d just finished singing was one that had been sung at his funeral. The song brought back all of the memories of that day and all of the emotion immediately welled back to the surface. Not all ...

During this time of year, I am seeing “retrospectives” all over the place. The top 10 news stories of the year. The top 10 disasters of the year. Top 10 sports stories of the year. Facebook even gave its users their “year in review.” On New Year, many of us make resolutions about what we hope to do during the next year, things we hope to accomplish, how we plan to get healthy, how we plan to be better people. But before we get to the new year, we often spend some time looking back. There are many times when God tells his people to remember. In fact, the word “remember” is found over 166 times in the Bible. In Deuteronomy 4:9, God tells his people Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you shall live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. In Genesis, after the flood, God provides a rainbow so that Noah will always remember the covenant God made with ...

Because of Jesus, I am New There is nothing like early Christmas morning, seeing the joyful sight of a Christmas tree with beautiful gifts under it. My kids are at the age where there is such excitement about what is under the tree. Really, who doesn’t love getting new toys? There are some areas where almost all of us like the new. I think I can safely say we all appreciate our indoor plumbing, furnaces, air conditioning in the summer. Who still uses rabbit ears to watch your black and white TV? Does anyone still use an 8-track player or a Victrola? On the other hand, I remember when Tara’s grandfather died, his closet was full of gift boxes, all filled with the sweaters everyone had given him for Christmas. He would get a gift, look at it, grimace, and say, “ugh, another sweater” without ever even opening it. He didn’t want anything new; he was comfortable with his old, threadbare sweaters. I think it’s a man thing: we call it “my favorite” while our wives call it “a rag.” ...

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 As a child, I always wanted to make a new year’s resolution, mostly because of a record my father shared with me. Happy New Year by Spike Jones When my mother-in-law begins to yell and shout Through the window I would like to throw her out. But I resolve not to do it, here is why: I'm afraid of hittingsomeone passing by. This is my New Year's resolution. When I'm at the movies watching a love scene And a lady's hat is blocking half the screen I resolve not to shout, "Take off that hat!" I'll remove it gently w...