Brian's Sermons

Matthew 22:35-40 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”   One of Zambia’s biggest problems is poverty. Any NGO or service operation will tell you this. We all know this. Nobody can say any differently, because we can all look around and see poverty. And we can see poverty in our own lives. The West would like you to think that poverty is all about money, or the lack of money. They say that all you need is money, which will solve your poverty problems.   The problem with this approach is that it never addresses the root cause of poverty. Nor d...

Last week we introduced an important and difficult concept. Poverty. We often think of poverty only in financial terms, but in reality, poverty is based in broken relationship. Broken relationship with God, broken relationship in ourself, broken relationship with others, and broken relationship with all creation. In the beginning, God created humanity to be in perfect relationship with him. But very quickly, we find Adam and Eve disobeying God. The response, as found in Genesis 3:23-25 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life . Now, instead of living in the Garden of Eden in perfect relationship with God, they have been banished, never to return. Never to walk together in the cool of the morning. Never again to speak face to face. Our relations...

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races? Matthew 16:13-17  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.   I love reading mystery books. I have some personal rules about mystery books. One is that the bad guy can’t be someone newly introduced at the end of the book; there have to be clues all along.   My biggest ru...

The foundation of our discussion on stewardship can be found in Psalm 24:1-2. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Remember that this means we are not the owners. God owns it — everything, and He has given it to us to have dominion over, to use for His Kingdom and for His glory.   Last week we looked at the parable of the talents, where a Master gave three servants his money. He gave them responsibility over the money, and when he returned, he made them accountable for what they had done with the money. So too, God has given us abilities, opportunities, and possessions, and because they are God’s, then we have responsibility for how we use them. How we steward everything. So, what can we do in order that we, too, may hear the words of the Master: Well done, my good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”   ...

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this . Over the past four weeks, we have been preparing for Christmas by looking at the prophecy from Isaiah 9:6-7. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing an...

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Last week we started our Advent journey in the passage from Isaiah, focusing on the prophecy in chapter 9, verse 6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Our focus last week was the first Name ascribed to Jesus: Wonderful Counselor. Jesus is our wonderful counselor, transforming us by the...

He Shall Be Called… Wonderful Counselor Isaiah 9:1-7 9 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is...

Judges 4:1-5 Today is Lay Activities Special Day. Ever since God began choosing people, his Kingdom has always been all about the lay people, the regular people. There were always leaders of the people, but it is God who causes the ordinary people of God to become great. We humans look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of Israel. They began their conquest into the Promised Land, including the famous battle of Jericho where God brought the walls down. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel . (Judges 2:7) But after Joshua and his generation died, things went downhill fast. After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil...

Rarely has there been a clearer villain. He was hand-picked by Jesus as a disciple, one of only twelve to be in Jesus’ inner circle of closest friends. Yet he betrayed Jesus to his death. It can be easy to simply dismiss Judas as the “bad guy” in the story, but as with everyone, his story is much deeper than simply the villain. As I reminded you yesterday, there was a reason Jesus chose Judas to be one of the Twelve. The Twelve regularly went on mission, healing the sick, driving out demons, preaching the Gospel, and there is nothing to indicate that Judas was not a part of this ministry. He was so much a part of the Twelve that John 13:29 indicates that he became their treasurer. Jesus saw him as a follower and a disciple and even among the disciples, Judas had a position of leadership. Unfortunately the Bible does not record Judas doing much more that we can call positive. In John 12:3-5, we see Mary taking a expensive bottle of perfume and anointing Jesus’ feet wit...

The Benefits of Discipleship Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is hard. Two weeks ago, we looked at how hard it is. Following Jesus doesn’t mean everything will now be easy. He said we have to prioritize him over everything else. Today we will look at the benefits of discipleship. Before we get to today’s topic, I have a question for you. Would you invite a false prophet to speak at church? Would you invite a false prophet to come and teach you individual lessons at home? Would you willingly look to a false prophet for guidance in your daily life, to disciple you? This is exactly what we are doing when we leave the television on. When we’re watching Bollywood, African Magic, Telemundo. They are discipling this nation, and they are offering a false gospel. They offer guidance that says: Money is the answer to your problems. Your spouse isn’t good enough; you need to have an affair. There is adventure in lying and cheating. You need this product or that product to fulfil...

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. After we give God the proper respect, Jesus instructs us to pray for our daily bread, remembering that we rely on God for everything. This is a prayer for our physical needs as well as spiritual, remembering that Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never go thirsty.” (John 6:35)  We continue today, asking for God’s intervention. Today we will begin looking at forgiveness. Forgiveness means freeing someone from guilt and its consequences, including punishment, usually as a act of compassion or love, with the aim of restoring a broken relationship. Forgiveness can involve the cancellation of both punishment and debt. Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser. We ask God to forgive our trespasses. Now, I don’t know how it works going from ...

Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Last week we began our look at the Lord’s Prayer. We first examined who it is that we pray to. We pray to God, who is our Father. As God’s beloved children, we are enabled to approach God directly, not through someone else, but personally. That God is our Father was a reminder of our unity in Him. As we discussed the opening phrase in the prayer, I focused on the first two words: Our Father. While we are reminded that God is personal and loves us as a Father, the next two words add more context. God is our Father in Heaven . God is not simply one of us. He is not bound by the rules and limitations of humanity. He is wholly other. So while we pray to a God w...