Brian's Sermons

Thyatira: Revelation 2:18-29 It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but when I was here last, I had started going through the seven letters written to the seven churches in Asia, as recorded in Revelation 2-3. As we started through them, it’s amazing how relevant these words are today, even though they were written nearly two thousand years ago to a people far from us physically and culturally. Thyatira was founded as a military outpost by the Greeks, but fell to the Romans and enjoyed stability and prosperity. It was known as a center of manufacturing and marketing. In Acts 16, we meet “a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira.” It’s often good to live in a prosperous city, but there was a problem. The manufacturing sector was dominated by trade guilds whose membership was intertwined with religious observances. Think of trying to serve pork in a closed Muslim nation. It’s not going to happen. You can try, but you’re going to have trouble. At b...

Pergamum: Revelation 2:12-17 12  “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14  Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.  15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  16  Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17  Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is vic...

Again and again he tries.  Each time, he knows he will succeed.  Though he’s failed every time in the past, this time will be different.  He approaches the ball… and it’s yanked out from under him.  Have you ever felt like Charlie Brown?  You’ve tried so hard, but things aren’t going like you expected them to go.  You didn’t plan them out this way? When I was entering the final quarter of my senior year of college, I had my life all planned out.  I was going to graduate college and get married.  Then I was going to continue my education at Indiana University, where I would get my master’s degree in Education, after which I would get a job, where I would teach high school German and coach soccer.  I had everything planned out. To make a long story short, things didn’t work out like I had planned. My fiancé and I broke up, and the last place I wanted to be was where she was, so I didn’t go to grad school.  Life didn’t turn out at all ...

... for they shall be called sons of God. Peace is a hot topic right now. After all, we’ve been involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan for seven years – and we don’t know when it will end. As a nation we’re spending a lot of money on the war, and for a lot of people, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting the "bang for our buck" in the Middle East. Many Christians continue to debate the war; is it a just war? Is there really such a thing? This isn’t a new debate, however. There were Jews of Jesus’ time, even among his twelve disciples, who were called Zealots. This was the militaristic arm of the Jews, those who hoped to throw off the Roman rule. They sought and hoped for a warrior Messiah who would flex his muscles and return the power to them. Unlike us, most of whom enjoy relative peace, Israel only experienced peace as long as they obeyed their Roman rulers. The idea of pax romana allowed people to live like they wanted to, as long as they didn’t bother Rome. Was that re...