Brian's Sermons

Philippians 4:4-9 I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, reading a book that was required reading for class: The Christology of Jesus . It was very heady reading, and I was struggling with it. A woman asked me what I was reading and I showed her the cover of the book and muttered, “It’s a chore.” She, having obviously misheard me, responded brightly, “Honey, any time you’re reading about Jesus, it’s a joy.” I don’t know if she was an angel sent down from heaven or if she was just an angel stationed here on earth, but God had obviously sent her to give me a clear message. This is the same kind of message Paul is sending to the church in Philippi. There is always something to rejoice about! It doesn’t bother me that I read this first part of the passage in my last sermon, because, if Paul can repeat himself, so can I! Rejoice in the Lord always! Rejoice! One of the things that Paul was sure of was that Jesus would return soon. I’ve seen a T-shirt that says, “Jesus is co...

Philippians 3:12-21 On June 6, 1944, on the eve of D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave this speech: Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in t...

As many of you know, I am an avid long-distance runner. I have been a runner for most of my life – I joined the track and cross-country teams in 6 th grade and ran through high school. When I was in seminary, I picked up running again and have put many miles on many pairs of shoes. About five days a week in seminary, my friend Nate and I would run a 3 mile loop with my dog. I started running 5K races, but I never got any faster and I never ran any farther. Fast-forward a few years – my friend Rob, who is a United Methodist pastor up near Columbus, went and ran a marathon. I figured, if Rob can run one, I sure can. One thing I learned quickly about running a marathon was that you have to have a plan. This is true for most people training to run any distance, but it is vital for anyone wanting to run a marathon. I can pretty much go out and run any shorter race without much additional training, up to a half marathon, but not so with a marathon. To run a marathon, you’ve got to h...

These days there is a growing trend of “spiritual but not religious.” Another way of saying it is: “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” While I agree that I hear from God in different (sometimes unusual) ways, and often while I’m running alone, that is only one small segment of my spiritual life.  The truth is those who think they can live the Christian life apart from others are simply deluded.  I’ve heard an illustration that fits; a pastor went to the home of a church member who hadn’t been to worship in a while, one of the “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” crowd.  The man invited the pastor in, and they went and sat in front of the fireplace. Silently, the pastor took the fireplace poker and pulled a hot coal out of the fire and onto the hearth.  As they watched, it slowly changed from red hot to white to black as it cooled off.  Without saying a word, the pastor again took the poker and slid the coal back into the fire.  Im...

While Jesus told his followers that they would be known by their fruit, Jude calls these troublemakers “fruitless.”   He says they are useless, even a burden on the church.  In the face of destructive false teaching, Jude warns the church to build their faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.  We looked at that briefly last week, but I want to reiterate it because there was so much in last week’s message that this part might have slipped by you.  Building yourself up in your most holy faith is extremely important.  Don’t just accept someone else’s faith – not my faith, not your parents’ faith, but build up your own faith.  Did any of you share your faith stories this past week?  How did it go?  Did any of you listen to anyone else’s story? If you were here for the Baccalaureate service, you got to hear some powerful stories of faith from our grads. Faith is rarely built when it isn’t tested.  One of my friends recently complained that his ru...

Luke 24:13-35 I love long distance running.  I run all the time. I especially love getting out and running on new trails.  Just keep me off the treadmill, and I’m good. But what I really love is running with other people.  I went to Zondervan’s National Pastors Convention two years, and one of my highlights there was the Runners’ Club.  A whole bunch of us would gather at 7 am to put in some mileage. While we ran, we would talk and get to know each other.  A month or so ago, I met with some guys to run a 12/5 mile loop through the Hocking Hills, and I came out with new friends – and they now call me “Reverend Run”.  When I’m at Annual Conference, I will put in early morning miles with Rob Turner and Blaine Keene.  We talk about all kinds of things, even intensely personal matters. When I was in high school, I didn’t care so much for track meets; what I liked was practice.  Time to spend running, talking, fellowshipping with each other, to use a ...