Brian's Sermons

Haggai 2:6-19 Last week, we were given to be strong in God and work, do not fear, because God is with us. As we continue in Haggai 2, Haggai brings the word of the Lord. As we read, notice how Haggai refers to God. Five times in four verses, he refers to the Lord Almighty. There are tons of names for God and descriptors of God throughout the Bible, so it’s not by accident that Haggai calls Him the Lord Almighty, especially that he uses the same phrase five times. Haggai wants to reassure a discouraged people of God’s power. I think this is appropriate to remember now – that our God is all powerful. There are times when it’s easy to get discouraged – if you’re not already discouraged, then just check out the political and economic landscape of our nation. And it’s only getting worse. But God is still God! Haggai needs to remind the people of who God is, because of what God is going to do. He prophesies: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once m...

Luke 11:5-13 I don’t specifically remember being taught to pray; it is something that my mom taught me when I was too little to remember. I do remember thinking that my cousin Chad was really spiritual because he used really grown-up language like “beseech” in his prayers. Even in modern times, there is confusion on how to pray, so Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. The most well-known aspect of this teaching is the Lord’s Prayer. We pray this prayer all the time, but then we stop. When we look at the Lord’s Prayer in Luke’s gospel, there is no break between the words of the prayer and the discussion that follows. In fact, the language suggests continuity rather than a break. “Then Jesus said to them” connects the former to the latter.  So we have the Lord’s Prayer followed by the parable of the friend in need and the question to fathers, all strung together in one teaching. Then Jesus said to them,“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight a...

Message #1 in the series: The Lord's Prayer 5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' Matthew 6:5-1...