Brian's Sermons

Matthew 7:24-29 It is our final installment in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus starts out this section with a “therefore.” I learned as a kid that whenever your verse starts with a “therefore” you’ve got to go back and see what the “therefore” is there for. Immediately before this section was the section about false prophets and about those who say, “Lord, Lord, I did all this in your name!” but to whom Jesus says, “I don’t even know you.” Jesus is making it clear that those who truly are his disciples are those who are all his – inside and out. Not the hypocrite who makes sure to follow the letter of the Law but ignores its intent. Not the one who makes a big show of their so-called righteous acts. Not the one who chases after the things of this world. And not the one who purports to speak for God but speaks on their own authority. These are those to whom Jesus proclaims, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:23) ...

Haggai 2:20-23 They say that timing is everything, but I have to admit that in my scripture reading, I often read right over time and place names, but God inspired the authors to include those names on purpose, and by reading over them, that purpose is thwarted. In today’s scripture, we find the last word of the Lord that came to Haggai. There is a specific date included, and it’s the same date that the last word came, which is also the same day that construction started on the temple. This is significant, because the word that God now delivers is in direct response to Zerubbabel’s actions. I believe that God spoke again in direct response to the people. There are people who believe that God set things into action and then stepped back, but this belief simply does not follow from a biblical understanding of God. In this prophecy, we see God responding to the action of his people! Remember that last week in God’s previous word: God promised to shake away all created things...

Titus 3:5-15 As we continue in Paul’s letter to Titus, I want to pause a moment to acknowledge something. On one hand, it’s been pretty easy to translate the situation on Crete to the current situation in our country; both have prevailing cultures of indulgence and deceit. At the same time, it’s been hard preparing these messages, because the scripture continues to unearth difficult areas in my life where I need Jesus more. Last week I realized that one reality that is difficult to navigate is how far we have to subject ourselves to rulers and authorities when they are obviously corrupt. It was obvious as I preached that section of scripture that many of us have some pretty strong feelings about authority, especially when it comes to personal liberties and use of money. Many of us feel like we’re being stretched, poked, and prodded needlessly by the government and we’d really like the government to just get out of our business, especially out of our wallets. I recognized that tens...