Brian's Sermons

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 looked at motivation for praying. If our goal is to impress others or to impress God, then our motivation is wrong and we’ve received our reward in full. Please understand that this does not mean we shouldn’t pray out loud. It’s only about motivation. Today we are looking at a familiar passage, but I want to take it piece by piece. After all, this is how Jesus instructed his disciples to pray. If we want to live like Jesus, if we want Christlikeness, we need to learn to pray like Jesus. When Jesus says, “ This is how you should pray ” he does not necessarily mean that we should always or only use these same words. We can “say” the Lord’s P...

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12. Jesus’ ministry started out all the right ways. He was baptized in the Jordan and was tempted in the wilderness. From there, he went, healing the sick and preaching good news. Then Jesus gathered his disciples to instruct them about the kingdom. Through these instructions, which we have come to know as the beatitudes, Jesus pronounced various blessings. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, and the peacemakers. As we wrap up this section of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims a blessing on those who are persecuted for their faith. As w...

(*Note: This is my first sermon at Wellston Hope UMC) Romans 5:1-5 It’s been quite a journey for me and my family, and I imagine you are in some ways right in the same boat as we are. Except that most of you don’t have all of your earthly possessions in boxes all over the place. But you are definitely in the “who is going to be our new pastor?” mode, and being in that mode for the last four months hasn’t been all that fun, has it? I invite you to take the time to get to know us. What I know definitively about Wellston Hope UMC, I can sum up in a few statements. I know that the West Ohio Conference and the Shawnee Valley District believe in this church. Word has spread about your generosity in the midst of a difficult economic landscape. You have been pegged as having the potential to be a hub of ministry, a vibrant disciple-making station for hope in a city that has been described to me as having no hope. I have been sent here because there is hope. I have sp...