Brian's Sermons

Matthew 6:19-34 When I was a little boy, I always loved going on a treasure hunt. One of my favorite moments was when I was hiking at my aunt and uncle’s house in Missouri along a dry creek bed, and I found a huge geode. But I loved poking around my grandma’s old barn where I would find other cool treasures (I loved finding feathers and coal – remember, I am from a generation that never used coal to heat the house). My grandma would give me a paper bag to keep my coal and feathers and I would take them home and put them in my trunk with my other treasures. Most of us have some treasures of some kind. In fact, people in our culture seem to really treasure material possessions. What are your treasures? If your house was on fire and you could only rescue the things you could carry in your hands, what would you save? Those things might be your top treasures. But most of us have more than just that. Some people treasure different things. Family heirlooms. Photo albums. Jewelry. Ele...

[I started this service by reading Psalm 136] This past week we celebrated one of the most vital religious holidays of our culture. This holiday was created to celebrate the one thing that is most important for Americans. People celebrated by doing some things that we do pretty much every day, but on a really grand scale. All kinds of people gathered in huge crowds to celebrate. Yes, I am talking about Black Friday, the holiday we celebrate by getting up insanely early to buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Our culture really is all about money; there is a reason people talk about the Almighty Dollar. People don’t set out to worship it, but that’s precisely what happens. The entire presidential election centered on the economy (nobody wanted to talk about foreign policy or anything else – it was all about jobs and taxes). Black Friday ends up overshadowing Thanksgiving, not even waiting until Friday anymore to open. That said, mo...

Do you want to live a life that matters?  Of course you do.  That is one of our greatest needs.  To live a life that matters.  Over the next several weeks leading into Christmas, we are going to look at some things we can do that will matter, not just for today, but for eternity. We live in an anxious, uneasy world.  We wonder how long our good health will hold out. H1N1 is still out there, there seems to be more and more cases of cancer, and of course, none of us is getting any younger.  And what about health care? Insurance prices?  Government run? We worry about our money – will we have enough to retire?  And will our jobs survive? Is our country going to hell in a hand basket? And that doesn’t even take into account the things that keep each of us awake at night, those so personal details that we don’t dare share out loud. In the midst of all of this turmoil, we’re asking, “Do you want to live a life that matters?”  Of course we wan...

Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor. - Proverbs 22:9 Merchants have already quickly forgotten Thanksgiving in the rush for Christmas money. I think most of them, except for the grocers, completely forgot Thanksgiving altogether this year. In fact, I was hearing Christmas songs in the stores before I’d even lost the sugar buzz from eating my kids’ Halloween candy. Thanksgiving just doesn’t make the stores a whole lot of money. On Thanksgiving, we give God thanks for all He has given us through the year. That sort of celebration doesn’t lend itself to retail exploitation. But on the day after Thanksgiving, the retailers breathe a sigh of relief as Americans rush out to get whatever it is that will be the huge Christmas gift this year – at all-time low prices, if you’re early enough. For some, Thanksgiving is simply an annoyance, a detour in the endeavor to make more and more money. For others, Thanksgiving kicks off the whole season of accumulation. In Matthew...

Philippians 4:4-9 (New Living Translation) Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. I remember the way Thanksgiving used to be. From early in the morning, the family would happily start gathering together. As soon as we got in the door, everyone would quick...

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 When I was young, my parents taught me to write thank you notes. One of the rules of our household was that if we received a gift, that we would promptly write a thank-you note. My mom was always offended by my cousins who never wrote a thank you note. When we got older our families stopped our regular gift exchange, but that Aunt continued to send me birthday money. I’m convinced that it was at least partially because I faithfully demonstrated my thankfulness. When I served in Columbus, we would often have panhandlers come by the church asking for a handout. We didn’t keep money on the premises, but there was a food donation box that I’d let people look through. One particular guy came in and was overjoyed to be given that food. Others were mad that I wouldn’t give them cash. One guy wouldn’t even let me pray with him… even thoug...