Message on July 29, 2012 from Psalm 23Jay McCurryBy Stephen Brazzel

We’ve got to embrace our new identity as believers. Stop lying, tell the truth. Don’t be controlled by anger, deal with conflict. Don’t steal, work to be generous. Don’t be rotten mouthed, be an edifier, an encourager. Don’t grieve the Spirit, be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

These next 2 episodes were recorded while I was preaching in Finland at my friend Shaun’s church, so please forgive the audio. The focus is on the life of believer. We must live as believers, not as unbelievers. That is not who you are anymore. Your identity is in Christ.

In this final installment looking at the role of the pastor we examine the God designed responsibility of the pastor. Growing churches call a pastor to administer and lead the church so the members are free to do ministry. Dying churches call a pastor to do the ministry while the people administer the church.…

As we continue looking at the role of the pastor I advocate for a high view of the pastorate. It’s important that we understand God’s calling in general to ministry and His calling to a specific church. A church doesn’t hire a pastor. A church agrees with the pastor that God has called him to that specific church.…

In this episode we begin an examination of the role of the pastor in a local church. This is a message I preached as an interim pastor at a local church about to call their new pastor. Pastors are gifts to the local church and should be valued, loved, supported and encouraged as such. Even though the world no longer values the position of pastor, t…

Unity is more important than your pride and your agenda. Unity is more important than your tradition and your comfort. Unity is more important than your desire to avoid conflict. In summary, Unity is more important than you. So let's work together to build unity and protect the unity of the church.

There are things we can do to help preserve unity and things we can do to harm unity. Today we begin to look at a list of these actions we can take and attitudes we can have. Everyone in the church is responsible to walk in a way that builds unity in the church. Listen to the list and see how you are doing.…

Talking about unity is one of the most important discussions we can have regarding the life and effectiveness of the church. At some point the unity of the church will be challenged. People will act in ways to harm unity, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. We must adopt actions and attitudes to protect the unity of the church.…

Thom Rainer of Lifeway says that one of the greatest sicknesses in our churches in America is disunity. The #1 reason pastors leave the church is that they are worn out from conflict. The church must be unified. The only way this can happen is for the church to follow God’s design and yield to His leadership.…

In part 2 of how to love your church, we talk about God’s love for you and your church. You must allow God to love you, to shower you with His abundance, to be your provider and your provision. Be embraced by His love. Be overwhelmed by His love. Don’t deny God the opportunity to show Himself to you through His great love for you.…

If there was only one thing you could do for your church to help it, that one thing would be to pray for your church. Paul prayed for the church and he taught others to pray for the local church. Often we pray for one another’s physical health. We should spend more time praying for their spiritual health.…

Recently I spent some time on mission in Europe and while in Germany I sat down with good friends Marvin and Meagan Schaefer. They work with OM International and serve in a local church near Frankfurt. I hope you enjoy hearing their heart for the world and for the church as they share their story.

Thoroughly depressed, it’s time to make a turnaround. Paul puts together the greatest 2 word phrase in the Bible when he begins verse 4 of chapter 2 with that wonderful phrase, “but God.” Because of His great love and unending mercy He has rescued us. His reckless love comes after us to save us.

Yes, spiritual death is real and it is overwhelming. Bad news from Ephesians 2 continues. Without Christ we are dominated by Satan and on our own we run toward sin. Spiritual death is universal and we are doomed. Depressed yet? Just wait. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Ancestry.com and other companies have capitalized on the booming business of discovering your roots. I don’t know where you come from but I do know this, we all have a common heritage. We are all sinners. The church is full of sinners. In Ephesians 2 Paul gives a brutally honest assessment of all people without Christ.…

Resurrection Day! Each of the gospels tell the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ with a unique goal in mind. Matthew’s point is brief, the resurrection is a story that must be told. It’s not just a personal story, it’s a world changing, life changing story that pushes us to the ends of the earth.…

Easter Sunday! Christ followers know the story but an increasing percentage of the world doesn’t know the truth about the greatest day in world history. And they have no idea what these facts mean. As believers we must know this story well and we must be convinced of the meaning of the resurrection.

After Jesus died his body was taken by friends and family to be buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph. Some of those who helped had been quiet, almost silent disciples. His death finally brought them out of the shadows to do something for their Lord.

There was an earthquake when Jesus died and Matthew records that the tombs were opened. The dead were resurrected! Resurrection is REAL! This isn’t difficult. You don’t have to be a theologian to put your trust in the resurrected Christ.

The gospel history tells us that Jesus died on a cross, but theology is left to explain that "Christ died for our sins." (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Crucifixion is humiliating and horribly violent. You would think even the most angry might have some pity on a man going through such a death. There was none from the crowd of onlookers.

Consider these 2 things: 1. What did the crucifixion look like from heaven? 2. Why did Jesus stay on the cross?

God turns Satan loose to perpetrate the greatest evil ever seen by man: the crucifixion of Christ.

Barabbas is a bit player with no lines. Barabbas was both an insurrectionist and a murderer Barabbas can say more than anyone in history, "Jesus died on my cross."

The priests easily manipulate the crowd Even though they chose Barabbas, they still had to make a decision about Jesus "His blood be on us and on our children" was a prophetic statement, though they didn't know that at the time.

Pilate was an enemy of the Jewish people who became their needed ally. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. Pilate didn't have the fortitude to do what he knew to be right. Pilate claimed innocence while enabling rebellion. Pilate made the choice to not choose.

The "tingles" are dangerous. Lust leaves us with unrealistic expectations of the one we are with and the one we are lusting for. Adultery is the only thing Jesus says is serious enough to dissolve a marriage. Marriage covenant is greater than a contract and should be honored by all.

Most murders evolved out of a violent history of angry outbursts. - Anger is a sin that must be confronted - Anger harms our relationships - Anger makes us think everyone else agrees with us

Interview with Joel Bowden of the South Texas Children's Home. This interview took place in 2017.

Persecution proves that we should not seek peace at any cost. Persecution "for righteousness" is very different than persecution for being an obnoxious jerk. Be sure you get the first beatitude right (blessed are the poor in spirit) before you think you are living in the last beatitude.

Making peace is difficult. If you want to be a peacemaker you are going to have to be brave. You'll step into difficult situations by definition. That's why they need peace. You can't just wish for peace, you have to work for it.

Pure in heart doesn't mean that you've never sinned. We have all sinned and need the forgiveness of God, His cleansing to be made pure. We need to follow truth, God's truth, not our hearts. Your heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9)

Grace deals with sin. Mercy deals with the pain and misery of sin. Those who are merciful are compassionate, generous, and tenderhearted. Mercy doesn't mean that you do condone sin, rather that you see the debilitating effect of sin and choose to respond to the pain and misery that accompany sin.

Righteousness is threefold: being rightly related to God (justification), being rightly related to your own soul (morality), and being rightly related to others (relationships, justice). Don't accept cheap substitutes for righteousness.

This word is very hard to define in any language. "A man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do." D. Lloyd-Jones

He isn't talking about mourning a loved one, but mourning your own sin. We should mourn over the loss of innocence, personal integrity, self-respect. True joy will not precede the conviction of sin.

I need God's mercy. I am in spiritual poverty without Him. I cannot stand before God and tell Him all about my education, honors, morality, or accomplishments. Salvation is only for those who recognize their own spiritual poverty and trust in Christ.

This is Jesus' treatise on what a follower looks like. He is more concerned with WHO you ARE than with WHAT you DO. There must be a difference between the sacred and the common. Christians must be a people of distinction (Malachi 3) Not only does He draw a distinction with the world, but He also makes a distinction between His followers and those w…

Don’t get complacent or satisfied. There is too much at stake and too urgent a task to languish in the luxury of division. Open your eyes. Look up to your leaders. Look out for one another. Look in at your own walk with the Lord, and get to the work of the kingdom. 1. Look up to your leaders 2. Look out for one another 3. Look in to your walk…

Paul encourages the believers in Thessaloniki with 2 reminders and 1 important bit of additional info. 1. Stay in the Process - Even More 2. Love One Another - Even More 3. Don't Grieve Like You Used to Grieve

With all the theology taught by Paul through his preaching and his letters, the most important lesson he teaches the church is to focus on others. He consistently looked out for others. He was concerned about others. He prayed for them. He taught them for their good. He loved them. He suffered for them. He gave himself, like water poured out, for t…

We are not talking about whether you have a ministry. You do have one, you may not have submitted to God’s call yet. Today I want to pass on to you some of Paul’s wisdom about ministry. 1. Guard Your Motives for Ministry 2. Apply Parenting Skills to Ministry 3. Trust the Power of the Gospel

What you do with the gospel is the determining factor in whether your church is remembered. What you do with the gospel is the determining factor in whether you are remembered. 1. The Gospel Must be Delivered 2. The Gospel Will be Welcomed 3. The Gospel Brings Results 4. The Gospel Changes Lives

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