Pastors’ Blog
5 Ways to Worship During Instrumental Breaks
It is no secret that I love music and the experience of listening to and playing music with instruments. From the time I was plunking out my first power chords very poorly on my dad’s Fender Stratocaster guitar to the present day (which has ironically come full circle as he has given me that same Strat…except now my playing is actually a bit better!), I have been mesmerized by the sound of instruments. I’ve grown to love expressing my praise…
Comfort for Every Sufferer
Here is the comfort for every sufferer: hope is a person, and his name is Jesus. Life is a person called Emmanuel. God enters your life by grace and by grace makes you the place where he dwells. So he goes wherever you go; he’s there with you in whatever you’re facing, and he lovingly provides you with everything you need. You don’t have to search for him; you don’t have to wonder if or when he will come; you…
How We Can Learn From the Lauren Daigle Controversy
If you have been keeping up with Christian music and pop culture, you have undoubtably heard about the controversy with Christian singer, Lauren Daigle. On her appearance on the Domenick Nati Show, she was asked if she believed that homosexuality was a sin, to which she replied, “I can’t honestly answer on that, in the sense of I have too many people that I love and they are homosexuals.” She went on to say, “I can’t say one way or…
To Repeat or Not Repeat. Repeat. Repeat: Repetition in Worship
There are a lot of opinions about what content of worship songs should look like. There are opinions and debates such as to what the form looks like, how emotional the language is, how complex or simple the theology is, etc. One that stands out is the use of repetition and the question of how necessary or unnecessary it is. I’ve seen the many blog posts and memes on repetition in worship. One meme shows the repetitive lyrics of a…
The Intersection of “Knowing” and Intergenerational Relationships
If you were asked the question of what you think is the most important aspect for a children’s ministry to have, what would you say? If you are a family with kids and have ever “church shopped,” what kinds of things did you look for regarding a church’s kids ministry? If you are a children’s ministry worker, what is the first thing you think about when you hear the words “children’s ministry?” More often than not, the answer that we…
Is God’s Love Reckless…or is Ours?
If you listen to K-Love, Christian Pandora stations, or Christian YouTube and Spotify playlists, you might have heard a song that is causing quite a stir lately called “Reckless Love,” performed by Cory Asbury and written by him along with Caleb Culver, and Ran Jackson. It has taken the church by storm and is currently the #1 song being played in churches today. I heard of it early on since I am a member of various worship Facebook groups and…
Standing the Watch
On that silent night long ago, why did God send his angels to shepherds rather than the government or religious leaders? Maybe it was because they were ‘standing the watch by night.’ God tends to show himself to those who stand the watch, whether it is in their study, beside a sick child, attending a dying parent, sitting in a patrol car, or shivering in a fox hole.
The Christmas Story: The Last Shall Be First
Christmas is here and it feels like it comes faster and faster every year. It has always been my favorite time of year. All of the decorations, Christmas specials on TV, Christmas songs and carols, peppermint flavored everything and much more always seem to create happy memories and bring back nostalgic feelings and memories from the past. It is a wonderful time to gather with family and friends, shop for presents and gifts, and not to mention getting some good…
Let’s Not Sing Christmas Carols…unless
Ah, ‘tis the Christmas season! Here at the Brymer house, we actually got our first real Christmas tree (not as in real live tree, but an actual tree instead of a decorative twig) and with the kids, we decorated it with lights and ornaments. My wife Heidi has been streaming her cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix and getting into baking delicious treats that I try to avoid and say oops 5 servings later. As strange as our family may be,…
God’s Solution to Lonliness
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalms 68:5-6 NIV)
Letting Others Shape Us
Pressure We face many pressures in our society. What are they exactly? Parents have to deal with the pressures of raising their children and hoping they will turn out to be who they want them to be; employees have to deal with the pressures of demanding jobs and deadlines; the holidays bring the pressure of having to entertain and get along with extended family and sometimes they bring the pressure of having to deal with painful holiday memories. As Americans…
To Worship With a Tenth of Flour
As we enter into Thanksgiving and Christmas season, our schedules, minds, and emotions run wild. We buy turkeys and baking ingredients while coordinating with family members and then we buy decorations and gifts, and do more coordinating with family members. These two occasions are a time when we tend to examine what we have and are able to give and often compare and take notes on what others have and are able to give. If you are a kid, you…
Fighting for Our Identity
I have been thinking about the idea of our identity. One of the main driving forces behind everything we do in our lives is that we want to be known to ourselves and to others. However, because of sin, things have gone horribly wrong. We try to find our identity in all of the wrong places and we are scared to let ourselves be open and known to others. As a pastor, I am learning that knowing my identity in…
Being Faithful vs. Making a Name for Ourselves
We’re all familiar with the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Humans wanted to make a name for themselves so they got together and conspired to build a tower that reached to the skies. In essence, they wanted to be like God and worship themselves instead of the one, true God. There is something about “making a name for ourselves” that tries to draw and steal away our hearts. What exactly is it? Maybe for some…
Are Our Habits Consistent With What We Know?
Whenever I’m in my car driving somewhere, I usually have something playing other than the radio. Lately, it’s either been a sermon or a podcast of some sort. I love studying and learning about theology, the Bible, and culture; for all these things, you can find many different podcasts and sermons if you search hard enough. This is the reality of the world we are living in – a world of constant information everywhere we turn. Information is not the…
Walking in a Tour of Worship
History Buff or Nerd I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been fascinated with history. I still remember going to the Smithsonian in Kansas City, MO for the first time when I was ten years old. A year or two later, my family took a vacation out to Washington D.C. and I got to take a tour of the White House. I remember gazing in awe of those rooms that had been inhabited by the great presidents of the…
Tuning into God’s Word
Once upon a time in 1992… It was a cool morning in September. My mom made French toast, one of my favorite things for breakfast to which I scarfed down with glee. As I put my plate in the sink, the aroma of maple syrup and bread continued to linger in the kitchen to which I went upstairs and got dressed and brushed my teeth. When I went back downstairs, she placed a daunting assignment in front of me. I…
1 Peter 1:3-5
Why do we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus? Scripture provides us numerous answers. We will zero in on three this Easter Sunday. Jesus was raised from the dead: 1) To forgive our sins (1Corinthians 15:17; Acts 13:37-38); 2) To give us living hope (1Peter 1:3-5) and; 3) To receive our worship (Matthew 28;9; 16-17). I encourage you to prayerfully read and think through these verses. Especially pray for those who need the forgiveness of the risen Lord to come to…
John 6:16-21
Agree or disagree? Obeying Jesus can get you into trouble. Jesus accepts the faith of disciples who are spiritually weak and fearful Jesus is never absent during life’s storms but he may delay his mighty actions. This Sunday, the Lord willing, we will think through the miracle of Jesus walking on the water to rescue his disciples caught in a storm at sea. We will see Jesus walking around like he owns the place. He does. Remember he’s the creator,…
John 6: 1-15
The passage for this Sunday is John 6:1-15. I hope providing the passage for Sunday’s sermon each Friday is helpful for you. Remember my purpose is two-fold. First, knowing the passage gives you the opportunity to meditate on it to the point of expectation of what will be preached. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will take your thoughts in a direction different from the theme of the sermon. This certainly means even more spiritual food for thought. Second, knowing the sermon…