Represent

Today I want to talk about a small glimpse of our identity in God, and responsibility as a Christian. This topic transcends age. No matter how old or young you are, this includes you! Remember, when we come to Christ, realize our need for him, die to self, and rise in him we are completely new. We are saved from our sin, washed clean of it, and God remembers it no more. We now live a life in the light of His grace, but this doesn’t mean we keep sinning. Let’s dig a little deeper into Philippians and 2 Corinthians and see what I mean...

Identity Sermon

It's been a while since I've written, but here is a message I preached recently. Hope you enjoy!



May God encourage you beloved.

For The Love Of Entertainment

I'm so blessed to be where I'm at with God as I come to you today beloved! I haven't faded away, just haven't written you in a while. Something that is burning inside of me is this idea of entertainment. Today I want to discuss this topic and how it affects our relationship with God!

Today in the American culture it is so easy to be entertained by so many things. In fact we sometimes define things by how entertained we are. If I go to a movie and I wasn't entertained in the ways I feel I should be, it's a bad movie. When people go on dates, they are good if they had a good time, or if they were entertained. Our experiences are more about how entertained we are, rather than the things being said. Rather than the people we are with. Rather than the love that can be shared.

People don't have a heart to serve like they used to because it doesn't entertain them, it entertains others. People have reduced love to an emotional thing because when they are entertained by something, they can feel the emotional love, they don't understand a love that takes work.

I could talk for days, but what I want to ask is how much of God are we missing because of this topic. People are so used to being entertained and stimulated in so many ways at once that when we come before God we are bored, or can't seem to connect. We are now more connected in this world than we ever have been before, but more disconnected to Jesus than before.

We've decided that HE'S BORING!

We've bought the lie that HE DOESN'T SATISFY!

It time we wake up beloved! We need to reread Revelation 4-5, God is magnificent! He a great God! He's glorious! There are these amazing living creatures tht surround him, so beautiful John has a hard time describing them. They are covered in eyes, and yet they can not take their eyes off of God! They shout:

"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Revelation 4:8

They are in God's presence always and this is all they do! They are fixated on this cry! "Well Bryan those are angels, he made them to do that!" It's crazier still! There are 24 thrones around his throne with men sitting on them. They are men with crowns and constantly they take their crowns off and throw them at his feet! They also shout:

"Worthy are you our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Revelation 4:11

They too thow at God everything that gives them power, their crowns, and they say God is worthy! See, we have lost our understanding of who he is! He's good, graceful, love, amazing, and full of mercy. But that doesn't give us liscence to tread on him because we are so easily entertained by other things! God is worthy! He's wonderful! Think about how and what he's done for you! 

I'm learning that God's not boring. I'm just distracted by foolish things! I repeat:

GOD IS NOT BORING, WE ARE BORING!

God awaken us to your magnificence so that we can truly live as you call us to live, love as you call us to love, and be satisfied with you in these last days! I'm Jesus name, Amen.

Are you boring Beloved?

You Can't Resist This!

How are you all today? It's always been a while when I write, but I was reading something that just hit the spot today. I hope it helps you too! Flip to Acts 13 and let's dive in!

"The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him. Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: “It was necessary that God’s message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles! For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:44-47 HCSB)

As I read this today I realized that God is in the verge of something in our day! He wants His message, His word shared just like the days of old! He's raising up Paul, He's raising up Barnabas. Don't hesitate if that's you, the one to preach! But do be warned! This task doesn't come with out resistance.

The resistance not only will come from the world, but as we see that even the religious will be jealous for your influence. We know this influence is God, not us! 

Spend time reflecting, are you someone God is calling and you just let the phone ring to voicemail? Are you someone who fears the persecution? Or is God more important than all of this? I want I be like these disciples in this story! As people turn them away, and people incite others against them, they respond:

"And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." (Acts 13:52 HCSB)

God, I ask that today we wouldn't shrink back this Easter season! I ask you empower us to run with you, for you, and not fear! Help us rejoice and please send us more of you presence, your Holy Spirit!

Who are you in this story? The religious or the true disciples?

Will you answer the call today?

I love you beloved!

Jesus And His Twinky Obsession!

So today I would like to ask a question to you listeners that is similar to the one I asked in one of my previous posts (Beware Of The Judas Spirit). The only difference is that I'm technically not asking the question. We are going to be in Mark 8 and we are looking at just a few verses! 


"Jesus went out with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am? ” They answered Him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” “But you,” He asked them again, “who do you say that I am? ” Mark 8:27-29a 

Jesus has done many things, taught a ton about the kingdom, fed thousands upon thousands, and even walked on water. He's with His closest friends, and asks two major questions! 

First he asks, who the people think He is. Mighty names are thrown out from the New and Old Testaments.  None of which were true. This would be similar in our day! If I asked the question, "Who do think Jesus is?" I can't imagine the amount of answers! Things even farther off base would probably be said.

Then Jesus asks the infamous question! One that He had never asked before to his friends! "Who do you say that I am?" I can't imagine the silence, or maybe the desire to answer. Either way, that moment was crucial! Jesus was getting at their hearts! He wanted everything else aside, just honesty!

Then Peter speaks up!

“But you,” He asked them again, “who do you say that I am? ” Peter answered Him, “You are the Messiah! ” Mark 8:29 

You are the one Foretold! You are the Ancient Of Days of the prophet Daniel! Your are the Anointed above all others anointed! You are the Highest Priest! You are the CHRIST! 

Amen Peter, Amen! If I were in that place I'd be excited to be that guy's friend! 

You know what the saddest news is? We as Christians here in America say that we would be 100% Peter in this story. We undoubtably believe we'd say this too if that were us! 

It's the Twinky principle. This delicious, fat treat looks like a light fluffy cake on the outside. But when you get to it's core, it's a creamy center. This delicacy can be a cake all it wants until the pressure is on. Once the Twinky is squeezed, the real inside comes out!

We say we want to be Peter in this passage, but when the pressure is on, is that true of our creamy center? I've found the more I ask this question, there is a place in our lives that where the pressure is on, we are hypocrites. 

Don't throw stones yet! My hope tonight is to challenge you to think! Think of that area of your walk with God, and reflect. Don't bet yourself up, but reflect! 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

I want to be the disciple who speaks the truth in this passage, in every facet of my life!

Are you willing to surrender that area, that struggle to Jesus tonight?

Do you realize Jesus is anxiously waiting to forgive and empower you to do His will?

I ask you to surrender it all Beloved! 

Jesus-The Original Soup Kitchen

As we look into Mark, I'm excited to look at a story in scripture it can be easy to look past. One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is the feeding if the five thousand. Mark 8:1-10 has another example of a similar story that has some pretty awesome implications!

How We Love Hypocrite Christians!

So it’s been a little bit, but today I feel as though this isn’t a blog to be missed! We have been looking at the book of Mark for a little while now and we are going to continue our journey by heading into chapter 7. We will be focusing on the first section and I hope to ask some underlying questions the text has to offer!

Jesus was just seen previously walking on water and bringing the disciples to where they currently are in this passage. They are traveling around and the Pharisees travel from Jerusalem, hoping to find a way to trap Jesus.

What Happens When You Give Jesus Your Lunch

You ever have one of those moments where you simply tell God that you can't do what He's asking you to? In our dive into Mark this week, we are goings to look at a story that hopefully changes that perspective! Mark 6 is where we will start, and get ready for some crazy awesome stuff to go down!

People have been following Jesus for a while now and there are thousands of them. Jesus decides to cross the body of water they are by so he can rest and pray with His disciples. This massive crowd runs along the side of the bank and meets them in the spot where they are docking the boat...  


So at this point, it seems nothing is going to plan and with it getting late the disciples think the people should go home and get food, they must be hungry. Then Jesus says something crazy!

“You give them something to eat,” He responded. They said to Him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? ” Mark 6:37

That eight months wages worth of food! That's a lot of money!

"And He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” Mark 6:38

"One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish — but what are they for so many? ” John 6:8-9

Between these two telling a of the story, we find Jesus instructs them to find bread and fish. With this massive crowd, we come to find that a little boy is the only one with food, and all he has is 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. 

"I wonder how big the fish were!" You may ask. If a little boy had them, I'm assuming nothing big enough to feed this whole crowd.

So get this, Jesus blessed the food, cuts it up, and asks His disciples to pass it out! This is what the Bible says next.

"Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. Now those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men." Mark 6:42-44

Some of you today feel like sometimes God has things for you that are just way to hard. Or, you don't know enough about Him, His word, faith, ect.. On this day, a little boy showed up with a dinner sized meal for himself, he gave it to Jesus when He asked of it, and Jesus fed thousands of people with it! 

Jesus has the ability to take "the little" you have and, when He wants it, feed people abundantly with it to where they are overly full! Jesus never asks us to be ready to do his work, He asks you to be willing.

What's your five loaves an two fish?

When Jesus asks for your "little" will you give it to Him in faith?

I pray your faith is multiplied Beloved!

Persecution Has Never Felt So Good!

I normally only write on here once a week, but I feel prodded to write again today. Lets take a step back from our dive into Mark and go back to the Old Testament for today's truth! This is a common Sunday school story, but I hope to bring it into the light again with some new insight to some! Flip your Bible open to Daniel 3! 

Authoritative Aftermath!

As we dive into scripture this week, let me tell you how caught off guard I was by this weeks revelation! As I write these blogs, I tend to write something that has a lot to do with what was taught at our Thursday Bible study, but this truth was too good to pass up. Most people tend to look at this section of Mark 6 and focus on how this chapter tries to compare the kingship of Jesus and Herod. We, however, have a whole new thing to think about!

The 70 people I hope to be!

Today I’m excited to talk about a part of the Gospel we sometimes tend to forget about! I love how Scripture can rekindle spiritual fires and how it can truly be a reflection of a person’s heart. Let’s look into Mark 6 and see what we look like today!...

Meet Mark, The ADD Gospel Writer!

Today’s dive into Mark is going to be an interesting and hopefully challenging one! Today we are going over a decent amount of this chapter, so I will challenge you to read the passage yourself and then I will delineate. We will be in Mark 5:21-43

When I first read this passage to prepare for the High School Bible Study I run, I thought it came off as almost ADD. Mark tells one story, and in the middle, then inserts a whole new one! I’ve been in college classes where they debate if these were two stories slammed together, or did the reader start the story and then leave and come back. I say all of this because after reading it again, I realize that it is placed here very strategically.

In this passage there are actually two types of people (maybe three). Praise God they both come to Jesus and are healed! One comes to the front and boldly asks Jesus to his face, while the other tries to secretly be healed. Both are very bold moves. It’s also awesome to know that Jesus wanted to heal both situations! But there is something more intriguing that the scriptures point out.

As Jairus comes to the front and boldly asks Jesus for his assistance right as the situation arises, the woman in the passage doesn’t seem to come to Him so quickly…

“26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” Mark 5:26

She had spent all she had on other remedies to heal her! In the process she actually got worse! I read this and thought, “How foolish of her, why wouldn’t she just place her trust in God as Jairus did?”

Funny enough is I found myself in this similar predicament a few years back. When I first came to faith I knew Jesus had changed my desires, yet I still gave into a struggle with drinking. I tried to work through it myself for a year or so, before I realized I just left me off worse. I spent a few weeks surrendering it to God and not surrounding myself with that lifestyle or environment. One day I woke up and I felt a release in my spirit that the struggle was gone! I haven’t gone back since! That was about 4 years ago…

The fun thing about scripture is that the things that are mentioned are sometimes just as important as the things that aren’t. Jairus and this woman both came to Jesus! Both had different timing, however they came to Him with their struggle. Some of you may not have even taken that step. I can’t judge your heart, but if you haven’t are you sure you’ve surrendered everything yet. Think about it! HE WANTS TO FREE YOU!

What’s your struggle today?

Have you come quickly like Jairus, or are you looking to other things as it gets worse?

Have you even decided to come to Jesus with your struggle?

I love you Beloved, please comment below or share this if it inspired you!

The Wave Fearing Fishermen Wakes The Sleeping Carpenter!

Happy 4th of July! Thank God for freedom! This week we continue our dive through the book of Mark and I'm excited to ask some hard questions. Lets dive right into Mark 4...

Anything You Have, What I Have Is Better!

This week we are going to take a little break from the normal theme of the past few blogs. We were taking a journey through Mark and if you are still interested, feel free to check those posts out! This week though when I was at study, I felt the Holy Spirit shift to a different topic. So this week we will dive right into the verses that have been drastically blowing my mind the past few months!

How Some "Christians" Never Hear Jesus!

So I don't think your going to get let down this week by what will be asked of your heart! Looking into this passage in Mark 3 was a real eye opener for me and the students at study. Before we read our passage, let me give you a little background...

Does Jesus Wear Holes In His Pants?

This past series we have been taking a trip through Mark and God had really been moving! This week we are going to focus on a section in the end of Mark 2 and hopefully challenge our way of doing things. It was a real eye opener for me when I went through this with some students...

This Party Is Over

Hello Beloved, today I’m very excited to share with you this next story in the Gospel of Mark. This is a topic I feel God has moved in many ways in my life, and I hope to encourage you in a similar thought to the ministry I feel strongly called to! With this being said, let’s dive right into our passage Mark 2…

What Prayer And Nike Have In Common!

What's up beloved? We are currently strolling through the Gospel of Mark and taking some glimpses of what the Good News really is! Today we are going to talk about something that we can easily overlook in scripture. It's actually quite sad to me how that for so many years, I rushed right past this idea...

You Give Love A Bad Name!

Hello Beloved! I’ve been so blessed by this trip through the book of 1 John, I can’t wait to continue this dive in! If you thought you got your spiritual butt kicked earlier in these posts, this post is most likely going to be right up there with it! Last week we talked about how we should be so honored as to be God’s children and this week we are going to talk about how awesome it is that we can interact with His love. Further we can share the awesome love of Christ with others! But there is a catch…

Who's Your Daddy?

Hello, dear friends! This week we are going to continue on our journey through the book of 1 John. This past week at our study of this book, God really blew our minds! John has a radical thought for humanity that is unparalleled by anything else I’ve heard about God. Seriously, I’m not trying to make this up to get you to read!! This could be something I find so exciting and fulfilling! Let’s check out the beginning of  1 John 3….