Brown, David 10

Scriptures: John 3:17 (NIV) – “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV) – “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Message: In today’s Christian church, there are two phrases that we often hear. From the more conservative Christian, you might hear, “Love the sinner, but hate the sin”. This phrase is primarily directed towards individuals and/or groups that go against rules or doctrines of a particular denomination. And from a more liberal Christian, the phrase you might hear is, “Keep an open mind”. This phrase is mostly directed towards individuals and/or groups who are more conservatively rigid in their thinking.

These two diametrically opposite claims incorrectly imply that the thoughts and beliefs of others are completely wrong, or questionable, or need to be changed or modified. These phrases (or similar phrases) are prevalent in today’s divided culture and denominations.

The Bible tells us that Jesus came into this world to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. Who would have thought that a baby born in a manger would grow up to change the world through love and forgiveness. During this Lenten Season, we remember Christ’s journey of highs and lows to His death on the cross and to His resurrection. We remember the two greatest commandments, to love God and to love each other, are intended to bring us together as “one in Christ”.

Prayer: Through the love of Jesus Christ, let us remember that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, as one in Christ, whose sins are forgiven through His death and resurrection. Amen.

David Brown
St. Lukes United Methodist Church, Orlando, Florida

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Scripture: Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV) - "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"

Message: As a father, I can only imagine the overwhelming joy that God, the Father, must have felt during the baptism of His Son and the emotional highs and lows He must have felt during Jesus' ministry on earth. We experienced the same joys at our children's baptisms and subsequent emotional highs and lows as they grow older.

The season of Lent reminds us how hard it must live been for God, the Father, to allow His one and only Son, whom He loved and was well pleased, to be tortured and put to death as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (for our sins). Although Jesus' ministry on earth only lasted about 3 years, He did His Father's bidding. Jesus' miracles and healings were done to glorify God, the Father. How many of us would sacrifice our sons and daughters to be tortured let alone put to death for someone else? Especially if our children were blameless (sinless).

As brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we have been baptized as children of God; who He loves, who are held blameless in His sight, and in whom He is well pleased.

Prayer: Thank You Jesus for Your love and sacrifice so that we may also be children of God, the Father, whom He loves and is well pleased. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: Luke 22;41-42 - "He (Jesus) withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them [the disciples], knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.'"

Message: As parents, we share the high and low points in the lives of our children. We feel joys in their successes as well as sadness and pain in their failures and illnesses.

We can only imagine the great joy and great sorrow that God felt for His Son: the great joys of Jesus' birth, His baptism, His ministry, and His total commitment and faithfulness to His Father to bring forth the kingdom of God on earth and to always do His Father's will. It is difficult for us to comprehend the deep sorrow and pain God must have felt when His chosen people and the world rejected and continue to reject His one and only Son.

During this Lenten season, we feel great sorrow in the remembrance of Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and death, but we have great joy in His resurrection. Through Jesus Christ, we have conquered sin and have been given eternal life as children of God.

As parents, we share the high and low points in the lives of our children. We feel joys in their successes, as well as sadness in their failures and pain in their illnesses.

We can only imagine the great joy and great sorrow that God felt for His Son: the great joys of Jesus' birth, His baptism, His ministry, and His total commitment and faithfulness to His Father to bring forth the Kingdom of God on earth and to always do His Father's will. It is difficult for us to comprehend the deep sorrow and pain that God must have felt when His chosen people and the world rejected and continue to reject His One and only Son.

During this Lenten season. we feel great sorrow in the remembrance of Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and death, but we have great joy in His resurrection. Through Jesus Christ, He conquered sin on our behalf so that we could be given eternal life as children of God.

Prayer: As your children, Lord, help us to do Your will in our daily lives. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

Message: Many years ago, a street evangelist legally changed his name to John 3:16. It made all the newspapers, and he was interviewed by a local TV station. I asked myself, "Why would anyone change their name to a Bible verse?" That same year, I was watching a basketball game on TV, and a fan with a multi-colored Afro stood up in front of the camera wearing a sign that said, "John 3:16."

Those two instances started me on a lifelong journey to discover why God would sacrifice His Son for me and for others who didn't even know Him. This gift, freely given, is one we, in turn, must freely accept.

And that is the price of the gift: We must freely accept. It has taken me many years to understand what that truly means - salvation and everlasting life.

During the Advent season, we are reminded of God's great gift, the one gift that keeps on giving - forever.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the gift of your Son - the gift that keeps on giving. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: John 19:16-18 - "Finally Pilate handed him (Jesus) over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others - one on each side and Jesus in the middle."

Message: During one of our mission trips with our youth in West Virginia, we had just finished a long, hard day of roof and siding repair under a blazing sun. We were all tired, thirsty, and hungry and just wanted to get back to where we were staying, take a shower and rest before dinner. Our mission leader had other ideas. He had us sit down on the ground and reflect on what we had done during that day. Before leaving the site, he gave each of us a large nail, placed it in the palm of our right hand, and had us gently press the sharp end of the nail against our palm. He then asked us to close our eyes. He began to talk about the crucifixion of Jesus and to imagine what it must have been like for Jesus as He was placed on the cross. At that exact moment, our leader struck a metal plate with a sledge hammer. The sound was deafening. With each blow the nail seemed to penetrate deeper into our palm, and with it, the pain. Images of the crucifixion became too real for each of us that day. During the Lenten season (especially on Good Friday), the memories and images of that day have a special meaning for me. I still have that nail with me and when I see it, touch it, I think of the pain and suffering Jesus endured for each of us.

Prayer: May we never forget that through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven and that believing in Him we have everlasting life. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: John 3:16 (NIV) - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Message: During the Christmas season, we all think about the giving, or receiving of gifts. As children, we think of only receiving gifts, especially that one special gift we hoped and prayed for until Christmas Eve. Sometimes our prayers were answered, but most often not.

As adults, we still want that special gift that only we and God know about. But as adults, we also want to give those special gifts to our loved ones—the gifts they prayer for.

God, our heavenly Father, has also given each of us a special gift, the greatest gift of all: “Love”. He gave this gift so that through the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, we are saved and have everlasting life.

This is the most wonderful gift of all. “Love” is what the Advent season is all about.

Prayer: Thank You, God, for giving each of us the most wonderful gift of all: Your love. Amen

David Brown

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Scripture: John 3:19-21 - “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

Message: I spent a number of years taking time-lapsed photography at night. The city skylines were ablaze in color reflecting off of the waters of nearby rivers and bays; the streets and highways were ribbons of red and white. The neon lights, street lights, and head and tail lights of cars provided a beautiful but stark contrast to the total darkness of the night. Viewing the same scenes during the day made me realize that those things that I thought were beautiful were actually dingy, smog filled cities and streets filled with rush hour traffic. During the Advent season and especially during the candle-light service of Christmas Eve, I am reminded how one precious light from one small baby brings truth into the world of darkness and sin.

Prayer: May the light of Jesus Christ be our guide now and always. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: Romans 5:1-5 - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

Message: During Lent we often think of a family member or friend who was very special in our lives. My Aunt Edith was such a person. She was a very loving and caring person whose life was a reflection of her faith in Christ. She struggled for more than 30 years with effects of throat cancer. I remember her having to sleep in her favorite chair because she couldn't lie down. She never complained about her condition. In fact, during hospital stays, she used every opportunity to share her faith with those around her.

I think we all have an "Aunt Edith" in our lives that we thought were Saints. They remind us of the everyday struggles that we face and our need to persevere. Just as Christ struggled, suffered, and died, He persevered and had the final victory. And also shall we, through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: May our suffering produce perseverance, character, and hope through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

David Brown

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Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25 - "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it'"

Message: Shortly after transferring to Charleston, WV, from Jacksonville, FL, I received a phone call from a friend in Jacksonville informing me that Randy Adams, the wife of Bill Adams, a missionary with Youth With A Mission in the Philippines, had been slain in their home in Davao on September 27, 1986.¹ The Adams attended our church in Jacksonville before joining YWAM. Wanda and I were financially and prayerfully supporting them.

The AP News reported that two masked men had stabbed her and her maid to death. Our friend had said that Randy was hacked to death by the two men with machetes in front of her children while Bill was away. The murder was thought to be related to Bill's work of distributing Bibles to Christians who had no other way to obtain Bibles.

A couple of days after receiving the news of her death, we received a letter from Randy that was forwarded (09/24/86) from our Jacksonville address. The letter was dated September 18th. In the letter, Randy stated, "the people are quick to respond to the gospel and accept Jesus, but get very little teaching on repentance and counting the cost, i.e., commitment. Hence, there is great need for discipling, and how can people grow in their walk with Christ without a Bible." She expressed some concerns about being able to reach a good balance on how much they should change to fit into the culture and, and how much they should stay the same. Her final thought was "Looking to God for wisdom is the only answer."

I have been carrying her letter in my Bible since we received it. The letter is a constant reminder of the personal sacrifice we may all face in fulfilling Christ's great commission "to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Prayer: May we all look to God for wisdom in all that we do for He is the only answer. In Jesus Christ. Amen

David Brown

1. From ChatGPT - "The line you've shared seems to reference specific events and people, and it appears to be a factual statement rather than a direct copy of copyrighted material. Generally, sharing factual information or personal stories (as long as it's accurate and not defamatory) on a personal website does not infringe on copyrights."

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Scripture: Matthew 7: 1-5 - "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

Message: In September, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission's Sunday, evening chapel service. Although the men are required to attend the chapel service, it was impressive to see over 200 men there. The worship leader was a gentleman named "Willy" who is now employed by the Mission. The service began with a number of Hymns including a loud chorus of "Victory in Jesus" (Willy's and the men's favorite) followed by a number of praises and prayer requests from the men. I began my message by apologizing to the men for what I called being a "Judgmental Christian." Most of us have ourselves or observed other people in churches excluding and avoiding interactions with others because they are different. This is especially true of the homeless, ex convicts, mentally impaired, and those suffering from substance abuse. We have a habit of seeing the sin in others without recognizing our own sins that separate us from God. There was no judgment there. Only acceptance. It was amazing to see how God was working in that place and how many were being saved through Jesus Christ.

Prayer: May we look inward to see what sins are separating us from God for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Help us to be nonjudgmental and treat everyone as a child of God through the example of Jesus Christ. Amen

David Brown

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