Podcasts about pastor brian

It's the week after Pentecost.  Not that exciting, but this is life.  What matters is that when life seems mundane, our faith in Christ is immovable.  Pastor Brian shares a message about how, in Christ, we are NEVER alone. Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

When we come to God in prayer, we should come to Him in expectation.  Maybe it is a desire you have based on how things have been going, better yet, maybe it's one that God put in you; either way, it is good to seek after, pray for, and anticipate God's Will when we come to Him in prayer.  Pastor Brian shares a great message about how the early church did this.  “Somethin's bout ta happen!” Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

When life hits us with unexpected stress and anxiety, we often try to stabilize ourselves using flimsy temporary fixes that quickly flatten under pressure. Drawing from Psalm 16, this episode challenges us to stop relying on spiritual quick fixes and instead anchor our faith securely in the unyielding, 24/7 presence of God.

Following God's will does not guarantee an easy journey; in fact, obedience often leads into delays, difficulties, and apparent dead ends that test our trust. In this message Brian teaches that “walking” in God's will is not just about discernment or decisions, but about faithfully taking the next step even when the outcome is unclear.

Series: Matthew for TodayPastor Brian KetterJune 7, 2026

Can you keep sinning and still go to heaven? Is it okay to support a friend who just told you she had an abortion? How do you honor a parent who says they're a Christian but doesn't live like one? These are the kinds of questions most people are afraid to ask out loud.In this Fire Away Q&A service, Pastor Brian and Pastor Brandon sit on stage together and answer the questions our congregation texts in live. No script, no preselected questions, no editing. Just real pastoral answers to the things people are actually wrestling with.Pastor Brandon opens with the apologetic question: how do you reach a family member who loves history but is on the fence about the gospel? He points to the historical credibility of the gospel accounts, especially the witness of the women at the resurrection in a culture that did not value women's testimony, 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul says you could still go talk to people who saw the risen Jesus, the work of scholars like Wes Huff and Lee Strobel, and the wild improbability of the disciples inventing a story they would die violent deaths to defend.The conversation gets harder fast with the abortion question. Pastor Brian and Pastor Brandon walk slowly through what it means to love someone who has done something Scripture calls sin without endorsing the sin. Be available. Play the long relational game. Pray that one day God uses you to point them not just to the gravity of what they have done, but to the cross that has already paid for it.On honoring a parent who says they are a Christian but does not live like one, Pastor Brian unpacks the difference between obey and honor, why honor has to transcend even decades of disappointment, why dishonor is just drinking poison and hoping the other person dies, and why the deeper question may not be "how do I confront this person" but "does this person actually need to be born again?"They tackle tattoos (mostly a conscience question for New Testament believers, not the Old Testament Canaanite context many people assume), the best advice for newlyweds (Pastor Brian's encouragement to pray together out loud regularly, and Pastor Brandon's reminder to find a community of other young couples who love Jesus), and they close with one of the most asked questions in modern American Christianity. If I keep sinning, can I lose my salvation?Pastor Brian's answer here is worth the whole service. You did not behave your way into salvation, and you cannot behave your way out of it. But do not play games with God either. The reason you are saved is to be sanctified. If your sin is bothering you, lean into that conviction. A bruised reed Jesus will not break, and a smoldering wick of faith he will not put out (Isaiah 42:3).If you have ever had real questions about heaven, sin, family, marriage, or doubt that nobody around you was answering, this teaching is for you. Skip to the chapter that sounds most like your story, or watch the whole thing.

We are quick to condemn the sins of others while ignoring the same guilt in ourselves. God's patience is not approval, but an invitation to repent before judgment comes. No one stands above the standard, and no one sits beside the Judge.This week, Pastor Brian continues his series through the book of Romans with a message entitled, “PRESUMPTION” from chapter 2, verses 1 through 11.

Many of us assume that when life gets hard — when the winds pick up and the waves crash in — we must have done something wrong. But Mark 4 tells a different story.Jesus himself looked at his disciples and said, "Let us go to the other side." He gave the invitation. He set the course. And a violent storm still came.The storm wasn't a sign of disobedience — it came in the middle of God's will. In this message, Pastor Brian Johnston reminds us that storms don't always mean we're living in sin. Sometimes they mean we're exactly where God called us to be, and He is right there in the boat with us.

This teaching explores the Name of God: Jehovah Rapha - The God who heals. We learn that God is a healer from the beginning in the Old Testament, from Genesis and ongoing - our God's heart is to heal. Then, in the New Testament, God was a healer through his Son Jesus. When Jesus went to heaven and left the Holy Spirit to those who believe, He became a healer through His Church.

What does it look like when faith doesn't just grow in us, but overflows to those around us? In Faith That Flourishes for Others, Pastor Brian explores a picture of spiritual maturity that is relational, practical, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Drawing from John 13:34–35 and Galatians 6, this message shows how flourishing faith expresses itself in everyday life. A flourishing faith: • Restores the broken • Carries the burdened • Takes responsibility for what God has entrusted to it • Gives generously to its spiritual family • Looks for opportunities to do good Watch the message above and discover how the Holy Spirit leads us into a faith that overflows in love and blesses those around us. Download the message guide for this sermon at the link below: https://chicocommunity.church/watch

Pastor Brian is joined by Mike Genung of Blazing Grace ministries to discuss pornography and sex addiction and the church.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Brian concludes the Ask It series by answering questions about spiritual gifts, God's calling, tithing, eternity, and salvation—pointing us back to a faith that is personal, biblical, and centered on Jesus.

Waiting on God often feels like unoccupied time, but what if the delay is actually a design for your transformation? In this study of Psalm 62, we explore how seasons of waiting silence our souls, anchor our hope, and expose our misplaced trust in an unpredictable world.

How do you stop caring so much what other people think of you? It is one of the quietest, heaviest weights most of us carry, and the Bible has a surprising answer for it. The answer starts with a kind of fear most of us have never actually been taught.In this sermon, Pastor Brian opens up one of the most confusing tensions in all of scripture. On one hand, the Bible tells us over and over not to fear. On the other hand, it tells us to fear the Lord. So which is it? Does God want us to be afraid of him or not?Pastor Brian unpacks the difference between bad fear and good fear, starting with Proverbs 29:25. The fear of man is a snare. It traps us in hypocrisy, in people pleasing, in the exhausting work of curating a version of ourselves that we hope will be liked. It leaves us with the lonely lie that the best we can hope for in life is to be loved but not known.Then he turns the corner. There is a different kind of fear running all through scripture, a holy and healthy fear of the Lord, and it does three things our souls actually need. It protects us from evil, the way a true picture of a just God keeps us from playing with sin (Proverbs 16:6). It empowers us for holiness, because cleansing ourselves and bringing holiness to completion happens in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1, Philippians 2:12). And it fuels intimacy with God, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing him, and the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him (Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 25:14).Along the way Pastor Brian shares the storm on a Colorado mountain that taught him what holy fear actually feels like, the Antique Roadshow teapot that finally helped it click, and the moment from his own childhood when a father's loving discipline kept him from a self destructive choice that nothing else could have stopped. He lands the message in Psalm 130, where the trembling realization that no one could survive God's record of our sin meets the staggering good news that with God there is forgiveness, so that he may be feared. And in Psalm 147, where the same God who delights in those who fear him also commands them to hope in his unfailing love that will never stop chasing them down.The biggest reframe of this teaching is simple. The fear of the Lord is not one more thing to add to your spiritual to do list. It is the posture underneath the whole list. It is how Pastor Brian says you do every other thing God has asked of you. If your walk with God has stalled, this might be the missing link.

Humanity was created to worship God, but when people persistently exchange the Creator for created things, God eventually gives them over to the path they have chosen. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul reveals a terrifying form of judgment: not merely punishment from heaven, but the removal of divine restraint. As desires become disordered and truth is suppressed, society begins to unravel from the inside out. Yet even in this dark passage, the gospel shines brightly, because the same God who gives sinners over is also the God who rescues sinners through Christ.Now, let's turn our attention to Pastor Brian for this week's sermon from Romans, chapter 1, verses 24-32 entitled, “When God Gives Up.”

This week's teaching explored Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord Will Provide,” through Abraham's willingness to trust God even when he couldn't see the outcome. We were reminded that God often tests what we treasure most, not to harm us, but to reveal whether He truly holds first place in our hearts. Just as God provided a substitute for Isaac, He ultimately provided Jesus to meet our greatest need—forgiveness and reconciliation with Him—giving us confidence to trust Him with every other need we face.

Pastor Brian speaks to us on how Faith is learning discernment from the Lord.

Brian explores the different kinds of decisions we face in life and how discernment often requires patience, surrender, and trust in God's timing. Through scripture, practical wisdom, and personal examples, it reminds us that waiting is not wasted time but a season where God shapes our hearts, clarifies our direction, and teaches us to walk by faith even without complete certainty

Pastor Brian is joined by Aslynn Hubbard, author of the sci-fi adventure novel, "Waystations" They discuss her journey through the deconstruction of her faith back to a walk with Jesus and her motivation and process of writing her book.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is sometimes that one moment in our life that just defines a season in our life.  Pastor Brian shares a message about how something huge can come from something that seems small, but in God's economy of faith, isn't at all. Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

It's Pentecost everyone!  Pastor Brian shares a great message about the birth of our church, and the history of our ancestors. Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

We all face bad days that can quickly spiral into overwhelming seasons of trouble. Drawing from David's desperate moments in Psalm 34, this episode explores how replacing our destructive anxieties with a healthy fear of God can unlock true deliverance and peace.

How does Jesus-shaped change happen? It happens when you commit God's Word to your heart, give it time to grow, water His Word with prayer and continuously tend to the soil of your heart. Continue listening to find out more about HOW to do just that!▶SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthernHillsLV▶Do you know Jesus as your Savior? https://www.southernhillslv.com/the-gospel▶ DONATE: https://pushpay.com/g/southernhills?src=hpp&r=monthly▶ Visit Southern Hills: https://www.southernhillslv.com/▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southernhillslv▶ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southernhillslv/Pastor Brian Krum serves as the Discipleship Pastor at Southern Hills Church in Las Vegas. He has an undergrad in Cross-cultural Sociology from UC Irvine, a Masters of Divinity from Palmer Seminary, and a Doctorate in Missional Leadership from Fuller Seminary. Before coming to Southern Hills, he served for 28 years in New Zealand in various roles including youth pastor, teaching pastor, seminary professor, and the leader of National Youth Ministries.

Many believers fall into the trap of thinking God's love depends on their spiritual performance, creating cycles of striving and hiding when they fail. Psalm 134 reveals a different truth: God's presence isn't earned through performance but entered through relationship. The pilgrims and temple servants in this psalm understood that neither could sustain their calling without God's blessing and presence. Through Christ's work, not our own, we've been brought near to God. When we draw near to Him without agenda, simply to be in relationship, transformation happens naturally - weary souls find rest, anxious hearts find peace, and striving people stop performing.

Every sunrise, every mountain range, every star-filled sky points beyond itself to the glory of God. According to Romans 1, creation is not silent. It testifies. God has made Himself known, leaving humanity without excuse. Yet the human heart suppresses that truth, choosing lesser gods over the Creator Himself. This week's sermon explores the sobering reality of human rebellion and the reason every person desperately needs the Gospel.Now, let's turn our attention to Pastor Brian for this week's sermon from Romans, chapter 1, verses 18 through 23 entitled “Without Excuse.”

Pastor Brian speaks to us how the basis of faith is the faithfulness of God.

Pastor Brian continues to share from Hebrews 10:18-27Galatians 5:1, 7-8, 13-16.

Join us today as Pastor Brian delivers a message titled "David's Mighty Men" giving us points on who were David's might men and six lessons for today. Key Passage: 2 Samuel 23 & 1 Chronicles 11. May 24th, 2026

Are you feeling frantic, frazzled, and overwhelmed by the endless choices and demands of modern life? Join Pastor Brian Green as he unpacks the profound peace of Psalm 23, shifting our focus from the dictates of the clock to the care of the Good Shepherd.

In Week 5 of Ask It, Pastor Brian answered questions about the Sabbath, Old Testament feasts, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and how the books of the Bible were chosen—pointing us back to the consistent message of God's love and redemption through Jesus.

Have you ever wondered why some Christians seem to walk through difficulty with peace, confidence, and hope… while others are ... Read More

Paul declares that the gospel is not something to hide, soften, or apologize for—it is the very power of God for salvation. In Romans 1:16–17, we see that this power is revealed in a righteousness that comes from God and is received entirely by faith, from beginning to end. The gospel doesn't just improve lives; it rescues and redefines them. Because of that, we don't shrink back—we stand firm, unashamed of the message that saves.Let's turn our attention to Pastor Brian for this week's sermon from Romans, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17 entitled “Unashamed.”

In this message from the “Revival to Revolution” series, Pastor Brian explores Acts 8:26–40 and the story of Philip and the Ethiopian official. As culture searches again for meaning, spirituality, and hope, this message reminds us that the Gospel still meets people with open arms. Discover how God calls us to “go to one,” why the door to faith is already open for many people, and how the good news of Jesus brings clarity, peace, grace, and joy. A timely and encouraging message about evangelism, revival, and the life-changing power of the Gospel.

 Pastor Brian teaches on the faith of a mother.

This week's teaching explored the name Elohim, revealing God as the sovereign Creator who rules over all things, speaks with limitless power, and is perfectly good. Through Genesis 1, we're reminded that life was never meant to be lived independently from God, because the same Elohim who created the world also invites us into relationship with Him. Rather than carrying fear, pressure, pain, or striving alone, we're called to rely on His strength, rest in His goodness, and draw near to Him through Jesus.

Pastor Brian shares from Hebrews 10:18-27Galatians 5:1, 7-8, 13-16.

How do we recognize God's direction when life feels uncertain? This message by Brian explores how spiritual attentiveness, inner discernment, Scripture, life circumstances, and recurring patterns help us faithfully navigate the path of life.

Why do I keep failing at the same things? If that question has lived in your head, this message offers a different way to think about the fight, and a kind of freedom most people never expect.Most of us assume the battle against sin happens at the moment we are about to do the wrong thing. Pastor Brian walks through a different picture in this sermon, drawn from Paul's instruction to Timothy and Jesus' words in Matthew 5. The real front of the battle isn't where temptation finally wins. It's somewhere earlier, in the soil we let our lives sit in. When we don't see that, we lose the same battles over and over and wonder why nothing ever changes.Pastor Brian opens with a picture you may have heard a version of: a boy on a fence between Jesus and Satan, refusing to pick a side, until Satan smiles and says, "I'm fine with that. I own the fence." From there the message moves into 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Timothy 2, where Paul tells his young friend Timothy to run from anything that stirs up sin and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, and a steady kind of courage. Two sides of the same coin. Run from. Pursue toward.The teaching pulls in some of the hardest verses Jesus ever spoke about sin, in Matthew 5, where he tells us to gouge out the eye and cut off the hand that causes us to stumble. Pastor Brian helps us hear the urgency without missing the heart of it. Jesus is not asking us to mutilate ourselves. He is asking us to let him do the kind of surgery on our lives that takes sin's soil out of the picture, even when it costs us friendships, comfort, or things we have quietly come to worship.Then comes the turn most people never see coming. There is actually a fuel for change that starts in the place of failure. The sermon unpacks 2 Corinthians 7:10, where Paul says that godly sorrow leads to repentance, salvation, and no regret, while worldly sorrow leads to death. The two look identical from the outside. They cry the same tears. The difference is what your sorrow is sourced in and where it is leading you. Pastor Brian shares a vivid personal story from his college years, a stolen car, a lie, five hours of dread, and the unexplainable peace of confession, to show what shalom actually feels like when you finally tell the truth.This message is for anyone who feels stuck. Anyone tired of carrying the same regrets. Anyone wondering if Jesus is disappointed in them. Anyone who has ever wondered if real change is even possible. Whether you have been following Jesus for forty years or you are just curious what he actually says about all this, you will find something worth sitting with here.

In this opening week of Names of God, we focus on Jehovah-Raah, the Lord our Shepherd, who brings peace not by removing pressure, but by walking with us through it. Through Psalm 23, we're reminded that God refreshes weary souls, stays close in dark valleys, and brings blessing even in the middle of opposition. Ultimately, our greatest need isn't what God gives, but His presence, and true peace is found in staying close to the Shepherd.

Pastor Brian sits down with Makayla Randall and discusses, among other things, her multi-year addiction to pornography, and God providing for her to be set free from that addiction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did God speak to you today?Pastor Brian Swiggart | 5.3.26Support the show

Top headlines for Tuesday, May 5, 2026A Florida church secures a major legal victory in its religious liberty case, pastor Brian Carn is sentenced to federal prison for tax violations, and Netflix reveals the release date and cast for “Narnia: The Magician's Nephew,” the first film in its new adaptation of C.S. Lewis' beloved series.00:11 New Jersey AG targets pregnancy center despite SCOTUS ruling01:05 Supreme Court pauses ruling blocking abortion pill by mail01:57 Israel plans to bring 8K young Christians in 202602:47 'Prophet' Brian Carn gets 9 months in prison for tax evasion03:44 Natalie Grant asks for prayer after 'serious' fall04:33 Alabama megachurch pastor resigns abruptly05:20 Netflix reveals release date, cast for 'The Magician's Nephew'Subscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercastFollow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeGet the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for AndroidSubscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!Links to the NewsNew Jersey AG targets pregnancy center despite SCOTUS ruling | PoliticsSupreme Court pauses ruling blocking abortion pill by mail | PoliticsIsrael plans to bring 8K young Christians in 2026 | World'Prophet' Brian Carn gets 9 months in prison for tax evasion | U.S.Natalie Grant asks for prayer after 'serious' fall | EntertainmentAlabama megachurch pastor resigns abruptly | Church & MinistriesNetflix reveals release date, cast for 'The Magician's Nephew' | Entertainment

It's the best promise of them all, God is with us.  The world may throw “joy” our way and what it is perceived to be, but this is what joy truly is; God is always with us.  Pastor Brian shares an awesome message this week that, even when we don't feel it, even when the emotional high of a retreat ends, even when calamity comes our way, He is right there with us. Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

Some gifts serve. Some demonstrate power. But some speak—and when they do, everything changes. In this talk, Pastor Brian breaks down the Word Gifts and how they help people understand truth, stay in the fight, and step into what God is calling them toward. If you've ever wondered how God might use your voice, this is for you.

Pastor Alan R. Knapp discusses the topic of "The Assigned Kingdom" in his series entitled "Christ and The Passover : Pastor Brian Mesick" This is Part 46 and it focuses on the following verses: Luke 22:29; Ephesians 1:18