Podcasts about pastor brian

Don't let a "spiritual autocorrect" distort God's true message of grace or keep you trapped by the heavy chains of bitterness. In this series premiere of Forgiven to Forgive, we explore the vital difference between God's courtroom and His living room to discover how forgiven people can truly learn to forgive others.

In this Fire Away Q&A service, Pastor Brian and Dr. Dennis Episcopo sit on stage together (it just so happens to be Father's Day, and Dr. Dennis is Pastor Brian's actual dad) 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 Brian and Dr. Dennis Episcopo open with a question almost everyone new to faith eventually asks. How do you read the Bible when it feels impossibly large and confusing? They recommend starting in the Gospel of Mark or Luke (Jesus is the point of the whole Bible, so go straight to him), then layering in Proverbs for everyday wisdom, and using a basic study guide like Halley's or Unger's when you get into the Old Testament.The tithing conversation that follows is honest and not soft. Dr. Dennis Episcopo points out that Jesus endorsed tithing in the New Testament and that the principle of percentage giving (10 percent of the gross before anything else) is the only biblical percentage anywhere in Scripture. Pastor Brian shares how multiple people in the church recently told him, unsolicited, that giving sacrificially was the moment everything else in their faith and marriage started to heal.Then the conversation gets harder. If God can heal, why does he allow sickness? Their answer leans on John 9 (the man born blind, "so that the works of God might be displayed in him") and the truth that suffering matures us in ways nothing else does. Pastor Brian adds the line that lands hardest. Suffering is God asking us, am I enough?The parenting question hits anyone in the throes of raising young kids. Family dinners. Annual family only vacations. The marriage prioritized above the parenting. The line they both come back to is that more is caught than taught.They close with the Great Commission in Matthew 28. A disciple is not an egghead loaded with knowledge. A disciple is someone who makes other disciples. The Greek "as you are going" matters. Discipleship happens in the ordinary cadence of real life, not in a special program. And Jesus is with you in it.

Romans 2 ends with a sobering reminder: it's possible to wear the appearance of faith while remaining untouched by the transformation faith was meant to produce. Ritual, knowledge, and religious identity cannot replace an obedient heart. What God has always desired is not outward performance, but inward renewal through the Spirit.This week, Pastor Brian concludes chapter 2 of the book of Romans with a message entitled, “PRETENSE” from chapter 2, verses 17-29.

Pastor Brian speaks to on how Faith is surrendering to God.

Pastor Brian continued last weeks message that answers the question of who is Jesus and why following him is worth giving up everything.

Starting our new series, Resilient Exiles, Brian explores 1 Peter 1 and what it means to live as faithful exiles in a world filled with uncertainty and suffering. Discover how the living hope found in Christ becomes a light for our path, a foundation for our faith, and a promise that carries us through every season of life. This message reminds us that Christian hope is not wishful thinking, it is a confident certainty grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How well do we really know anything, and more importantly, how well does God know us? Dive into Psalm 139 to discover the life-changing truth that you are fully known, deeply loved, and have absolutely nothing to hide from your Creator.

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.

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

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

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.

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

 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.

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.