Bryan Preachin December 29 at Blue Valley Baptist Church, Overland Park, KS.

You can hear Bryan's latest sermon @ http://www.bluevalleybaptist.org/#!past-messages/c1xac.

Enoch Magazine Interview Bryan Fellers

You can see Bryan in an interview by Enoch Magazine at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi0CT62QW9E&feature=related.

Listen to Dr. Bryan L. Fellers preaching at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jxHu9JZ30s&feature=youtu.be

God's Refuge!

God is my refuge and strength has always been a favorite verse to quote.  Not until recently have I really understood just how much of a refuge He really is.  In the midst of career uncertainity, in the midst of financial uncertainity, I have found that refuge to be very comforting.  Waiting is very difficult for me and I found myself wondering exactly what Psalms 46:10 means when the psalm states, "stop striving and know that I am God."   Does this mean stop applying for jobs and just trust in HIM?  Does it mean for me to sit at home and just wait for someone to call? No, it does not mean either of those.  It means that we should place our trust in HIM and in HIM alone, not in our efforts, not in our actions but to stop striving and just rest in HIM.  It implores  that I quit trying to control the process and leave it in God's hands.  Be faithful and diligent, but place my trust in HIM.  A refuge refers to a "place where you are sheltered from danger".  Even though I am  jobless at the time, even though I have two young adults in college, even though my future is unclear; I can be still and not fear knowing that He has my future under control. There is peace in knowing that He loves and cares for me and has a place of service for me.  There is power in knowing that He has a wonderful plan for my life and my family.  God's refuge is a great place to be!  While I rest in Him I gain HIS strength.  As I write this post, I am reminded of a wonderful picture of peace I have communicated many times in my sermons.  It is a picture of a dove sitting in the cleft of the rock singing with all his heart, while all around him is lightning, thunder, blowing winds, rising tide.  Even in the midst of the storm he feels safe enough to sing.  My friend that is God's refuge!  Even in the midst of the storm trust in Him and draw from His strength.

A Shift in Power

I give up are words that God longs to hear.  The Church is becoming more and more dependent upon its members skills and abilities than on the power of God. If we get the right formula and the right people then we can grow a very successful church.  I feel the church is all about me!  A successful Sunday morning worship experience must  include the following; a large crowd, entertaining music and an inspirational talk from a dynamic communicator.  It seems to be all about my feelings and emotions and what I experience. The average church member is concerned about the style of music, the experience they feel and the style of the pastor.  Was the Pastor too loud? was he boring?,was he humorous? was he too humorous? was his illustrations relevant?, did he use too much scripture?, did he not use any scripture?, did he preach too long? (but we never complain if the message was too short).  Our nation has been taught to expect perfection!  We have instant replay in our professional sporting events to make sure that we get it right.  If we don't get it right then we are extremely critical. We in the church are no different!  We expect the best ministries, we expect the Pastor to be perfect, we expect the ministry teams to be perfect. Eventually that perfection is lost and we either move on to the next church, or gripe and complain and cause dessention.  Everyone expects perfection except when they are critiquing themselves.  We must shift our confidence from man's abilities and place our trust in Gods strength.

Somewhere we have missed the point!  We gather together to worship the creator of life, the lover of our souls, but we make it about us.  In theory, we worship us! What are we missing?  We are missing the power of God!  David Platt writes in his book "Radical", "...the problem for us is that in our culture we are tempted at every turn to trust in our own power instead of Gods!  So the challenge for us is to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide."  My challenge is to the Church, lets give up and let God work through us, instead of us doing it for HIM.  I leave you with these words from Platt: While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.