Sermons on Brian Mavis:

Live On The Rock

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 15, 2005

A look at the final words of the Sermon on the Mount - living as the wise person who listens and applies the words of Jesus.

Live on the Rock Matthew 7:24-29 September 4, 2005 Introduction Well, folks, we’ve covered a lot of ground since starting to look at the life and words of Jesus in the gospel according to Matthew. And today, we finish up our look at the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has talked about a wide range ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29

Denomination: Wesleyan

Jesus The Healer

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 15, 2005

Message bringing out what we can learn from various episodes of Jesus’ healings.

Jesus the Healer Various passages from Matthew 8-9 October 2, 2005 Introduction Today’s message is going to be a bit of a departure from my normal pattern as we go through the book of Matthew. Normally, we look through a passage, and glean the lessons we can learn and apply to our life. But ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Are You Really Sure You Want To Do This?

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 15, 2005

A message about Jesus’ words regarding the cost of discipleship.

Are You REALLY Sure You Want to Do This? The Cost of Following Jesus Matthew 8:18-22 October 9, 2005 Introduction I thought I’d better warn you up front that my introductory remarks are going to be longer than usual, but you don’t have to worry about the rest of the message - we’ll still get ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:18-22

Denomination: Wesleyan

Jesus, Master Of Creation

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 19, 2005

Message from the event of Jesus’ calming of the storm. Warning! This is not your usual sermon on Jesus "calming the storms of life..."

Jesus, Master of Creation Matthew 8:23-27 October 16, 2005 Introduction We had earlier discussed three things Jesus demonstrated his authority over. First we looked at the fact that he exercised authority over illness, whether it had "physical" origins or demonic origins. He exercised ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

Denomination: Wesleyan

Jesus, Friend Of Sinners

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 23, 2005

A message examining how Jesus interacted with "sinners" and such.

Jesus, Friend of Sinners Matthew 9:9-13 October 23, 2005 Introduction What we’re going to look at today is a great example of one of the things I love most about Jesus and what I try to exemplify most about him. I’m not perfect in this, and I blow it sometimes, but I hope someday that someone ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

Denomination: Wesleyan

New Wine For New Wineskins

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Nov 4, 2005

My attempt to deal with the issue of the "newness" of Jesus compared to the "oldness" of the Law. If you think I missed it, let me know (really!).

New Wine for New Wineskins Matthew 9:14-17 October 30, 2005 Introduction If there’s one thing that is inescapable when examining the life of Jesus, it’s that he was constantly challenging the status quo of the religious mindset of his day. He was pretty much fed up with it. He regularly had to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:14-17

Denomination: Wesleyan

When The Going Gets Rough

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Nov 13, 2005

Message for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

When the Going Gets Rough... Various Scriptures November 13, 2005 Introduction I’m going to start off a bit differently than normal, and I’m going to ask you to just hang with me, okay? In fact, the bulk of this message will be a little different than normal, okay? When I was in college back ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:12, Proverbs 8:12

Denomination: Wesleyan

Take A Load Off Your Soul, Brother!

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Message regarding the peace and rest offered by Jesus.

Take a Load Off Your Soul, Brother! Matthew 11:25-30 March 19, 2006 Introduction I went to some of the games at the State “B” basketball tourney this weekend. My nephew Bo, all 6’ 3” of him was playing for the team from Hurley. During the Friday game I commented to my brother’s friends that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30

Denomination: Wesleyan

Jesus And The Sabbath

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Message based on Jesus’ words regarding the Sabbath.

Jesus and the Sabbath Matthew 12:1-21 March 26, 2006 Introduction What do you think of when you think of the word, “Sabbath?” Do you think of church? Do you think of rest? Football on TV? Some of you might think of Black Sabbath, the heavy metal band of the 70’s and 80’s… Well, in our ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-21

Denomination: Wesleyan

Is The Sabbath Really A Big Deal Today?

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

More on the Sabbath, this one from Mark

Is the Sabbath Really a Big Deal Today? Mark 2:23-28 April 2, 2006 Introduction Today, we’re going to look at one of those issues that quite frankly, can serve as a dividing line between believers. For some, when you think of the Sabbath, you think straight-jacket – a bunch of rules meant to ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:23-28

Denomination: Wesleyan

Taking The Resurrection Outside The Church Walls

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Easter message designed to help the church take the Good News of the resurrection to others.

Taking the Resurrection Outside the Church Walls. Various Scriptures April 16, 2006 Introduction Well, what do you know? It’s Easter. A Sunday School teacher was attempting to teach her young students the true meaning of Easter. "Why do we celebrate Easter?" she asked. When the children ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Denomination: Wesleyan

Have I Committed The Unforgivable Sin?

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Discussion about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and how it happens.

Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin? Matthew 12:22-37 April 30, 2006 Introduction As we continue our walk through the gospel according to Matthew, we come to an episode in which Jesus offers some of his strongest words yet in this book of the Bible. But before we get into that, I just want to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:22-37

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Overflow Of The Heart

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Message discussing how our mouth reflects what’s in our heart.

The Overflow of the Heart Matthew 12:33-37 May 7, 2006 Introduction Let me tell you a story about something that happened a number of years ago while I worked at Pizza Hut in Brookings: One night we were very busy at the restaurant, and our supply truck came late, right in the middle of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:33-37

Denomination: Wesleyan

Can We Trust The Gospels? (The Da Vinci Code - Part 1) Series

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Part one of a four-part series discussing claims of the book. The focus is not on slamming the author, but rather on answering the claims in a reasoned and reasonable manner.

Can We Trust the Gospels? (The Da Vinci Code – Part 1) Various Scriptures May 14, 2006 Introduction Well, today we begin what I anticipate will be a four week series on the best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code. I’ve been looking forward to this for awhile. And the main reason is that I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

Denomination: Wesleyan

Who Was Jesus? (The Da Vinci Code - Part 2) Series

Contributed by Brian La Croix on May 30, 2006

Second in series about TDVC, this message focusing on the divinity of Jesus, which is challenged in the book.

Who Was Jesus? (The Da Vinci Code – Part 2) Various Scriptures May 28, 2006 (With grateful acknowledgment of the book, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code, by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones, from which much of the material in the first two sections comes) Introduction After taking a break last week, I’m ...read more

Scripture: John 10:30-33

Denomination: Wesleyan