Archive for category Sermons

The Waterboy – Mark 14.12-16

Feb 1

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | No Comments

Friends,

Another great day to be in the house of the Lord!  I wanted us to look at the story of a man carrying a jar of water and think about how even the mundane, anonymous tasks make a difference in the Kingdom of God.  And even though this man will never have his name known by us and there wasn’t any spotlight put on him, he served his purpose.

You and I need to remember that no matter what our purpose and calling within the church and the Kingdom, it is never about us and always about giving glory to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Tonight in the Super Bowl only a select few individuals will have their name mentioned or highlighted, and yet it will take everyone on that field to make it all happen.

How about you?  Are you fulfilling your role and purpose within His Kingdom?  It isn’t about how much credit or acclaim you get from the people around you, it whether your Creator looks upon you and says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”  Your thoughts?

The Waterboy – Mark 14.12-16 (Rev. Bryon LePere) (file size = ~20mb)

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Mark 14.12-16
  • 1 Samuel 10.1-5
  • Romans 12.3-5
  • 1 Corinthians 12.27
  • Galatians 6.14
  • Ephesians 2.8-9

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Six Feet Under – Romans 6.1-14

Jan 25

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

What a great time in worship this morning!  Of course, I’m biased because any baptism service is a great service.  In my sermon I looked at the symbolic act of baptism and reminded of that in our baptism we are buried with Christ and His death and than raised up with Christ and His Resurrection.

Jesus, when He died, was fully dead.  As scripture tells us, he “emptied himself.”  We also, when we become Christians, must strive to make our sinful nature fully dead and buried.  In the same way, just as Christ in His Resurrection was fully alive, we should strive to allow the Holy Spirit to be fully alive within us.

But I realize that nobody’s perfect, so let’s be honest.  This doesn’t happen over night; but we should work and pray in a way that we grow closer and closer into the image of Christ.  This is called sanctification and is what should strive for until our time of glorification when we are taken up to be with God in Heaven.  May God bless you as you seek to live this out each and every day.  Your thoughts?

Click below to listen/download this sermon.  (File size = ~20mb)

Six Feet Under – Romans 6.1-14 by Pastor Bryon

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Romans 6.1-14
  • 1 Corinthians 15.3-4
  • Isaiah 25.8, Revelations 1.18
  • Philippians 2.8-9
  • 2 Corinthians 5.17
  • Galatians 5.19-21
  • Galatians 5.22-23
  • 1 Peter 5.8
  • 2 Peter 3.18, Philippians 2.12
  • 1 Peter 4.1-3, 1 Corinthians 6.9-11
  • 1 Thessalonians 5.23-24

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A NEW COVENANT – Hebrews 10.19-25

Jan 22

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | No Comments

Friends,

This is certainly a little behind, but on Sunday, January 4th, I asked us to think about how we treat our family members around the dinner table.  If we treat our family members with positive love and kindness, then this is how we should also treat our fellow church family members.  The passage in Hebrews reminds us to undergird our lives with faith, hope, and love.

Click below to download and listen to my message.

A New Covenant, Hebrews 10.19-25

Warning!  This is a large file…if you are on dial-up, click on the file before you go to bed, and by the time you wake up for breakfast it should be done.  Seriously…

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FREELY GIVE – Matthew 10.1-16

Jan 20

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

Yesterday I looked at the text where Jesus calls His 12 disciples together and then sends them out in ministry.  We see a diverse group, called out (not asked), and empowered to go out and accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God.

In the same way, we as members of the body of Christ are a diverse group called out and empowered to go out and do great things for the Kingdom.  But also, we are at our best when we work together.

Do you know what’s inside a 9v battery?  As I researched this, I found out that it actually contains 6 individual AAAA batteries.  A 9v battery is a sum of its parts, and is at full power when each of these work together at full capacity.  In the same way, the church is not a just a group of individual units, but should be working as the sum of its parts.  Whether it is missions, prayer, fellowship, outreach, worship, etc., we are most powerful when we are working together, in step with and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

How about you?  Are you meeting your potential?  Are you giving that energy out as a part of the body of Christ, working together with your brothers and sisters in Christ?  Tell me your thoughts…

Scriptures referenced:

  • Matthew 10.1-16
  • Matthew 28.18-20
  • Romans 12.4, 1 Corinthians 12.12
  • 1 Corinthians 1.26-29
  • 2 Timothy 3.17

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DON’T BE A WISE MAN – Matthew 2.1-12

Jan 12

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 3 Comments

Friends,

Happy New Year!  What a wonderful start to the year it has been for us in worship.  Yesterday I preached from Matthew 2.1-12, the story of the Magi, or Wise Men.  It is a familiar story, but as I read it this past week, it struck me that after they brought their gifts, they are never heard from again.  I’m not attempting to put them down, they certainly fulfilled their prophetic purpose.  But, there are so many other stories within the Gospels where a person or group has a singular encounter with Christ, and then we never hear of how their lives were changed.

This got me thinking, what can be told of our story after our life-changing encounter with Christ?  As much as there is a need for us to continue to bring others into the family of God through evangelism, I believe we also need a greater level of commitment and perseverance in faith.

After watching the horde of people at the Y exercising on Saturday I wondered…how many of these were starting their year off strong but would fade as the year continues?  Likewise, Christians often begin their faith or a new year off great in terms of Bible study, prayer, tithing, missions, and worship.  But how often do we fade in one of these areas?

Our Father God is faithful, and never fades from that commitment to us.  Likewise, we should seek to be strong in our commitment to Him.  What are you doing with your time/talents/finances?  Have you kept the faith?  Thinking about your original life-changing encounter with Christ, where are you now?  The wise men came and brought their gifts, never to heard from again.  Don’t be a wise man.

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Matthew 2.1-12
  • Deuteronomy 7.9
  • Matthew 9.37
  • Matthew 25.14-30
  • Mark 15.21, Acts 13.1, Romans 16.13
  • Luke 9.23
  • Acts 2.42, Acts 20.31-32
  • 1 Peter 4.19

Your thoughts?  Share them with us!

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Peace – 2 Peter 3.8-15

Dec 9

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

What is peace on earth?  We talk about it, pray for it, even protest for it, but what is it?  I believe peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Christ and His grace.  Conflict is virtually unavoidable in our world, so the question is not how do we get rid of it, but how do we get through it?  My hope this past Sunday was to get us to think about how we can achieve peace with God through a relationship with Christ, and how that should flow out and encourage us to seek peace with others through our relationship with Christ.  2 Peter 3.14 asks us to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him when He returns.  Can we really be at peace with Him if we are not at peace with our fellow brothers and sisters?

I hope you have a wonderful, redeeming relationship with Jesus Christ, that is certainly paramount to our relationships.  But how are you letting that flow out of you and be a part of your relationships here on earth?  With family, church members, co-workers, neighbors?  My hope is that we will come closer to finding peace with these persons so that we might move closer to finding peace on earth.  God Bless!

Scriptures Referenced:

  • 2 Peter 3.8-15
  • Mark 5.34
  • Luke 1.79, 2.14, 19.38
  • John 14.27
  • Acts 10.36
  • Romans 5.1, 8.6, 14.19
  • 2 Corinthians 13.11
  • Galatians 5.22
  • Ephesians 2.14-18, 4.3
  • Colossians 3.15
  • Hebrews 12.14

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For a Limited Time Only – Mark 13.32-37

Nov 30

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

What a blessing to be in worship this morning!  And what a blessing to have my grandparents take part.  In my sermon I wanted to challenge us to look at the three basic statements of the master (Jesus) in this passage in Mark.  These are:  1)  I’m leaving, 2)  I’m coming back, 3)  Be faithful and do what you are supposed to until I return.  From there I believe we need to be looking for and receptive to the presence of Christ coming into our lives this Christmas season.  It may happen in a variety of ways, and when we miss these blessings, it is almost always because we were not looking for them.  Please remember that I will have a book out next week for you to write down and share when Christmas happens for you.

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Mark 13.32-37
  • Luke 18.8
  • Isaiah 64.1-8
  • 1 Corinthians 1.3-9
  • 1 Timothy 4.1, 16

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Why Stop Counting? Lamentations 3.19-26

Nov 25

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 2 Comments

Friends,

Sorry a little late on this one.  My sermon this past Sunday was an attempt to get us to avoid becoming too negative in the world around us.  With all the news about war, economy, etc., I worried that we would get caught up in all this and forget the promises of God and the joy and thankfulness we are called to have in Him.  Jeremiah watched his city ransacked, and yet he still looked to the Lord and was trusting in His mercy and faithfulness.  How about you?

Scriptures referenced:

  • Lamentations 3.19-26
  • Jeremiah 29.4-23
  • John 16.33
  • 1 Thessalonians 5.18
  • James 1.2-3

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Are you coming or going? Genesis 3.8-24

Nov 16

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

What a morning!  What a blessing to be in God’s house!  I looked at Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve and the serpent are judged, cursed, and cast out of the Garden of Eden.  In our own lives and faith, we are either moving away from God through our sin (going) or we are growing closer to Him through our maturing faith (coming).  My 3 points:

  1. Are you going?  Are you living in sin absent a relationship with Jesus Christ?  Just as Adam and Eve through their disobedience were driven out (and away) from God, so too we are moving away from Him when we persist in our sinful disobedience.
  2. Are you coming?  Are you a believer, having truly repented and been baptized into a community of faith?  2 Peter 3.18 tells us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Our lives should be lived in the constant pursuit of knowing Christ and growing in Christ each and every day.
  3. If you are coming, if you are a believer, how are you influencing others?  Does your life and witness cause them to move closer to faith in God (coming) or are you driving them away (going)?  Too often we get comfortable, thinking that we are saved and have little left to do.  That in itself is wrong, but how much worse to consider that because of our negative or hypocritical example of faith we might keep others from coming into the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ?

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Genesis 3.8-24
  • Isaiah 59.2
  • Matthew 7.13-14
  • Luke 17.1-3
  • Romans 5.18-19, 6.23, 10.9-10, 12.17
  • 1 Corinthians 10.31-32
  • 2 Corinthians 5.16-21
  • Ephesians 2.1-2
  • Hebrews 6.4-12
  • Revelations 21.25

Your thoughts?

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Ingredients of Sin – Genesis 3.1-8

Nov 9

Posted by Big Island BC Admin in Pastor Bryon, Sermons | 1 Comment

Friends,

Good evening!  Hope each of you has a blessed week.  My goal this morning was to look at the story of Adam and Eve in the garden and what is now known as The Fall.  From this scripture, we can that there are several steps that lead humans through temptation and then sin.  How we understand this can influence how we seek to win the battle against Satan and his temptations.

Consider how the battle begins with an influence outside of us, then a debate and struggle goes on within us.  If we lose, and we sin, then we must deal with the consequential guilt.  It is for this reason that Christ came into this world, to show us that as He did, we can overcome this world if we fully trust in Him.  Also, realize that Christ, though fully divine, was also fully human and endured every trial and temptation that we do.  Your thoughts?

Scriptures Referenced:

  • Genesis 3.1-8
  • 1 Kings 8.46-50
  • Numbers 32.23, Psalm 51, Daniel 9.5
  • Matthew 4.1, 6.13, 9.13
  • 1 Corinthians 10.13
  • Hebrews 2.18, 4.15
  • John 1.29
  • James 1.13-14
  • Romans 3.23

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