God created us not simply for the purpose of obedience but also for us to delight in him. In this sermon, Forrest Brown preaches on how to share the disposition of the Psalmist in enjoying and delighting in the Lord.
In part 2 of this passage, Forrest hones in on the concept of the fear of God. While our culture (and even the church) has neglected the fear of God in recent decades, Jesus points to it as a foundational piece of life. He attributes the fear of God and His affections for you as the antidotes to other fears we have in life--fear of people, poverty, the future, etc. Listen in as God's word challenges us to fear him more.
Jesus specifically warns His disciples about Hypocrisy in Luke 12. Do you find that you are ever tempted to hide things about yourself from certain people? If so, who are the people in your life whose affections you desire the most? Listen in as Forrest Brown preaches on this first of a two-part series on Luke 12:1-12.
What is the through line of your life? What is the thing that you're chasing after? Is it a title, a job or a certain salary/level of comfortability? On this year's Don't Waste Your Life Sunday, we commissioned out roughly 75 graduating college seniors to the far ends of the earth and encouraged them to make their lives about making Jesus known.
What difference does the resurrection actually make in the life of the believer? Would Jesus' death alone be enough to save us from our sins? Listen in as Forrest Brown and Tim Carpenter share.
Have you ever been frustrated with the hypocrisy that is found throughout Christianity and the church? In a recent faith poll among the Exit congregation, hypocrisy was listed as the number one frustration with Christianity. As we see in this Scriptural text, Jesus is even more outraged by it--enough to confront it at personal cost. However, hypocrisy isn't something that simply out in the world; if we're honest, it's also in us. Join us as we sit under Jesus' teaching regarding hypocrisy....
In this passage, Jesus says that He will not give any additional signs to the people who are asking Him for them. Do you ever find yourself asking for a sign or proof in order to validate the existence of God or whether Christianity is true? Lean in as Forrest Brown preaches on the Sign of Jonah found in Luke 11.
Forrest Brown preaches on Jesus' authority that is high above Satan and his demons.
We are finishing our 2-week series on the topic of prayer, based on Jesus' teaching in Luke 11. In the text, Jesus emphasizes the value of persistence in prayer as well as the goodness of his character in giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. The topic brings up the question--what do you think about the idea of God giving you a greater portion of his Spirit in response to your prayers? What if that was the case, while also receiving a "no" to what you are otherwise asking for? Listen in a...
It seems that everyone struggles with prayer one way or another. While it's often challenging to sustain a regular prayer life, Jesus welcomes us into a close relationship with God--where believers are invited to address God as our personal Father. And Jesus also gives us a model that we can base our own prayers from. Listen in as Tyler Shirley preaches on the Lord's prayer out of Luke chapter 11.
Forrest Brown preaches on the story of Mary and Martha out of Luke 10. In the story, Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha is "distracted with much serving (vs. 40)." And Jesus corrects Martha by saying that Mary has chosen the better option--that is, to be with him. In our world of accomplishment and productivity, this same principle falls on us as well. How can we effectively sit at Jesus' feet today?
Forrest Brown preaches on the famous story of the Good Samaritan. When a lawyer asks Jesus (what appears to be) a simple question, Jesus utilizes the opportunity to not simply provide an answer but to entirely redirect the lawyer's focus. The man's question was "who do I need to love," and Jesus shows that the correct heart disposition is one that says "who CAN I love?" This begs the question for us--what do the kind of questions I ask Jesus say about my heart towards the Lord? What are better q...
The Cause of Rejoicing: in this sermon, Alexander "Z" Breytenbach (pastor of Ruah Church in Indianapolis, IN) emphasizes where true joy comes from and where we should look to have joy. In the passage, the 72 followers that had previously been commissioned out to preach about the kingdom, return to Jesus, full of joy and excitement at the signs and wonders that they performed in Jesus' name. Jesus, gently redirects them to find their joy in eternal things, namely that they will be saved to eterna...
Do you find that Hell and the wrath of God are offensive to you or have those concepts ever been offensive to you? What do you do with those feelings? Two warnings are given concerning the topic of Hell in this passage. Forrest Brown peraches on our disposition in our questions for God in light of the reality of the coming judgement.
In this iconic passage, Jesus informs his followers that there is a massive harvest but only a few laborers. So he commands his hearers to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers. Then Jesus immediately commissions 72 others to go and preach the kingdom. Do we pray earnestly for more laborers? Do we see ourselves on mission as well? If so, what kind of mission? Forrest Brown preaches on realigning our mission to the mission that Jesus gives here.
In one of the most challenging texts in all of Scripture, Jesus tells those that want to follow him what he is worth. That to follow Jesus means that he comes before our homes, possessions, career, dreams, even family. Jesus challenges them (and us) to do the internal work of evaluating our values and seeing whether Jesus is the top of that list. Because that is the only place that is fit for him.
Tim Carpenter preaches on the disunity of the disciples in the midst of Jesus predicting his own death. Their self-centeredness left them headed in different directions. Tim challenges us to be unified as believers across political and denominational boundaries to be unified together in prayer.
Forrest Brown and Tyler Shirley share who Exit is, where the church is going this year and how they sense the Lord leading them to place extra emphasis on prayer. Jake T., an international worker, also provides insight into how the Lord has grown him in prayer.
Forrest Browns preaches on Jesus' authority over demons and the value of prayer in the life of a believer. Additionally, the centrality of the cross is central to this passage as Jesus again predicts his death.
A central theme of Luke comes to a head in this passage, one that has come up throughout the book--the question of "Who is Jesus?" On the face of it, it sound straight forward and simple. But as Jesus performed miracles, rumors of his identity swirled. Jesus then presses his closest followers with the question "But who do YOU say that I am?"
In this last section of Luke 8, Forrest Brown preaches on the third set of miracles (out of three) right in a row. In this text, we see Jesus' power to heal a woman that has an incurable bleeding disorder. We see that Jesus is not only able to do what the doctors could not do, but he also does it passively. And because Jesus took time to restore this woman back into the community, the delay means that Jairus' daughter dies from illness. So Jesus simply places her spirit back into her. Jesus is p...
Forrest Brown preaches on the second of a trilogy of miracles of Jesus in Luke 8. This one involves casting out demons from a man living in tombs. This brings up not only the question of how demons/angels work but also what kind of power Jesus had to perform such a massive miracle.
Jesus calms the wind and the waves - The incredible power of Jesus has been displayed throughout Luke with Jesus healing the sick, restoring the paralyzed, raising the dead, forgiving sins, and now power over nature itself. The deity of Jesus is on display, and it caused the disciples to fear and worship Jesus. Yet, often today in the West, we have very little regard for fear at all. We often treat it as the enemy of the Christian. What role should fear play in our walk with the Lord today?...
Forrest Brown preaches on the types of soil that characterize dispositions of the human heart. Which type of soil are you? How does that play out in real life?
We took a brief pause in the book of Luke to hear testimonies of a few different people in the Exit family. Listen in as Mooch, Austin and Drew share their stories of God moving in their lives and brining them to salvation.
Have you ever wanted to increase your love for the Lord, but have felt unable to do so? Listen as Forrest Brown preaches on the story of Jesus at the house of Simon the Pharisee. When a "woman of the city" (likely a prostitute) came into the house and fell at Jesus' feet, we see the contrast between the heart of Simon and the heart of the prostitute. This contrast gives us a clue as to how to best connect with the Lord.
Peter calls us foreigners and aliens in this world. As we look at the secular culture around us, we observe that it is a people that are consumed with sex and sexuality. We therefore make it our aim to ask what God's word has to say about sex and sexuality, so that we are equipped to be salt and light in this world. Additionally, with the growing focus on the transgender movement, we put special focus on this part of the discussion. Listen as we search God's word for His design and desire surrou...
