God's Beloved

0:00 Hey, everybody. So thank you first, first of all, for being here. I really appreciate you all being here. I think this is a really fun opportunity for y'all to come see Five Stones Brewery. Thank you again for coming and being with me on this day. So what we're going to do is this. I'm going to share a little bit. I'm going to read a scripture from the Gospel of Mark. I'm going to talk for just a few minutes. And then after that, you're invited to, if you feel good and comfortable about it, that I'll probably come over there. I'll kneel down and you all can lay hands over me in this time. Does that sound good?

0:41 Okay. Now, some of y'all have never heard me speak or preach, and that's cool. But when I get a chance to speak or preach, I do like to invite participation. So I'll say, are you with me? And you might say, yeah, there we go. All right. All right. Very good. There we go. There we go. So I'm going to start off with reading briefly from the Gospel of Mark, the first 11 verses. This is from the message translation. So if you're not a fan, I understand. But I will just read this, okay?

1:11 So if you're not a fan, I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay?

1:25 I will just read this, okay? I will just read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay?

1:42 I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this, okay? I will read this. And he ate locusts, and he tied a leather belt around his waist, and he ate wild honey. As he preached, he said, the real action comes next. The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in this world, turning your old life in for a kingdom of life.

2:11 His baptism, a holy baptism of the Holy Spirit, will change you from the inside out. At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open, and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, came down. And a voice said with the Spirit, "You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased." "You are my beloved, and you I am well pleased." That verse right there is sort of the culmination of why I'm here.

2:46 I am here because I believe I'm beloved. And no matter what I do, I will be God's beloved. He will be with me. And that's through Jesus Christ, the Son. So, to share briefly, these words are reminding me that in him and through Jesus, the Son, I'm here. I'm doing what I need to do. And I'm sharing that with other people. I bring this up because as we're here today, you've seen my ministry. You might often wonder how does Bryant do what he does. I'm not perfect.

3:15 You can ask my wife. But what I'm sharing is the power which drives me to be who I am. The thing that fuels me is that I'm the beloved child of God. God has made me right through Jesus Christ. And I believe we all hold to that. And we're understanding that. And we're trying to seek that. So, from that, because my heart is a shepherd, I'm a teacher in God's kingdom and God's church. And sometimes I'll say, I'm not your typical pastor. And I'm really not trying to be cool or whatever.

3:46 But what I'm trying to say is God has shaped me in a certain way. And so, I've worked in churches. I've started churches. I've consulted in dying churches. I've helped walk alongside people. I work in the hospital ministry. I meet with people and talk with them about what it means to follow Jesus. And that's why you all are here. I also have appreciated this place, Five Stones. Because it's a great expression and a reflection, I think, of the kingdom of God. There's these things called kingdom outposts.

4:18 Or Dallas Willard calls it kingdom. Dallas Willard calls something schools of eternal living. Or there's also something called kingdom ecosystems. Essentially, when Jesus talks about there's a mustard seed and it throws out and it grows and it overcomes. What I would offer today is church is great. Church is an expression, but it falls under the kingdom of God. Churches are outposts for what God's going to do in the world. This place is not necessarily a church, but it is God's kingdom of work expressed in the community.

4:52 It's something that people can come here and maybe do things like this where they're going to do things that Christians do. Are you with me? Yes, sir. So friends, I also talk about this because there's an invisible church and there's a visible church. These are words from Martin Luther, the reformer. And it's really important because there's things that are visibly seen and the things that are not always seen. And we live in a world where there's visible and invisible things. And so today I talk about the invisible because it's a reflection.

5:25 And Martin Luther was great because he initiated the Protestant Reformation. I'm here partly because of him. And so I bring this up because Martin Luther was also very much in mind of something called the priesthood of all believers. And I'm a big proponent of that. My ministry has been marked by the fact that I'm here, not because some larger authority says I should be doing what I'm doing, but because God has put his mark on me. And you all here to recognize that. And what I'm inviting you all to do is to step into your priesthood, because the high priest, Jesus, has anointed you to do that.

6:04 Do you feel good about that? Yeah. So that's what we're here to do. Do you feel good about that? You're going to lay hands on me. If you want to say something, great. If you want to just pray in silence, great. But I'm encouraging you to remember that you are God's beloved. With God, all things can be done. You are changed. You are new in him. His Holy Spirit resides in you. And I would encourage you to step into that priesthood-ness that comes from him. And here today, no authority comes from me, but from God the Father himself.

6:37 Are you with me? Well, friends, I'm going to stand in the middle here. And if you like, you can come around. You can offer some laying some hands. And then after that, we can just enjoy, drink, each other's company. I've got more pizza coming. Does this sound good? It does. All right, here we go. I'll go in the center here. Bye.