brayden brookshier Archives - Page 2 of 5

You Were Loved Into Existence

The beginning of the year is often a time of deep reflection. Our hope is that your thoughts are not only directed toward your resolutions but also about more profound existential questions. We will help you get there: our first two months of sermons are entirely directed toward the subject of purpose! I’ve been part…

Be Busy, Not Hurried

“How are you?” The answer to this common formality of the question has some of the most templated answers in the English language. “Good! But busy.” “Tired, but good!” It’s amazing how many of our answers are some sort of combination of “good” and “busy” as if those two go together like peanut butter and…

5 Things You Can Do TODAY to Improve Your Communication!

“Okay.” “I don’t care.” “Whatever.” Have you ever been on the receiving end of these text messages and wondered what the tone was? The phrase “I don’t care” could be a light-hearted way to concede to the preference of another, but it could also be a passive-aggressive way to respond to a question. All of…

How the Church is More Like an Amateur Children’s Play Than a Show on Broadway

Our memories are funny. We tend to remember things that are really good or really bad. Baseline, mundane things (although important!) aren’t often as memorable. However, this is not as serious as it may sound. I remember attending a children’s musical many years ago. I’ve been to several productions but this one was one of…

What If You Never Understand Why You Went Through That Unbearably Painful Circumstance?

Without a doubt, and with plenty of data to support it, the problem of suffering is one of the biggest obstacles for those who are skeptical of an all-powerful, all-good God. We could even assume that you have had a big question about this topic yourself, or at least someone close to you has. When…

What If the Church Was a Family?

It was close to a decade ago. A man was having Thanksgiving dinner at a breakfast diner alone… even pausing right there, no one should be eating Thanksgiving alone. He could not quite get comfy in the booth, and he could not quite figure out when asking for another refill of coffee was too much.…

What We Can Learn from the Liturgy of Seasons

Seasons are creation’s liturgy. Each season has its own lesson for us. Fall teaches us that a change of pace and even of conditions are what the soul needs. How can our souls be any different? It’s not technically Autumn yet, I get it! I know that Fall doesn’t technically begin until September 22nd, but…

Redeeming Our Regrets

You know that feeling. The one where that you feel in the deep part of your stomach and it seems to go all the way through your bloodstream. Sometimes it comes right after you say something or do something. Sometimes it is a slow burn that is felt days, months, or years later! Regret. Everyone…

Combatting Complacency So I Press On Toward All God Has For Me

The Oxford dictionary defines “complacent” as “showing uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.” When I reflect on my spiritual life, that is, my walk with God, it is easy to become complacent. It is easy to become “uncritical” and settle for a certain level of progress in my life. Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher,…

How to Pray a Blessing Over Your Kids

As a parent, it is easy to be hard on ourselves, wondering if there is more we could do for our kids. This is a common feeling! Yet, one of the profound lessons in life thus far is how it is not always the difficulty of the task that equates to impact. Sometimes the greatest…