Rev. Brent L. White

This is Day 13 of my Advent-themed podcast series. Between now and Christmas, I'm posting a new podcast each day. Today's scripture is Matthew 2:1-8, 16.Featured music is "King Herod's Song," from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. (I know that the Herod of this song is the son of the Herod of the Christmas story, but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 12 of my Advent-themed podcast series. I'll be posting a new podcast each day between now and Christmas. Today's scripture is Matthew 1:21.Featured music is Chicago's version of "Little Drummer Boy," from the 2014 album What's It Going to Be, Santa? The LP, and Keith Green's "When I Hear the Praises Start," from For Him Who Has Ears to Hear.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 11 of my Advent-themed podcast series. I'm posting a new podcast each day through Christmas. Today's scripture is Matthew 1:20-25.The song featured in the podcast is a breathtaking new version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by the great trumpeter Herb Alpert, from his brand new Christmas album, The Christmas Wish.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 10 of my Advent-themed podcast series. I'm posting a new podcast each day through Christmas. Today's scripture is Matthew 1:18-19.Featured music is "Joseph, Who Understood," by a Canadian rock band called The New Pornographers (no, they're not pornographic!). It's from their 2007 EP, "The Spirit of Giving."I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 9 of my Advent-themed podcast series. I'm releasing a new podcast every day through Christmas. Today's scripture is Luke 1:28.Today's featured music is Bob Dylan's version of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" from his 2009 album Christmas in the Heart.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 8 of my Advent-themed podcast series. I'm releasing a new podcast every day through Christmas. Today's scripture is Luke 1:26-34.Featured music is Stryper's 1984 original song "Reason for the Season," from the 12" single.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 7 of my Advent-themed podcast series. Scripture is Luke 1:18-23.Featured music is Jethro Tull's "A Christmas Song," from 1968. It's collected on their 1972 compilation album Living in the Past.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com..

This is Day 6 of my Advent-themed podcast series. Scripture is Luke 1:5-7, 13.This podcast features Jethro Tull's version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," first from 1978's Live–Bursting Out and then 2003's The Jethro Tull Christmas Album.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 5 of my Advent-themed podcast series. Scripture is Genesis 22:1-13.Featured music is "Poor Little Jesus" and "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, both of which are found on The Best Of: A Christmas Caper.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 4 of my Advent-themed podcast series. Today's scripture is Matthew 1:1-17.Today's episode features Frank Sinatra's version of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" from his 1957 album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, arranged by Gordon Jenkins, and "Alexander Hamilton" from the Broadway cast album Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 3 of my Advent-related podcast series. Scripture is from Matthew 1:20-23.The featured music is Amy Grant's "Emmanuel," from her 1983 album A Christmas Album, and Sleater-Kinney's "Modern Girl," from their 2016 live album, Live in Paris. Both songs are taken from glorious vinyl, so if you hear some clicks and pops, that's why.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

This is Day 2 of my new series of Advent-related podcasts. Scripture is Romans 7:15, 18-19, 24-25The featured music, straight from vinyl, is Jon Anderson's original song "Where Were You?" from his 1985 Christmas album, 3 Ships.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, and I’m beginning a series of daily devotionals through Christmas. Enjoy!Each episode will feature a song from my extensive collection of Christmas records. (Yes, this is vinyl you're listening to.) Today's song is by Jon Anderson, the lead singer of Yes, from his 1985 album, 3 Ships.I blog regularly at revbrentwhite.com.

Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Does “always” really mean always? If so, I suspect most of us struggle to obey these words. Our main problem, as I point in this sermon, is that we usually rejoice in our circumstances: “I got the job, therefore I rejoice!” “She said ‘yes,’ therefore I rejoice!” “The tests came back negative, therefore I rejoice!” But notice Paul says to rejoice in the Lord. If we are in the Lord, we always have reasons for joy.Click here to read a manuscript of today's sermon.

In today's scripture Paul considers everything he's lost as a result of following Christ. From the world's point of view, it's substantial. Yet Paul says he counts it all as loss in comparison to what he's gained in Christ. Too often, I can think of many things in my own life that don't seem like "rubbish" in comparison to Christ. What about you? How can we learn to treasure Jesus the way Paul does?Click here to go to Pastor Brent's blog.

Last week, in the wake of the Sutherland Springs shooting, more than a few tweets called into question the effectiveness of prayer. What good is prayer when these kinds of massacres become routine? After all, the victims were already praying when they were shot. What good is faith if God doesn't seem to intervene? This sermon is, I hope, a Christian response to these kinds of questions.Click here to go to my blog.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, today begins a 4-part sermon series on Paul's letter to the Philippians—a letter bursting with joy and gratitude. Paul's tone should surprise us: After all, he's writing this letter from prison, facing trial and execution for his faith. Moreover, his missionary work—his vocation to reach the Gentiles with the gospel—appears to be seriously hampered. How is Paul able to be so happy?Click here to read Pastor Brent's blog.

This is the second of two sermons on Hebrews 2:5-18, and the final sermon in my "Reformation 500" series. Among other things the author of Hebrews says that on the cross, Jesus "destroye[d] the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." How is this true, especially since Satan remains alive and active in our world? This sermon is about how Christ defeated Satan through his atoning death on the cross.To read Pastor Brent's blog, click here!

This sermon, the first of two on today's scripture, is about an unpopular subject: the wrath of God. As I explain in this sermon, if God truly loves us, then that means that he will also have wrath toward sin. At the same time, God made a gracious provision to save us from his wrath. Every sin will be punished, scripture tells us, either through Christ on the cross or through us in hell for eternity. The choice is ours.

Today's sermon examines the Protestant (and biblical) doctrine of Sola Gratia—that we are saved by God's grace alone. I begin the sermon looking at two Old Testament portrayals of grace and how they relate to the cross of God's Son Jesus. These will give us a sense of how costly grace is. Understanding the costliness of grace will help us fall in love with Jesus Christ more and more.