Dream Church with Joshua Brown: Recent Episodes
Joshua Brown
Welcome to the weekly podcast of Dream Church led by Joshua Brown. For more info, visit www.dreamcolumbia.com.
What if the home you've always longed for isn't a place at all? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Isaiah 43 to show that when God promised to bring his exiled people home, he wasn't just talking about a land or a building; he was talking about the only place the soul ever truly rests, the kingdom of God.
What if the judgment of God was never the threat you were told it was? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Isaiah 42 to show that God's judgment over his creation was declared in Genesis 1, and the verdict was "very good," which means his justice was never aimed at you; it was aimed at everything keeping you from that original design. If you've spent your life fearing a God who condemns, this message will reintroduce you to the God who redeems.
What if the chaos, decline, and spiritual emptiness you see all around you in 2026 are not signs that God has forgotten us, but signs that he is about to do something new? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown opens a brand new series in Isaiah to show that God's people have always been called to read the signs of the times, and that the church's greatest witness is a community who can smell the rain coming before anyone else even checks the forecast.
What do you do when your theology stops working? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown opens the book of Job to show that suffering doesn't mean God has abandoned you or that you've done something wrong, it means you've been invited into a deeper, more honest encounter with a God who is far bigger than the comfortable clichés we've built around him. If you're in a season where the old answers aren't cutting it anymore, this message is exactly where you need to start.
It's July, but Pastor Joshua Brown is asking a question: are you still living Advent? This week at Dream Church, he unpacks what it means to be a people perpetually preparing for the coming of Christ, living like watchmen who can see the morning while it's still night, and why the answer to the anxiety, restlessness, and emptiness of our age isn't a better program or a more entertaining Sunday, it's Jesus.
What do you do when God asks you to hand over the very thing he promised you? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Genesis 22 to show that the binding of Isaac was never really about sacrifice, it was about trust, and that the God who asks you to open your hands is the same God who already has a ram in the thicket. If you've been holding tightly to a promise while wondering if God can be trusted with it, this message will change the way you see what he's actually asking for.
Three men stood before a king, a furnace, and an impossible choice, and what they said next changed everything. This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Daniel 3 to show that the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was never really about the fire, it was about the kind of faith that says "even if" instead of "only if," and the God who shows up in the middle of the flames. If you're facing something that feels like a furnace right now, this message is for you.
What if the story of Jonah was never really about the whale? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks one of the Bible's most beloved and misread stories to show that Jonah is not a tale about a fish, but about a God who refuses to let you drown in the chaos you ran into trying to escape his call. If you've ever felt like you've gone too far, waited too long, or disqualified yourself from what God has for you, this message is for you.
What if the conquest narratives in Joshua were never meant to be read as a divine mandate for violence, but as a call to the most countercultural thing a person can do today? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks one of the Bible's most difficult texts to show that the conquest was always pointing toward something deeper, the call to exclusive devotion, clearing out everything that competes with Christ so that what God has promised can actually take root. If you've ever been troubled by the violence in the Old Testament, this message will change the way you read it.
Most of us were taught the flood story was about God's anger and judgment, but what if we've been reading it backward? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown digs into Genesis 6-9 to show that the point was never the flood, it was the promise, and that the God revealed in this ancient story is not a God ready to destroy, but a God who grieves our brokenness and commits to his creation even knowing it will cost him everything. If you've ever struggled with the difficult parts of the Old Testament, this message will change how you read them.
What if Genesis 1 was never meant to answer the questions we've been asking it? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown opens a brand new series by taking us back to the very beginning, showing that the creation story is not a science textbook but a worship text written for exiles, declaring that the world belongs to God, not to chaos. And the whole point of creation, it turns out, is not your productivity or even your survival, but rest in the presence of the God who made you.
In a world pulling your attention in a thousand directions, what happens when Jesus stops feeling extraordinary and just becomes common? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks what it really means to behold Christ, showing that eternal life is not just about how long you live but the quality and depth of life you carry right now. If you've drifted from that place of steadfast hope, this message is the invitation to open your eyes again.
Most of us were taught that following Jesus was the finish line, but what if it was only the starting line? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks sanctification, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that takes the reality of the gospel and works it into every corner of your everyday life, transforming you not into something foreign, but into the truest version of who you were always made to be. If your faith feels stalled, this message will show you exactly why, and what it means to start beholding again.
What do you do when obedience leads you straight into an impossible situation? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Exodus 14 to show that prophecy isn't just foretelling the future, it's seeing as God sees, even when all you can see is the sea in front of you and the enemy behind you. If you've ever found yourself stuck between two impossible things, this message is your invitation to stop listening to fear and start walking like someone who knows what God can do.
Is healing just for people with enough faith, or did the church get something wrong along the way? This week, Pastor Joshua Brown takes us back to the earliest centuries of the church to recover a richer, more honest vision of healing, one rooted not in formulas or faith levels, but in the Incarnation itself and the Spirit as a foretaste of the new creation. Whether you've seen miracles or prayed with no visible answer, this message holds both realities with hope.
This week, Pastor Joshua Brown reintroduces the Holy Spirit as the expressed love of God, poured directly into your heart, affirming your identity, meeting you in your weakness, and guaranteeing your future. If you've ever felt like the Spirit was either out of reach or out of control, this message is for you.
What if the very people who tried to destroy Jesus actually crowned him King? This Easter, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks the elaborate imagery of a Roman triumph embedded in Mark 15 — revealing how Rome's act of mockery became, in God's hands, the most profound declaration of victory in history. A powerful reminder that nothing — not your past, your circumstances, or any force in this world — can hinder the purpose of God for your life.
Two parades entered Jerusalem on the same day. One from the west, carrying the full weight of Roman empire, and one from the east, riding a borrowed donkey. Jesus didn't just fulfill prophecy that day; he redefined what power looks like and what salvation actually costs. At the center of it all is an unnamed man who handed over his most valuable possession to strangers because five words were enough: "The Lord has need of it." This Palm Sunday, the question isn't which parade you're watching; it's which one you're walking in.
What if your hope hasn’t died—but is simply waiting for God to breathe on it again? In this Lenten message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the connection between breath and hope, showing how life apart from the Spirit leaves us anxious, dry, and empty. Through Ezekiel’s valley, Lazarus’ tomb, and the promise of resurrection, we’re reminded that when God breathes, even what feels buried and forgotten can live again.
What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your past—but the way you see it? In this message from John 9, Pastor Joshua Brown explores how Jesus heals not only physical blindness but the deeper blindness that keeps us trapped in old stories. When Christ enters our story, the past no longer defines us—it becomes the place where God reveals what he is about to do.
What are the “water jars” you keep carrying just in case Jesus isn’t enough? In this Lenten message from John 4, Pastor Joshua Brown reflects on the Samaritan woman who leaves her jar at the well after encountering the living water of Christ. Through the lens of repentance and renewal, we’re invited to release the old ways we cling to for security and trust the life of God that now springs up within us.
What if Christianity is meant to be an apprenticeship? In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores what it truly means to be a disciple: someone who attaches their life to Christ, imitates His way, and becomes His legacy in the world. Drawing from Ephesians 3 and the early Church, we’re invited beyond shallow belief into the costly, transformative journey of knowing the love of God that surpasses knowledge.
What if the gospel is far better than you’ve ever imagined? In this Lenten message from Galatians 4, Pastor Joshua Brown contrasts a faith built on effort with the freedom found in the finished work of Christ. Drawing from the early Church’s vision of salvation, this sermon invites us into the liberating promise that, in Jesus, we are sons and daughters—free, reconciled, and held in the heart of God.
What if the line between consumer and disciple is drawn at the point of sacrifice? In this message from Matthew 26, Pastor Joshua Brown contrasts Mary’s extravagant offering with Judas’ calculated betrayal and asks a piercing question: what is your alabaster jar? As Jesus turns toward the cross, we’re invited to consider whether we follow Him for what we gain—or whether we’re willing to “waste” everything for the One who gave everything for us.
You can’t live on someone else’s trust in Jesus. In this message from Matthew 16, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the difference between inherited belief and personal commitment as Jesus asks His disciples the defining question: Who do you say that I am? This sermon calls us beyond religious noise, borrowed faith, and consumer Christianity into a decisive, lived trust that restores unity with God and shapes the whole of our lives.
In this message from 1 Kings 17, Pastor Joshua Brown explores how trusting God always invites vulnerability—but never abandonment. Through the story of Elijah and the widow, we discover that real security isn’t found in holding on tighter, but in going all-in with the God who alone can turn scarcity into sustaining grace.
If God has proven Himself faithful, why do we still live so worried? In this message from Luke 12, Pastor Joshua Brown exposes worry as a quiet refusal to trust and invites us into a deeper way of living—one rooted in gratitude rather than control. Discover how trusting God’s reliability frees us from anxiety, reshapes our priorities, and becomes the seed of a life truly lived in the kingdom.
You can believe in God and still never trust Him. In this message from Matthew 14, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the difference between faith and trust—and why discipleship only moves forward when we step out of the boat. Through Peter’s walk on the water, we discover that trust is not passive belief but risky obedience, and that God often reveals His reliability through controlled moments that call us beyond fear and into life.
Love doesn’t wait for the right conditions—it breaks in and changes everything. In this final Advent message, Pastor Joshua Brown reflects on the intrusive, disruptive love of God revealed in the manger: a love that finds room even when there is none. Through the story of Christ’s birth, we’re invited to consider whether we will make space for a love that turns darkness into light and beginnings out of what once felt like the end.
In this Advent message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores how true joy is restored not by escaping the darkness, but by discovering God within it. Through the angels’ announcement and the humility of the manger, we’re reminded that Christmas joy begins with this simple truth: God is with us, even here.
What if peace isn’t the absence of chaos—but the wholeness found within it? In this Advent message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the meaning of shalom—a peace born not from ease, but from the steady love of God who makes broken things whole. Through Isaiah’s vineyard, Peter’s call to patience, and Christ’s coming, we discover that real peace often begins where comfort ends.
Hope doesn’t exist outside the darkness—it exists within it. In this Advent message, Pastor Joshua Brown invites us to “steer toward the pain” and discover that hope is born not from denial, but from anticipation. Drawing from Isaiah, 2 Peter, and Matthew 25, we’re reminded that the light of Christ has come, is coming again, and even now breaks through the darkness that feels unending.
In this Thanksgiving message from Psalm 95, Pastor Joshua Brown explores how gratitude reorients the soul—teaching us to remember God’s faithfulness, stay rooted in the present, and be renewed for what’s ahead. Discover how true thanksgiving flows from the grace that defines who we are.
What if salvation wasn’t the finish line—but the starting point? In this message from Luke 19:1–10, Pastor Joshua Brown invites us to rethink faith as participation in the very life of Christ. Through the stories of Isaiah’s rebuke and Zacchaeus’ redemption, we’re reminded that grace doesn’t just save us—it transforms us into people through whom Jesus continues His work in the world.
When faith becomes familiar, beauty fades—and pride quietly takes its place. In this message from Luke 18:9–14, Pastor Joshua Brown calls us back to the heart of humility: a posture that sees everything as mercy and everyone as equal at the cross. Discover how reclaiming awe in the ordinary revives gratitude, restores community, and reveals the quiet power of a humble life before God.
When prayer feels slow, frustrating, or silent—what if God is doing his deepest work? In this message from Luke 18, Pastor Joshua Brown reminds us that prayer is not just about getting answers but being formed. Through the widow who refuses to give up, Jacob’s wrestling with God, and Paul’s call to “continue,” we discover that perseverance in prayer leads to new identity, deeper communion, and unshakable faith.
Have you forgotten the worth of what you’ve been given? In Ephesians 2:1–10, we’re reminded that the riches of grace in Christ aren’t just treasures to keep—they’re meant to be given away. In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown challenges us to recover the true value of the Gospel before time and familiarity strip it away. Discover how costly grace changes us, and why the world desperately needs us to share it.
Ever feel like God is silent when you’re praying for something close to your heart? In this message from 1 Samuel 1–2, we look at Hannah’s story and discover that God’s “delay” is actually patient preparation for something far greater than we imagine. When the provoking voices of doubt rise up, the truth is that God hasn’t forgotten you—He’s forming you. This sermon will help you see waiting not as wasted time but as the very place where His promises are matured and multiplied.
What if the endings in your life aren’t the final word but the beginning of something greater? In this sermon from John 12, Pastor Joshua shows how Jesus teaches that true fruit comes when we let go of what once defined us. Drawing from Bonhoeffer and the wisdom of the church, we discover that sacrifice is not loss but the seedbed of new life. If you’re standing at the close of a season, this message will help you see how endings can open the way to God’s deepest work in you.
What truly holds your devotion? In this sermon from Luke 16:1–13, Pastor Joshua Brown explores Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager and what it reveals about our divided loyalties. Belief in Christ without following Him is like owning a boat you never put in the water; discipleship is the difference between drifting and truly sailing. This message calls us to examine the arc of our lives and ask: who—or what—are we really devoted to?
Are you really prepared for God’s presence—or just hoping you’ll stumble into it? In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks how John the Baptist shows us the Church’s true calling: preparing the way for the Lord. Discover why shallow theology and spiritual shortcuts keep us from God’s glory, and how deep discipleship and community can make the crooked ways straight.
Why do we follow Jesus—and are we really following at all? In this episode, Pastor Joshua Brown unpacks Luke 22:1–13, exploring the contrast between Judas’ unprepared heart and the upper room that was ready for Christ. Learn what true discipleship looks like, how to make space for Jesus in your life, and why becoming like a child might be the key to experiencing God’s New Covenant. Stop chasing image—start discovering who you were made to be.
When it comes to following Jesus, are you giving Him what you won’t miss—or everything you’ve got? This message cuts through the noise of legalism and the trap of lawlessness, calling us back to a discipleship that costs something. Through the story of the poor widow, we’re confronted with a love that demands our whole life, not just our leftovers. If you’ve been settling for halfway whole, this might be the wake-up call you didn’t know you needed.
In Ezra 3, the people of God restore the place of worship before they restore the foundation or the structure of the temple. They became people of sacrificial worship before they built a place of sacrificial worship. This pattern teaches us that God seeks people with single-hearted devotion to give the grace to build something. Attempting to develop without first becoming whole inevitably becomes performance.
In the book of Ezra, the people of God who had returned from exile laid the foundation of the temple. Yet, by the king's decree, they were stopped from progressing beyond the foundation. Between Ezra 4, when work ceases, and Ezra 5, when work resumes, is 16 years of inactivity. These are years ordained by God. The question is, what do we do when God plants us in a season of halted production? We become the structure that the foundation upholds.
Ever feel like the darkness is closing in? What if it’s just a sign you’ve drifted from the light? In this episode, Pastor Joshua Brown reveals how the chaos we feel isn’t a battle to fight, but a distance to close. Drawing from Scripture and a sunrise moment on the beach, he reminds us that proximity to God is what brings clarity, peace, and purpose. If your soul feels restless, this message might be the light you’ve been looking for.
In this message from Dream Church, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the sacred gift of rest and its central importance in our lives. Drawing from Matthew 11, Genesis 2, and Exodus 20, we discover that rest is not optional—it's holy, essential, and a glimpse of eternity. Discover how practicing proper Sabbath rest restores your soul, realigns your identity, and enables you to live from God's love, rather than life's burdens.
In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown shares how the Church has lost its passion—not because we’ve lost our mission, but because we've forgotten our belovedness. Drawing from John 13, he reminds us that true passion is found when we lay our head on the chest of Jesus and experience His love. Only the love of Christ can fulfill our deepest longings and restore our passion for life, faith, and each other.
In this message from Dream Church, Pastor Joshua unpacks Bernard of Clairvaux’s “Four Degrees of Love” and how they reflect our journey of spiritual formation. From self-centered love to complete union with God, discover how your love for God can deepen and transform every part of your life. Where are you in this progression—and how can you grow?
In this Father’s Day message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores the immeasurable, unconditional love of God as revealed in 1 John 4. He challenges the idea of a conditional gospel, reminding us that God's love is not earned but freely given, because love is the very essence of who God is. To abide in this love, we must release distorted views of God, let His love transform us, and mirror that love to the world. This sermon invites listeners into a deeper trust and fascination with the Father who embraces us as His beloved.
In this Pentecost message, Pastor Joshua Brown explores how Acts 2 is the divine reversal of the Tower of Babel, showing movement from confusion to unity, from man-made ambition to Spirit-filled purpose. He challenges us to move beyond mere conversion and into a fully alive life shaped by discipleship and formation. This sermon calls the Church to humble itself, lift the name of Jesus, and commit to the long, beautiful journey of becoming a people truly alive in the Spirit.
In this Vision Sunday message, Joshua Brown reflects on Dream Church’s journey and introduces a new season of clarity and formation. Drawing from the parable of the four soils in Matthew 13, he challenges the church to become “good soil” by removing distractions and intentionally embracing discipleship. The church’s new vision centers on being deeply formed in the love of Jesus and the ways of His kingdom. With this, Dream Church is launching 21 days of prayer and a renewed discipleship pathway, shifting its focus from Sunday services to intentional spiritual formation. For more information on Dream's new vision, click here.
In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown invites us to confront the dull, directionless seasons of our spiritual lives by discovering the transformative power of a Rule of Life. Drawing from Acts 2:43–47 and personal experience, he unpacks how intentional rhythms—centered on Jesus—can bring clarity, freedom, and purpose. Whether you're stuck on spiritual autopilot or longing for deeper formation, this sermon offers a framework to help you live with vision and grace.
In this sermon, Pastor Joshua Brown invites us to resist the modern urge to live as self-made gods and instead return to our true humanity through the practices of prayer and scripture. Using Psalm 27, he illustrates how we lose ourselves when we reject our limits and live without dependence on God. Prayer and scripture restore our awareness that God is God and we are not—anchoring us in humility, trust, and the larger story of grace.
In this opening message of the Into the Silent Land series, Joshua Brown invites listeners to rediscover discipleship by seeing Jesus as Rabbi. Preaching from Matthew 5:1–12, he reframes the Beatitudes as a kingdom manifesto—revealing who God’s reign is aimed at and how we, as disciples, are called to embody it. With a challenge to reject shallow belief and embrace deep formation, this sermon calls us to follow Jesus with our whole lives, bringing justice, mercy, and hope to the forgotten and oppressed.
In this Easter message Pastor Joshua Brown reflects on Luke 15 through the lens of two “prodigal sons”—one who runs from home in search of identity, and one who remains yet feels forgotten. Joshua explores how both sons reveal our spiritual journeys—whether we chase validation in the world or lose ourselves in doing for God while forgetting we are simply His. Ultimately, we are all called back to the Father’s embrace, where we are reminded: “You are my beloved; on you my favor rests.”
This sermon uses the story of Palm Sunday and the Old Testament prophet Malachi to challenge listeners to examine the quality of their offerings to God. It argues that many people offer God only what is convenient, rather than their whole lives, and calls for a shift from a superficial Christian image to a deep Christian belief that costs us everything. The central message is a call to love God wholly and live a life worthy of discipleship, reflecting Christ's journey from Palm Sunday to the resurrection.
In this powerful episode, we dive deep into the fiery message of the prophet Amos—a shepherd turned mouthpiece of God—who dared to confront injustice in the heart of God’s people. Justice, often dismissed as political, is shown to be a divine mandate, inseparable from love and true worship. We explore what it means to love our neighbor, stand with the oppressed, and let righteousness flow like a mighty river. This is a call to the Church, not the world, to return to costly grace and the justice-centered heart of God.
Almost all of our anxieties come from uncertainty. The prophet often finds themselves in unclear conditions. However, they don't respond to questions with doubt; they respond to questions with curiosity.
A prophet feels what God feels about the present condition. Therefore, they can see beneath the surface and perceive where the story is heading if things don't change. Do you feel what God feels about what lies before you?
Three qualities make up a prophet: vision, obedience, and commitment. In this sermon, Joshua Brown walks through these qualities to show that all disciples are prophetic and why our world needs prophets now more than ever.
The pilgrimage of discipleship, ascending to where we belong (home), is a long obedience in the same direction.
We often hear the call to "take your cross and follow Jesus." But do we understand what that means? In this message, Joshua Brown will teach what it means to take up your cross and how the disciple of Jesus is continually being sanctified along the road of following.
What constitutes a calling from God? In this message, we'll explore what it means to be called and how calling is connected to discipleship.
In his 1937 book The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote one of the most profound pieces of literature on grace. This sermon kicks off a series of sermons on the book. In this week's message, Joshua Brown teaches about cheap grace, why we have sold it to the masses, and how to return to costly grace.
In the final message of our sermons on The Priesthood of All Believers, we will study Ephesians 4:14-15 and learn to be deeply rooted in our call to follow Jesus—no longer being children tossed to and fro.
We are called to find security for our lives in God. Yet, we often find security in money. That's why Jesus teaches we cannot serve both. What should our relationship with money be, and how can it become a resource for our spiritual formation? Find out in this message.
What is the Church? That is the question we will ask and answer this week. In this sermon, you will learn what it means that the church is, as Paul Avis put it, a sacrament of salvation and why that is critical to who we, as a whole, are becoming.
All church members play an integral role in the body's calling. The church's calling is a calling of "us" and not "me." My calling is only relevant within the larger picture of our calling. Rather than asking, "What is my calling?" we should situate the question within the calling of the whole: "What is my place within our calling?" But, before we can know our place in the body, we must first repent—change how we think—to place God back on the throne of our lives, which will affect every part of our being.
We cannot attain peace on our own. Peace that can be overpowered by something more substantial than our will is not true peace. Peace comes from God. Therefore, fear stands in the way of living in the peace given to us. In this message, Joshua Brown teaches how the fear of the Lord removes the barrier of the fear of what we (think) we can control and, as a result, allows us to receive the peace of God fully.
In Romans 8, Paul teaches us that hope is not seen. Yet we were saved "in hope," which means we were saved into anticipation for what we do not see. How can we, as people of God, live with patient endurance for what we do not see clearly (yet)? Find out in this week's message from Joshua Brown.
What does it mean that John's gospel calls Jesus the Logos (Word)? If Jesus is God's divine reasoning—the why behind all of creation—then the Incarnation means a lot more than we've ever imagined.
Wisdom is the framework for Scripture. According to John's gospel, scripture is filled with wise truth, which is Christ himself. Therefore, to receive wisdom is to accept the very person of Christ. Our culture has devalued instruction and wisdom, but we are being called to take it up again as essential.
How can God be all-powerful and ultimately understand everything we feel and walk through? In other words, how can God weep with us over a loss when he has the power to prevent the loss from happening in the first place? In this message, Joshua Brown breaks down how both characteristics are true of God and how we must submit our view of time to a revelation of God's timelessness.
We live in the dichotomy of free grace and a call to lay down everything and follow Jesus. What does this mean, and how do we effectively live in the space in between? Find out in this week's message.
Your ability to persevere is connected to your belief in who you are to Him. When deeply rooted in the truth of who you are and who He is, you can thrive through the "night."
The final chapter of Isaiah begins with a question: What house are you building the Lord, and what is his resting place? In this message, Joshua Brown asks us this question and frames it within the vision of Proverbs 31:10-31.
We've heard our entire lives that we need to follow Jesus. We didn't understand that Jesus was leading us somewhere that is so counter to where we "think" he's leading us that it requires reformation on the level of thinking (or seeing) to follow him somewhere we didn't have the theology to go. The Jesus Way involves a yoke of teaching that is easy and light. This message explores where Jesus calls us and how we follow him there.
If we believe we are loved and liked by the Father, we must live in the faithfulness of his care. We miss out on the life we were designed for when we live believing he might let us down. The world is longing for a people who love with the measure they believe they've been loved.
A stained glass work of art comprises many broken pieces of glass. But, when put in the hands of master artists, these broken pieces are exactly what are needed for a beautiful work of art. What if you can't mess up the call of God for you? What if even your stumbling is being used for a beautiful picture of his faithfulness? Your purpose isn't contingent on you; your purpose is solely contingent on his faithfulness.
A "new" wineskin can receive fresh wine and stretch and mature with it. An "old" wineskin will break when new wine is poured into it and starts stretching and maturing. Why? Because it lacks the trust that believes the stretching is for its good. When the Lord starts to give a fresh revelation of who he is, and who we are, it will reveal if we carry the trust to allow that revelation to mature IN us, or if we are so stuck on what is comfortable that it will break us and waste the wine. Stretching is a blessing.
Being chosen often comes with the assumption of a rejection of others. However, the way God chooses speaks to his intentionality. You were specifically chosen to become the fullness of God's image within your unique person. If we struggle to understand this and the full acceptance of the Father, we will not be able to allow our inner kingdom to be built into what the King desires it to become.
The kingdom of God doesn't start in a ministry setting or in the world around us; the kingdom of God starts within us. Within us is a vast kingdom that God, the king, longs to transform into the full image of his goodness. The problem is, to do so, he must first face—with us—the dark alleyways that we've avoided for a long time. We are the beloved of the Father. If we can grasp our beloved identity, we'll effortlessly see "Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." We are a kingdom work before we ever do a kingdom work.
Revival is a choice. We are called to choose what we know to be true before we feel it or experience it. If you wait for momentum or mass adoption, you'll never encounter the fullness of what you can access. The first step into any experience with God is a choice.
Once we establish that we are what Christ has made us and that our futures are what he has made them, we can walk with confidence that all things are, in fact, possible for us.
Luke opens his gospel with his purpose and then his reasoning. In summary, Luke is writing to convince us of what we have heard (the Gospel), and he begins his convincing argument by introducing us to the idea that nothing is impossible for God. What does it look like for us, as people of God, to move from a life of fear-induced impossibility to faith-induced possibility?
Jeremiah was called to prophesy to a people who had lost their way. His message was one of returning to their first love. You can be doing all the right things, but if you aren't becoming the image you were born from/for, you'll never truly be fulfilled. Our culture is crying out for a true expression of God's goodness.
If you don’t know why you are living your life, you’ll never fully experience what your life was intended to produce.
Sheep are herd animals. They are natural followers. They will only follow a familiar voice (shepherd). Jesus uses this common understanding to teach the religious leaders about God's prophetic fulfillment in the Son. We must decide what voice is familiar and what is that of a stranger.
You'll only see Jesus clearly when you become blind to what kept you from seeing Jesus before. In John 9, a man born blind is healed, and his sight is restored by Jesus. The religious leaders are furious because Jesus does this on the Sabbath. Religion will always be offended by those who have been given sight to see things for what they really are, but once you leave that system of karma, an angry god, and a weak Jesus, you'll inherit a revelation of the Son you were always designed to have.
The book of Job is not blunt history, but it does communicate a historical truth. What is this truth and why does it matter to us, today?
What did Christ accomplish for us and how do we move forward into resurrection life? Find out in this Easter message from Joshua Brown.
John's telling of the Palm Sunday narrative begins with Mary's radical act of devotion after witnessing her brother Lazarus's resurrection. John 12 contrasts an act of devotion with the offense of religion. An act of the gospel of love will always offend a gospel of works.
It isn't enough to ask the Lord to move where we are; for the Lord to move as he desires, we must leave what enslaved us behind and venture to a place where we can rest. Where we are going is a land cultivated by the Lord himself, not our best effort.
If rest and vision go hand in hand, how do you get to proper rest and vision when you aren't there yet? Perseverance. Perseverance is continuing in what you know to be right even though you don't see the expected results. Perseverance is the trust that you will see what the Lord spoke to you as long as you remain rooted in faith.
In Genesis 26, Isaac faces famine with his family. The Lord specifically tells him not to go to Egypt and settle in a place the Lord will show him. Why? And what is this saying to us, today?
In John 2, we see the story of Jesus turning the water for purification into wine and cleansing the temple (which the other gospel accounts put at the end of Jesus' ministry). Why does the author place these together, and what is this saying to us today? Find out in this message.
In Numbers 21, we see the people grow impatient with God and, as a result, are bitten by fiery, poisonous snakes that kill them. However, the Lord offers salvation from their own destruction: taking the very thing that was killing them and lifting it up among the people so that as they see it, they are saved. Likewise, Christ becomes the son of humans so that as he is lifted up, we are set free from the bite of our delusions and lies.
Jesus, in John 1, tells Nathanael that he has become the place where movement between earth and heaven (God's space) occurs. The Incarnation isn't just a revelation of who we are but a revelation of the Creation redeemed with us.
When we go through disappointment, it creates a way of seeing the world. When that happens, we miss the beauty around us because of the brokenness within us. Jesus calls us to give him the broken pieces and allow him to bring a healing that restores our sight.
Is everything falling apart or being reborn? Perspective on what lies ahead will determine how you live your life with God.
When we see ourselves as servants, we live to do what we are told to get spiritually "paid" when we're done. When we see ourselves as friends, we live for union. Jesus calls us now friends and has disclosed all things to us.
This is our seventh year as a church, which we believe is an invitation to rest. What does that mean, and what does that look like? Find out in this episode!
Not only is darkness a metaphor for the lies that we create apart from the truth in Christ (light), but it also represents the obscurity that God plants his feet in to bring all of us into the light. Can you see God at work in the hiddenness of your life?
Each of the first three encounters with an angel in the gospel of Luke starts with "Do not be afraid." Why? What were they afraid of? Some context into the Old Testament law will show us that God, in Christ, has come to make all things right. Perfect love drives out fear.
We are so used to a mythological God, in the Father, who is more like a divine bully and murderer than the God revealed in Jesus. The Incarnation is how we reform how we see the Father and everything else.
What have you stopped praying and dreaming for? The forerunner of Jesus comes from impossibility.
If one tree is burning, it is easy to put out. If an entire forest is on fire, it is nearly impossible to put out. If we're going to see transformation in and through the Church, it is going to have to be the whole church playing an active role.
We have made a habit of responding casually to a gospel that is extremely generous toward us. Then, we wonder why we aren't moving from "glory to glory." The call is to lay down our lives in order to find life. We must live generously, not meagerly.
How did the church fathers see the incarnation and how does that differ from our current views of the Word becoming flesh? If we are going to see the gospel in all of its goodness, we must remember where we started. This is a new reformation.
It is critical to remember your baptism and what it really represents...and it isn't just "going public."
It's not just that we pursue an encounter with God, it is that we pursue a childlike encounter with God. "Unless you become like a child..."
The old law was given to make sin (misplacement) known to us so that the second law could bring us home. However, now that the new has come, it is improper for us to live in the ways of the old. It isn't sin that needs to be made known, it's who we are within the finished work of Christ that needs to be made known to all.
God, in the Incarnation, was not setting out to punish the actions of sin. God, in the Incarnation, was setting out to prove to the human race what was true. That truth is that we are deeply loved, ever accepted, and redeemed back to Him. We need to build our gospel on the truth of who Jesus is rather than the depth of sin that has already been dealt with and undone.
Jesus has prepared a place for us "in the Father's house." This is not an eschatological (study of the end) truth, this is an ontological truth (study of existence). Something happened in Christ, the Way, Truth, and Life, that has placed us in the Father's house here and now. The implications of this could not be larger.
Wisdom isn't just empty knowledge; wisdom is a man and that man's name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. Therefore, we are called to attain wisdom in order to know the one we are joined to. This divine reasoning holds all things together.
How do we burst through the layers of unorthodox tradition and religion to get back to the ancient "way?" The Incarnation of the Son of God.
The first words of Jesus in the gospel of John are, “What do you seek?” This is the question all of us must answer as we walk with Jesus. What is it that we are looking for? The following statement Jesus makes after his question to the two disciples that long to follow him is, “Come and see.” What are you looking for?—Come and see. Repentance (a change of thinking) is necessary if we are to see Jesus for who he really is, thus see God for who God really is. We have to see God on God’s own terms with God’s own perception.
What defines your worth? An embrace of the gospel will cause your worth to be defined by 2 things, exclusively: love and acceptance.
What has your experience with God and the gospel really been like? Has it looked like continual acceptance of a new way in which you are deeply loved, accepted, and chosen, including—not excluding—all the broken pieces that once condemned you? OR, has it looked like a rivalry between trying to convince yourself of your worth and God’s goodness and the fact that you’ve been told—endlessly—that you are just a sinner? We need to be embraced by the true, orthodox, and original gospel.
We've been told that baptism is a public profession of an inward reality. While that is somewhat true, it is much more than that. Baptism is the means by which we live our lives in Christ. It is an ever-present sacrament.
*This message was recorded at a service at the West Columbia Riverwalk Amphitheater.
How do we process pain within the gospel of a good God revealed in Jesus? The early Church gives us some insight into this, as does the New Testament. In this message, Joshua Brown speaks to how we reconcile pain and the goodness of God.
Faith is not mere belief. Faith is welcoming a new way. Faith is trusting in the midst of contradiction to human rationale. In the New Testament, that contradiction is of a God who is holy (other) and is called the kingdom of God. Therefore, we can't understand the gospel we can only embrace it and be embraced by it.
We wrap up our study of Ruth with a story of a close relative to Naomi, who is purposefully left unnamed by the author, rejecting an inheritance because it required intimacy with a covenant partner. The unknown relative was solely worried about his own estate. For Boaz, however, the prize was Ruth. For Naomi to be fully redeemed, Ruth had to be rejected by a works-conscious partner and joined to a covenant-conscious partner. The result was a child "being born to Naomi." Let the religion of a sum of your works go so that you can be fully embraced by covenant-lifestyle.
Naomi sends Ruth to the threshing floor in Ruth 3 to encounter Boaz in a way that would secure the family line. What will you risk for the encounter you desire? It will require you to risk everything you're in control of and trust you'll be left with what you were really made for.
The Bible isn't a book of what happened a long time ago; the Bible is a book of why things happen, both then and now. That being said, what questions should we be asking as we read Ruth? What does it mean for us today? Find out in this bonus episode.
When we are in the middle of a work of God, and we can't see the end result of what he's actually doing, we'll start to settle for temporary fillings that we can control. God isn't a God that just longs to give you just enough; God is a God that wants to give you abundantly more than you could ever dream.
In this message, Matthew Brown teaches us how we can find ourselves in the story of Jacob becoming Israel.
Ruth 1 gives us symbolic insight into the power of who we are tethered to. God will allow us to realize the fullness of what we cling to, particularly in religion, so that once that part of us is gone, we will find ourselves with another covenant partner who will birth beloved identity and be the redemption of what was once lost.
The dry seasons in our life are God's grace, given to us to sow seed. If we wait for the rain to come, we're too late. What do you need to sow right now before you see proof of its fulfillment? Rain is coming.
If you know everything there is to know about the love of God but never allow that to be reflected in how you love others, it profits you little. We are called to become the love that God is.
The wilderness is the place we typically beg God to remove us from. We talk about the wilderness as if we are going through it. What if it is God's plan to place you in it rather than through it? What happens in the wilderness? We'll explore why your greatest trials can actually be your greatest blessings.
The audience of the New Testament understood the eyes to see through what Plato called Emission Theory. That is, that light comes from the eyes and illuminates what you are looking at. Therefore, they defined light as unobstructed vision and dark as obstructed vision, but it was all based on the idea of where the light of vision comes from. That being said, what is the New Testament telling us when it continually contrasts light and dark?
What do we do when we're waiting on the Lord to come through on what he promised? In this episode, Joshua Brown looks at the sons of David and shows us how inheritance is our portion, not taking for ourselves what might be right (in the right season) because we're tired of waiting.
God is love. Not just any love—God is unconditional love. There is no condition to meet in order to gain God's love. It chose you before you chose it. For us to be image bearers of God, we must reflect the same kind of love to the world around us.
What does Jesus mean when he says that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven hidden in three measures of dough? In this message, we discover what a whole church looks like.
Where are you rooted? It doesn't matter how great of a "tree" you are, if you aren't planted in the right place, you will dry up and die.
You are the dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2:22). You are Zion. However, many of us live our lives attempting to control the weather around us instead of being who we really are and simply observing the weather for the providential beauty that it is. We must become Zion again.
To support the ministry of Dream Church, please visit www.dreamcolumbia.com/give
What happens when you are placed in the right environment is determined by how free you are from the inner person formed in the wrong environment.
We all have a persona we show others. But, what happens when we build a life on that? Suddenly, we don't know who we are and the result is, we build a God in the image we've made rather than find our identity in the image He is and made. In this episode, Pastor Joshua Brown will help us go into the dark and open wide to become who we really are.
Why does Jesus call us and what are the implications? In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown breaks down what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls "Single-Minded Obedience."
What follows the revelation of our sin being justified (made right)? One of two things: apathy (cheap grace) or discipleship (costly grace). In this first part of Pastor Joshua Brown's teaching on The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joshua teaches through Bonhoeffer's view of cheap and costly grace and why something of value must ALWAYS come at a valuable cost.
What does it mean to "lay down everything to follow" Jesus? The gospel of grace and reconciliation does not call us into a life of laziness. Rather, the gospel of grace and reconciliation calls us into a life of laying down everything that was a part of our story before Jesus redeemed it.
What happens when what you see does not look like what you thought it would? What if we began to trust that what God is doing is a part of his precise plan to bring you into your purpose? In the story of Luke 2, Mary and Joseph are called to take a 90 mile journey from their home in Nazareth, Mary being fully termed in her pregnancy. This had to be frustrating. Nevertheless, as we see, this is the will of God bringing them back to Bethlehem, David's city, so that they could give birth to the forever king.
Advent means "coming" and the Advent season is a time of preparing and anticipating the coming of the Lord, both looking back to the manger and ahead to his return. Let us reorient all of our lives around the fear of the Lord this Advent season.
The gospel is not, primarily, what you do with Jesus; it is what Jesus has done with you. The Good News that we proclaim into the world is that the death that once held us in its grip is destroyed and eliminated from our story. Now, we have the responsibility to live like that is the case. If we do, the Creation, with us, will experience freedom, or, the kingdom of God.
What went through the minds of Mary and Joseph as they process parenting the Son of God? In this episode, pastor Joshua Brown will help us place ourselves within the true story of Christmas to redeem its intended magic.
What really happened at the last supper? Who was seated where, why were certain things done the way they were, and how does that connect to us, today? In this message, Matthew Brown will teach us the meaning behind what's going on in a very well known, yet misunderstood, story.
If Incarnation was God becoming human(ity), how should we now see the world around us, specifically people. Even deeper than that, how should we see our city that is crying out for the kingdom of God? Does the kingdom need to invade or does our city need to realize it's already in the kingdom? Pastor Joshua dares us to think through these things on this 5 year anniversary message.
There is a pattern in Psalm 23 that shows us there is so much purpose in the very place that feels like death. God doesn't want to remove us from the valley of the shadow of death, he wants us to see that he is with us in and through it.
Many Christians refuse to participate in Halloween because they see it as "the devil's holiday." However, is this really what Halloween is?
Much of our culture and society has grappled with the question of purpose. So often, we support and exalt an autonomous reasoning, yet subconsciously long for community. In this message, pastor Joshua Brown talks through why we need to let Jesus shape us into the identity and reasoning of the kingdom and how doing so will cause us to find why we are here.
Have you ever wondered what purpose your job has in the kingdom of God? Is it just somewhere you go to get a paycheck, or is there something much more sacred going on behind the scenes? In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown walks us through why and how our work matters.
Matthew Brown, from Dream, interviews Marty Solomon from the BEMA podcast. Matt asks some very relevant questions to where we are as a church, and where the Church is in general. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Jesus calls us to "come to him" and to "take his yoke (that is easy and light)." But, what does this mean and how does it relate to Sabbath and the tithe? Find out in this message from Joshua Brown
What does it mean to be a human being? To bear the image and likeness of God. What is the image and likeness of God? The Son. Therefore, the way we live most "human" is to live as if everything in our life is hidden in Christ.
Rest and trust are what it means to be truly human. Therefore, God will do whatever it takes to get you into the rest, trust, dependence, and reliance, that you were made in/for. Testing is his goodness, proving the value within you.
Why does the Old Testament seem to have stories that, on the surface, contradict each other? Can we trust them? Is there something we're missing? If you've ever had these questions, check out this bonus episode!
The Sabbath (to rest) is not inactivity but activity in trust. Likewise, giving is not losing resources because we "have to," giving is sowing resources into the ground, trusting that God will produce a great harvest with it. We have to live in these two realities if we are to align ourselves with who we really are.
There's a difference in leading out of your anointing and leveraging your anointing for something other than anointing; typically, stardom.
Dream Church is a very unique expression of the church in a post-modern era. In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown teaches on why we are a church rebuilding the temple of Zion (metaphorically) rather than a duplicate of Babylon. What you allow in will ultimately rule over you.
Covenant is one of the most important topics of the Bible. The question is, why? In this sermon, Pastor Joshua Brown teaches on the history of covenant and how, as with so many other topics, there is much more to the story than we ever imagined.
If God is love, how do we rightly understand punishment? His punishment and judgement is never aimed at us, it is always aimed at what keeps us from being who we really are. It is always good.
The Jews had a unique culture. The problem for us in the West is, if we don't get a grip on the culture of the Jews, in which the scriptures were written from, we'll miss a major piece of the story of scripture. In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown gives us some insight into the Patriarchal society of the Jews to see redemption in the entirety of the Bible. If we can grasp the culture of Israel, we can see the Bible in ways we've never seen.
Because of imputed salvation, we’ve been given the authority to sow and reap in both quantity and quality. If you don’t have to strive to attain what has been given to us, our works move from affecting our identity to being the vehicle we use to live in our identity.
Christ did not come to affect the age of sin and law; He came to complete it and inaugurate a new (original) age absent of sin and law. This means we can lay down our fighting against the darkness (darkness is defeated) and begin to announce the kingdom reign of God is here.
Most of us have seen the third member of the Trinity as lesser-than and a fog that stays in the distance until the occasions are right. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The Spirit is not weird or "other-than." The Holy Spirit is a shepherd that leads us to green pastures.
The Jewish festival of Shavuot was a celebration of harvest and the giving of the Torah. Pentecost, in Acts 2, is the fulfillment of what Shavuot represents. The connections of the two are crucial in understanding what was really going on in that upperroom.
The sermon to the Hebrews is from a Pastor who is writing to a primarily Jewish audience wanting to go back to Judaism. In the message, Joshua Brown teaches on Hebrews 1 and 2 and how we should respond to the exact representation of God, seen in Jesus the Son.
It is true that all things came into being in, through, and for the Son. However, if all things exist in the Son, where were all things when the Son became flesh? He entered into the very Creation that existed in Him yet because that Creation existed in Him, everything He did He not only did as Jesus, but also as all things.
Mankind was created in the image of God. Genesis 3 tells the story of mankind (Adam and Eve) choosing to follow the distortion of the beast and end up in a mindset of production. You are enough exactly as Yahweh has created you to be.
Babylon's pace will always come at the cost of your peace. As long as you are living in a mentality that you have to earn what Babylon defines as "success", you will give up the very thing that Zion defines as "success" which is the quality of your authentic identity. It's not about how fast you can get something (even something God spoke), it's about how long that something will last when you do receive it. Time is on your side.
Psalm 137 tells the story of two competing views of the world and, ultimately, the people of God: Babylon and Zion. Babylon judges success in terms of quantity. More, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger, is the vision of Babylon. Zion, however, judges success in terms of quality. Zion is only concerned with you becoming more and more truly who you really are. Zion is looking for the few who will honor it supremely. The Church must grapple with this and choose this day whom we will serve.
Wholeness is what happens on the inside of us when the declaration of righteousness is heard over our lives. That declaration happened at the resurrection. The whole of the human dilemma is not to try and become whole, it's to believe you are fully whole no matter what you have done. The church is important because that is the place where truth is reinforced within the lives of the family. What truth? The truth of who you truly are.
Yahweh sets Himself apart from every other false god and religion by declaring He is a God that provides. God does not abandon His kids or require you to prove your devotion to Him but He longs to prove to you, in whatever means necessary, how He is ever devoted to the one made in His own image and likeness: you.
What was God's motivation for becoming flesh and dwelling among/in us? Was it to punish sin? Or was it something much more ancient? In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown teaches why Jesus is the fulfillment of the decree of God.
The root of all theology is what we know about God, specifically who God is and the relationship God exists in. The next part of knowing God is consequently knowing mankind because mankind was made in, through, and for that God-relationship, in the image of it. In this message, Joshua Brown teaches through trinitarian theology and how that impacts every other theology we have.
What is baptism and how does it relate to the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt? Jesus is calling us to go through the waters of freedom from slavery and into the original design of the Breath of God.
Most of us have heard a gospel in our life. The question is, is that the actual gospel and if not, what is? In this message, we will explore what Jesus and the early writers meant when they preached the good news.
In this message, Pastor Joshua Brown teaches through what salvation is. Jesus made you whole. This work wasn't to just determine your destination when you die; it was to redeem your way of living.
Over the years, it seems like we allow normalcy to steal our wonder. The same thing happens in our walk with the Lord if we stop honoring the access we've been given. Let the Lord restore the wonder found only in Him.
Where you came from has everything to do with who you are. We've gotten this backwards. We think we came from one place (sin for example) but we spend our whole lives trying to change who we are into something we intrinsically are not (children of God). But that's not how identity works. It's not a sum of what you've done; it's a reality of where you came from. That means works can't change, positively or negatively, who you intrinsically are which is good.
Sinai tells us a lot about how we relate to God. God brings the people from Egypt to Sinai, in the wilderness, to marry them (make them His bride). But that's where things go in a very different direction than what was intended. What is the connection between Israel's cry for a king in 1 Samuel 8, Abram (later Abraham) and his covenant with God in Genesis 15, and Israel's wilderness mishap in Exodus 19 and 20? When you see it, you will be amazed at what Sinai says to us, here and now.
When God comes with a revelation about who He is, do we change how we think to fit what has been revealed to us or do we reject His revelation because it doesn't fit our preconceived way of thinking? Our philosophy was always meant to be informed by our theology not the other way around. The problem is, most in the West have rejected pieces of who God is because they refuse to let their thinking be messed with. This is the exact thing Jesus is coming after in the Sermon on the Mount.
When Jesus talks about us not serving two masters, what is he talking about? Hint: not what you've probably thought. The sermon on the mount is Jesus' inauguration of a new exodus. This exodus will be marked by a single eye, full of light, with no space for a works based lie of identity.
The Bible has one main story from beginning to end. That story is that God designed an intimate relationship between Trinity and Humanity (made in the image of that very Trinity) and when we are enslaved away from that relationship, God brings about an exodus to restore what He originally and eternally desires: covenant. The Bible is not a book of atonement, like much of the West sees; it's a book of exodus.
Are we willing to let go of the slavery that is all we've ever known to be human? The Israelites come out of Egypt and are walking in the wilderness. God then sets up a marriage ceremony where He begins the process of teaching them what it means to be a human again. Their only responsibility is laying down slavery, not just on the outside but on the inside as well.
Some label the time in between the Old and New Testament as the "Silent Years." However, these were years of great change in the earth and understanding these years is critical to understanding the ministry and life of Jesus.
The ancient world wasn't filled with individualistic thinking like ours, it was communal. The charge against the evil deeds of the Israelites, in Isaiah 1 and elsewhere, wasn't individual works; the charge was that they had stopped caring about "we" and started solely caring about "me."
The only way we will ever understand the depth of the incarnation is if we first look at what exactly the prophets of old and the people of old were anticipating in God's coming Messiah. What did God speak through the prophets about what this Messiah would come to do? In this message, Pastor Joshua teaches on this anticipatory mindset of Israel and what Jesus would be and do.
Every 500 years, God shifts the landscape of the Church. It has been 500 years since the reformation and there is a stirring in the body of Christ for a finishing of what was left on the table in the reformation 500 years ago. The major shift that is happening right now is not how we achieve salvation (which Luther taught, rightly, was by faith alone), rather what, or who, salvation and faith is, Jesus the eternal Son of the Father.
The Trinity is not a compartmentalized theological point; the Trinity is the foundation of any and every theological point. We cannot understand who Christ is, what Christ has done, and who we are unless we explore the truth of the relationship that exists between Father, Son, and Spirit.
Romans 5 is the great "reconciliation" passage. But there is a depth and an understanding in how Paul constructs Romans 5 that brings us to a realization we've never seen before. Adam, and Adam's affect on mankind, were nothing but a type and shadow of Christ and His "all the more" affect on mankind. Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. Therefore, even in our darkest place, we were prophesying the affect the light would have on our entire being. "How much more..."
Humanity doesn't consist of a bunch of disconnected individuals; it consist of a bunch of different parts of one body, the human race. This is crucially important in understanding reconciliation and understanding Adam's identity as a "type and shadow" of Christ. Adam is only given context by our understanding of Jesus and what He did on our behalf.
The "fall" was not a bite from a fruit; the "fall" was Eve and Adam's agreement with the idea from the enemy that, "if I DO _____, I'll become _____." That agreement, of course, produced the action of a bite of fruit but the fall was the veiling that entered into the mindset of humanity that believed we have to earn an identity that in reality we have always had. What was God to do about this? Let humanity slide so deep into their new found delusion that they ceased to exist all together? Or, step into their delusional darkness and formlessness and remind them of the truth of who they are?
If no part of the history of us and God is primarily aimed at actions or works, but our identity and reminding us what we had forgotten (who we really are), we can't respond to God's aim at our identity with the works of our hands. We must only respond with identity.
At the end of Luke 10, Martha is a servant who is busting it to provide something good to the Lord so that she can be approved of. Mary, on the other hand, is sitting at the feet of Jesus receiving her form without giving thought to what she can give by the works of her hands. One thing is required of us and that one thing is beckoning us back to remain in where we started: the One Thing Lifestyle.
Our ability to slow down and live in the moment will determine how we live in beloved identity. We are always looking ahead at the expense of the only thing that will allow us to inherit the future: the now. Being content in trust is the only way to live as Christ has designed us to live. Beloved identity will always be out of reach if we refuse to live here and now.
Marty Solomon is one of the voices of the BEMA Podcast and is currently the President of Impact Campus Ministries. In this interview, Joshua Brown has a conversation about some topics that have been big revelations for us as a church.
You can find the BEMA Podcast here: https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/episodes
Religion works in the shallow parts of our identity which leads us to a life of striving but never catching what we desire. Jesus climbs into our story and calls us to cast deeper.
Our culture, and religion, values the speed at which we outgrow our childlikeness. The kingdom, however, is only seen clearly by those who have their thinking radically redeemed to see things like a child. "Like a child" is not talking about immaturity; it's talking about maturity within childlikeness.
Joshua Brown's message from Horizon Retreat for University of South Carolina Freshman. You existed in God before one thing was created. Only one gets to identify you: the One who made you.
A contract is a relationship based on giving the other your works. A covenant is a relationship based on giving the other yourself. Our relationship with God is not a contractual relationship; it is a covenantal relationship. Jesus didn't just die for us, He died as us.
Matthew Brown breaks down John 3:16's context and how Jesus announced judgement as the light that has come.
Was Jesus simply another man or did He embody the entirety of mankind? Jesus entered into our delusional mindsets and darkness to shine a light on reality. The second Adam redeemed the first Adam and all that came from him. What happened at the baptism and wilderness journey of Jesus tells us everything we need to know about His purpose through incarnation. There's a difference in being in the dark and being in the light thinking you are in the dark.
When the light exposes us to its fullness, it is both the most amazing thing we've ever experienced and the most depressing, as it exposes us to the ugliness of the world we created in the dark. However, the light comes not to bog us down in the world we created but to flood the entirety of our existence with the goodness and truth of Yahweh's love. The real warfare is knowing what is true, and particularly what is not true, in between exposure to the light and freedom into the light.
Our rebirth was not a result of our decisions or works, but of God's desire. Understanding this will make all the difference. Religion is based on cause-and-effect, karma-like living; do ______ and get ______. But Jesus came to introduce us to our true selves, chosen before the creation of the cosmos, that was produced from sheer desire of Father, Son, and Spirit to share what they had with us. You didn't work your way into existence. You can't work your way out of it either.
When God tells Moses to tell the Israelites that His name is, "I AM THAT I AM," He explicitly states that His identity is exclusively in what He is and leaves out any shred of what He is not. We have based most of our lives on the lies of what we are not. This goes all the way back to the Garden and the Fall. Yahweh is shifting us into an understanding of His light, that we exist in and through, where, as John says in 1 John 1, there is no trace of darkness (or obscurity/distortion) found in Him. We are not what we are not, we are who we are.
We’ve always believed the testing of our faith is God showing us how much we lack so that by seeing our lack, we can attain what we lack. However, what James is talking about is not God unveiling our lack, through tests (or experiments), but how much we already have that we falsely believe we lack. This will bring perspective to what we’ve always defined as “storms” or “valleys.”
We have a theology, in the West, rooted in law and works. The gospel, however, is about who we are because of the cross. If we fail to take the journey of dying to our traditional mindsets and inheriting our original mindset and identity, we will miss what Yahweh desires to do in us and our legacy. On earth as it is in heaven is primarily relational.
Matthew Brown teaches at Dream as we continue deeper into the revelation of the love of God.
At the root of every theological thought is the decision to be about separation or union. In Luke 15, Jesus tells of three different, yet exactly the same, stories of identity that had been determined and solidified before it was considered lost. Your identity what determined before you were born.
If all things are created by the Word, for the Word, and in the Word, what do our lives need to look like? He not only unlocked reidentification of us and the cosmos, but He also holds that reidentification together.
Anything we believe about God that didn't come from a root of God is love needs to be reconstructed.
What did God lose at the Fall? He lost the one who He has joined with the trinity in its image and likeness; the object of His affections. Jesus came to seek and save that.
Luke 15 is not about the faithfulness of what was misplaced finding itself; Luke 15 is about the faithfulness of the owner (Father) seeking until he finds what has been lost.
Jesus did not come so that we would behave correctly. Jesus came to give us back our rightful identity. To make the gospel about actions is to miss what the incarnation's purpose was. The incarnation was about seeking and saving that which was lost.
We need a revolution of the love of God. In Luke 15, when telling parables about those who are "lost", Jesus never mentions a change of ownership. He talks about the lost being misplaced. this greatly impacts how the cosmos are transformed by us bearing the image of love.
From the beginning, God's design for the creation was to be a place for He and man to dwell forever. Scripture has newly restored creation written all over it.
We will never be able to live in the fullness of what the second Adam accomplished until we lose all consciousness of the first.
Before we can build a place for the Lord to dwell we must become a place for the Lord to dwell.
Guest speaker, Olivia Brown, delivered a passionate message on the importance of legacy. What we steward now will ultimately be the deciding factor on what kind of legacy we lead.
God makes a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 but takes on both God's side of the covenant and Abram's side of the covenant on Abram's behalf. The cross of Jesus fulfills this covenant for us, now and forever. Easter at Dream 2021.
Letting go of everything we've become enslaved to so we may embrace the one we've been joined to.
Is the story of Noah a story of literals? Or is there a deeper understanding buried beneath the text? Watch this to find out!
God does not move when our clock says he should, He moves when we're ready to inherit what He spoke. He's not slow, He's patient.
For us to go where Yahweh is calling the church, we must have the grace to receive authentic revelation and give authentic revelation. We have to streamline the voices we're being influenced by.
Don't let time cause you to leave the wilderness early. There are things the Lord needs to finish in you before you leave. You can't do good works until you allow yourself to become a good work.
The right thing in the wrong season is the wrong thing. When we get tired of waiting for the appointed time, we'll start to make ourselves what only a father could anoint us as. We need legitimate fathers and sons and daughters willing to get rooted in the shade of legitimate fathers. Creation isn't crying out for great leaders in great organizations, it's crying out for fathers in anointed families.
Loving God and loving others isn't two separate ideas but two halves of one idea. In this message, Matthew Brown breaks down why we can't love God without loving others and we can't love others without loving God. God is love.
God doesn't need your money but He wants your heart. Jesus said where your treasure is there your heart is also. Tithing isn't a weird topic to beg people to give. Tithing is how we unlock the floodgates of heaven to pour out the resources needed to bring His kingdom to the earth.
Holy Spirit "talk" has caused more division in the church than any other topic. In this message, pastor Joshua tries to bring us back to an orthodox view of Holy Spirit and why He is an essential part of our lives and image-bearing. It's a gift we must say YES to. Joshua also starts out the message with prophetic insight into what transformation is and how the Lord brings us into transformation. Share with someone who might need this!
We're in a season where what we see is being stripped away, in part, because Jesus longs to have a people who are so in love with who he is, he can entrust himself to them. Do you believe because of what you've seen or do you believe because of who he is?
God as a giver has redefined for us what salvation is. It's not something we could earn even if we were perfect. It had to be Jesus that brought it to us. Jesus was God's plan A.
What most people call personal, relational, or occupational failure is actually just a failure to live up someone else's standard that's been adopted through comparison. Don't be them, be who you were designed to be: YOU.
Jesus was God stooping down into our inability to accomplish on our behalf a new identity. He is kind.
As kids, we had two responsibilities: having fun and trusting mom and dad (or whoever raised you) had everything else under control. But through experiences and let downs, we matured into finding our worth in what we did, rather than who we are. We had to “earn it.” If we’re going to fully understand Christmas, or the kingdom of God for that matter, we’re going to have to journey back to child-like faith where we are worthy because of who we are and live with hands wide open to receive goodness unending.
It's one thing to trust Yahweh in moments, it's another thing to live a life of complete trust in Yahweh. How we view His kindness will always directly affect our ability to trust Him. It's His KINDNESS that leads men to repentance. Jesus was the express image of the kindness of God the Father.
God's focus is on the small things that shift generations, as proven by Jesus being born in a feeding trough. What was seemingly insignificant became salvation for the cosmos.
We have to raise our standard of living to meet our identity: righteous. It's not just that you have a fire burning; it's what fire you are burning. It's not just that you are at peace; it's why you are at peace. If Jesus isn't the reason and standard we live by, our faith will be seasonal and a faith that is seasonal isn't true faith. Holiness protects us against apathetic living.
Boaz chose to take the immediate financial losses and become Naomi's family Kinsman Redeemer. In return, he marries Ruth and gives birth to Obed who would be David's granddad. The first in line declines to redeem the family line because it would cost him his own inheritance. Will you chose possessions in the earth or intimacy, no matter the cost, with one who will produce a legacy that helps shift creation back into its design?
God's seeming silence is His goodness, not distance. We've been taught to hold strong when God is in a "silent mood" but God's mood never changes. Could it be that Yahweh patiently withholds details of what's to come from us because He knows if we knew what was coming, we'd mess it up and try to accomplish it on our own? We've got to start seeing EVERYTHING He does, or doesn't do, through His immutable character: good.
We are made in the image and likeness of God. We know well the attributes of God that relate to work (or "doing") but one of the most important attributes of God is what we find at the end of the creation narrative: knowing when to stop and enjoy. What if we've been so focussed on "doing" that we've missed what actually sets us apart as "holy"? That is, knowing when to say "enough".
Rest and Identity go hand-in-hand. You can't have one without the other. Rest reinforces who we are and who we are reinforces rest.
The first generation of Israelites who left Egypt stopped short of receiving the promised land because they didn't trust the Lord to give it to them. Why didn't they trust? Because they still saw themselves as slaves (what Egypt identified them as) rather than sons and daughters (what Yahweh identified them as). You'll never have the faith to receive your inheritance if you see yourself as unworthy of it.
Lamenting is an act of worship that deals with us exchanging our heavy burden with Yahweh's light burden. A lot of what we're tasting and seeing in the year of clear vision is the result of us chasing religion rather than covenant. We need to lament, turn back to God, and reorder our lives to the one thing.
Yahweh loves us with a love that is unconditional. It isn't based on what we bring to the table, for He loved us long before we loved Him. This is agapé love. This is also the love we are called to reflect. As humans, we were designed to be reflective in nature. So love doesn't originate in us, it is reflected through us as we are exposed to the love Yahweh, who is love, has for us. One decision to love unconditionally could align you to be the legacy of beloved identity in the globe.
God's love in us reflected to those around us is how the Kingdom is established in it's fullness.
To be fully alive, you first need to fully die (spiritually). Yahweh is taking us back to the foundation of our salvation to pick up some pieces that are necessary to inherit righteousness fully.
Holiness means "to be set apart by and for God." In the past, holiness is typically associated with "works based Christianity" where righteousness is earned. This has been a fatal flaw and the reason why the topic of holiness has been avoided in the last decade by most leaders and churches. Holiness isn't how you earn righteousness (or Christianity for that matter), holiness is what is produced FROM righteousness and you being saved. In this message, pastor Joshua Brown breaks down true holiness and makes the case for its importance, as it relates to our image bearing capacity.
The health of the harvest depends on the soil the seed is planted in. In Mark 4, Jesus gives a parable of 4 different types of soil that the farmer (Jesus) plants his Word (seed) into. The growth of that seed (the Kingdom) is all based on the health of the receiving heart. This season of hope we are in is a season of preparing the soil to receive. What you do in this season will determine what you hold in the next.
Our state's motto is: "While I breathe I hope." Columbia, our state capital and where our church is located, means "a dove" which all throughout scripture represents the Holy Spirit (or Wind or Breath). These are all prophetic indicators to what Yahweh is longing to do in our region. He longs to restore breath the the bones of religion so that out of a valley of bones comes an army of Sons and Daughters.
What did Jesus come to do? Announce and initiate the age of God's kingdom coming close.
Spontaneous message where Yahweh planted us deeper in the Kingdom lifestyle. What does His kingdom look like and how are we called to co-labor in establishing it?
Perseverance is imperative to "keeping the fire burning". Perseverance happens where remembering your story and faith in His goodness collide. In order to honor access, rather than letting access create an apathetic heart within us, we must persevere (meaning, persisting in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement).
Access naturally produces apathy in us and rarity naturally produces honor. The reason the American church has become so disenchanted with presence is because we've allowed full access, to what was rare in the Old Covenant, to cause us to see presence as normal, leading to an apathetic heart. What Yahweh wants to do in us is reorder our perspective to instead honor what we have access to and become apathetic to what we no longer have access to: our old identity. Honoring access starts with remembering where you came from and what Yahweh has done in you.
In an era of loud voices, Yahweh is teaching us that what we inherit in the secret place is what will transform the globe. Spiritual father's pushing spiritual kids deeper with the king.
Esther aligned herself to speak to the king, which set an entire nation free. You were made for "such a time as this."
Kingdom revolutions start at home. In 2 Samuel 6, the ark of the covenant was placed in the home of Obed-Edom for 3 months before being taken to the City of David (Zion). The Lord longs to be enthroned in the home before being enthroned in a place of influence.
God wants us to uphold the cause of everyone. While one message will not put an end to racism, we believe together we can move toward an eradication of all injustices: Jesus reigning in His people.
Believers are not called to suffer through seasons or storms. Believers are called to be trees, planted by God’s design, that bear fruit in every season and circumstance. Let Yahweh make you immovable.
Yahweh wants us single-hearted. It's time we start rebuilding what the years have torn down.
The amount of wine (presence) you inherit is not about fascination with the wine itself, but about becoming the wineskin capable of containing an endless amount of new wine. We would never have to beg for an outpouring of His Spirit if we were a people always ready and able to receive an outpouring of His Spirit.
God reconciled us to Himself so that we could mirror His image to the globe and to Him.
Jesus was buried and resurrected to give birth to a harvest of believers who would also be carriers of the seed needed to regenerate the whole of the earth.
When we get a taste of living water, we become the witness stream of Yahweh regeneration the earth back to originality.
If you allow Jesus to deal with the pretender within, He'll give you access to His stream.
We are made in the image and likeness of God. Everything chaotic around us will be brought back into order when we begin to expose it to the image we were knit together to carry.
We've spent generations distancing ourselves from God. Now, He's teaching us how close and accessible He is because we are righteous and He is good.
The key to seeing Him in all of His goodness is trust when you can’t see the whole picture.
The Kingdom of God requires we have an inside out perspective and transformation. The moment we get busy trying to make something happen will be the moment we start seeing ourselves differently than He sees us.
We change the world around us by being the visible image, of the grace and kindness, that was showered upon us in Jesus. Us becoming His image, in devotion, is the way to perfect vision.