Posts by Andy Bratton (Page 3)
Who Are You?
Did you ever have an interaction with someone you thought you knew well only to stop and ask yourself, “who are you?” Maybe your spouse picks a restaurant for you both to go eat at and it is a kind of food you had no idea your spouse liked. Maybe your spouse volunteers to do something completely apart from who he/she normally is like a long hike or skydiving. What does it really mean to know someone? During the morning dive, How COVID has affected us
The Gospel in a Word
I recently read about a preacher, who when it was his time to get up and deliver the message, sat in his front-row seat for what seemed like five minutes while the stage was empty. Finally, he left his seat, made his way up to the pulpit, and said, “Love one another.” He then proceeded to go back and sit down in his chair. People were looking at each other and then looking in his direction, wondering if that was it and what How COVID has affected us
A Year in Review
I was on a Zoom call with some Michigan ministers several weeks ago. I was in a bit of a funk thinking about the Christmas season and what exactly we were going to study. I was also, in all likelihood, in deep thought about Covid, the fragility of life, and where I could find a cold Mt. Dew. Anyway, the guy leading the call asked what encouraging things had happened throughout the course of 2021. He gave us a heads up and so I How COVID has affected us
A Reason for the Season
Going into this Christmas season, one of my sermon ideas was to do a series entitled, “A very cliche’ Christmas.” I thought I would title each sermon one of the cliches we see this time of year. And I think I was going that way out of jealousy. I mean, wouldn’t it have been cool to say that you were the one that came up with, “Jesus is the reason for the season?” I will say, though, as much as How COVID has affected us
Say It Ain’t So!
Well, as I sit here in my office on Tuesday afternoon, I am looking out my window and the snow is coming down. And I don’t mean coming down a little bit, but pouring down like God turned on a spigot or snow making machine in Heaven. This is the kind of snow that solidifies for people that, “yes, we should go south for the winter.” The kind of snow that says, “see you later, fall, winter is moving in early.” And, as How COVID has affected us
What Do You Love About Being a Follower of Jesus?
This morning I received a call from a “Connecting Agent” out of Grand Rapids. Lisa and I are selling our house and planning to move across town. (No, we aren’t leaving KCC. You can’t get rid of me that easily) Anyway, as I was talking with this guy he was asking me about our house and what was so great about it. And so I started to tell him. We have a great neighborhood and a great yard and we How COVID has affected us
A Covid Rant
An exert from Andy Bratton’s Morning Dive on Friday, August 20, 2021 I need to vent. I hope that’s okay. All right. And not everybody’s gonna agree with my vent. But I need to vent and here’s my venting. Please don’t challenge my faith in Jesus because I got a vaccination or I wear a mask. Don’t do it. There is nothing spiritual about COVID, vaccines and masks, nothing. I looked, I can’t find anything in the Bible about pandemics. I How COVID has affected us
The Cost of Discipleship
For two more Sundays we are going to look at the topic of Discipleship and what it means to be a disciple and why we should follow Jesus. I think one of the biggest misnomers in our world is that a relationship with Jesus stops at the baptismal or as some would say, “when someone bends the knee.” And it is challenging to address because we point everyone to “making a decision.” In making a decision we instruct people they How COVID has affected us
A Grand Reception
In the book of Philemon (only one chapter long), Paul is writing to this guy named, you guessed it, Philemon, and to a lady named Apphia and the church meeting in Philemon’s home. I don’t know if Philemon and Apphia are married, but it doesn’t really matter for us. Paul shares that he remembers them fondly because of the love they have, the faith they have, and the fact that they are sharing their faith. And his prayer is that How COVID has affected us
Tough Questions in Genesis
At our most recent Root Beer Bar Bible Study, we read and studied Genesis chapter four. Challenging questions come up in chapter four, but there are also some firsts that come up in chapter four. The most challenging question is, “who does Cain marry?” The back story is that Cain kills his brother Abel in chapter four and God puts a curse on him that he will be a wanderer and a fugitive and that the ground (he was a How COVID has affected us