Bret Hammond

Some mornings, coffee isn’t enough. A few years ago, after a late night and an early morning, I sat down at breakfast with friends and announced, “Listen . . . I’m barely functioning. If you have anything important to say, you’re probably going to need to repeat it three times.” Honestly, exhaustion was only part of the problem. The truth is, human beings are forgetful. We miss things. We drift. W...

The key was missing, and the door wouldn’t open. There weren’t many options for getting in. I suppose I could have tried to break down the door, but that would have been expensive (and probably painful). In the end, I chose to go outside and break a window instead. That turned into a $20 repair at the local hardware store, plus another $10 for a second key, this one hopefully hidden a little bette...

Some weeks, the loudest voice in your life isn’t God’s—it’s the one telling you what you’re not. It whispers before you’re fully awake. It follows you into the car, into the office, into the quiet moments. And most days, it doesn’t need anyone else’s help; we’re perfectly capable of discouraging ourselves. Relationship researchers John and Julie Gottman found that negative words hit us harder than...

In John 14:15–27, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as our Advocate, Comforter, and Friend—the one who steadies our hearts and keeps us focused on him. Using imagery from The Wizard of Oz, Bret compares the Spirit’s quiet guidance to Toto’s loyal presence beside Dorothy: alert, faithful, and always sensing what’s true. When fear and distraction rise, the Spirit redirects us toward Jesus and fills our...

Are you having a good morning? Let’s see if we can fix that. Did you know crocodiles can gallop like horses? They’re crazy fast! Did you know there are approximately 40 supervolwcanoes worldwide, and they are way overdue to erupt? They could go off any minute now. Did you know your cellphone has ten times more bacteria on it than the average public toilet? In a world where worries are everywhere,...

"Who was that masked man?" I must have heard that line a hundred times growing up, watching reruns of The Lone Ranger. At the end of every episode, the townspeople would stand around in awe as the stranger rode off into the sunset, wondering about the identity of their mysterious rescuer. But it doesn't take a mask to wonder about someone's identity—or your own. Far too often, we hide behind somet...

Hosea laments Israel's lusts for idols, but never loses sight of God's unfailing love and compassion. In Hosea 11, we hear God's constant call for his people to return to him. This sermon follows the Four Pages of the Sermon method developed by Paul Scott Wilson, a framework designed to move from trouble to grace both in the text and in our lives. It invites listeners to reflect deeply on the natu...

Jerry Seinfeld once noted that most people's number one fear is public speaking, and number two is death. This means that the average funeral attendee would feel more comfortable being the person in the casket than the person delivering the eulogy. Moses would have preferred the casket. In Exodus 4:10, he cries to God, "Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor...

I lost an hour of sleep last night, but that doesn't begin to compare to the hours of sleep I lost as a teenager contemplating the text I'll be preaching today! Growing up, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 was read as a warning. One day, a trumpet would sound, and in the twinkling of an eye, Christians all over the world would disappear. Those left behind would be plunged into a time of tribulation and dif...

"Have you heard about Jim? The tests were negative." You reply with, "That's good news!" "Did you hear about Carrie? She had the baby! It's a boy, and both are doing great!" And again, you reply, "That's good news!" You know good news when you hear it! It would be entirely accurate to say that the Bible is a book of good news. That's what the angel brought, right? Doesn't it seem like we just read...

When Trish and I went out for dinner the other night, I held the door open for an older couple walking into the restaurant. That same night, an older man opened a door for me because I was carrying precious cargo—a pizza to take home to the kids! We have dedicated greeters at South Side who hold the door open for everyone. An open door is an invitation and so much more. It lets people know they're...

Few books of the Bible go off the rails as quickly or completely as the book of Job. Before the end of chapter one, there's a cosmic bet and a family left devastated. From there, things get worse! Before chapter two ends, three of Job's friends show up. They'll spend the following twenty-two chapters expressing their ignorance of God and assumptions about their friend. But before they insert a sin...

Click here for the entire sermon series "What Child Is This?" https://soundcloud.com/bretnet/sets/what-child-is-this-christmas?si=dfc8a9abb2374a899fc42017210d5ec6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Of all the names listed in Jesus’ genealogy, there is one that isn’t named. Matthew only identifies her by her failure. He says, “she who had been the wife of Uriah,” but we know he means Bathsheba. There’s a message for everyone who has ever been identified by their failure; everyone who has ever been uninvited to a Christmas dinner; everyone who has longed for a second chance and a new identity....

Luke doesn't begin his Christmas story with Mary, Joseph, and the manger in Bethlehem. He begins a whole year earlier in the temple in Jerusalem and an elderly couple caught between a dying hope and a living prayer. Click here for the whole sermon series: https://soundcloud.com/bretnet/sets/unpacking-christmas. https://brethammond.com

In this sermon podcast, we revisit a Christmas message I presented at the end of 2020. With so much turmoil in our world and our lives, all we wanted was for God to show up. https://brethammond.com

The command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 is, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Let’s be honest and admit that’s not always easy. Some circumstances are so difficult we may never find our way to thanksgiving. This is not a reason to beat ourselves up or condemn ourselves for our rebellion against a biblical mandate. Instead, it’s an opportunity to o...

I think about all the lessons I’ve heard from the book of Jonah over my life. There have been lessons about obedience, faithfulness, and love for neighbors and enemies. But I don’t think I ever heard a lesson about thanksgiving. That is, until now. It’s right there in the heart of the story and in the belly of the great fish! Jonah cries out to God, “I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice...

Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday. It’s the mindset God calls us to have. In fact, he commands it! In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we’re called to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God commands us to give thanks! But how do we do that? How do we obey a command that goes beyond the circumstances we might find ourselves in? I believe God’s call...

I have a beautiful needlepoint of the Fruit of the Spirit that was given to me as a gift. It hangs on the wall in my office as a reminder of the wonderful lady who gave it to me and the character I aspire to as a Christian. The front is flawless, but—even though I’ve never seen the back—I know it is a mass of tangled threads and looks nothing at all like the carefully crafted handiwork on the fron...

Being a Jewish Itinerant Exorcist was big money. It was something akin to “Uber for Demons,” or maybe “Demon Dash” instead of “Door Dash.” You see, if you had a demon problem, you would either have to head to the temple in Jerusalem, which was a long trip and a huge hassle; or you could take the problem to the local synagogue, which could be embarrassing. What could be done about a pesky demonic i...

My third message from the Stranger Things from the Bible is the bizarre story of the transformation and humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar looks upon the greatness of his nation and basks in his own glory. Maybe it’s the influence of The Wolf Man, but I always imagine this story happening on a moonlit night. Soon, he transforms into a cursed beast and flees from his hom...

The second story in our journey through the Stranger Things from the Bible takes us to 2 Kings and the wicked city of Bethel. It’s here that newly appointed prophet, Elisha, is verbally assaulted by youths and responds with a curse. God hears his “prayer” and promptly responds by sending two bears out of the woods to maul them. Disturbing story? You bet! Stranger thing from the Bible? Of course! B...

Our Bibles are not the clean, happy books we think they are. They’re full of scary stuff. Yes, there’s faith, hope, and love in those pages; but look hard enough and you’ll find witches, ghosts, dragons and things that go bump in the night. The Bible is full of strange things . . . and even stranger things. In 2016, I spent October, a month we normally look for ghosts and goblins, digging into som...

I'm sure my count is off, but by my records, I've now preached something north of 1,500 sermons. The vast majority of those were written for the Kansas Christian Church, a church that challenged and encouraged a young man to preach again and again. I was in junior high when the youth minister recruited three of us to help him preach a sermon one Sunday morning. I read my portion as fast as possibl...