Brownwood Church

Members of the body of Christ are joined together by our union with Him. This is a bond stronger than common interests, occupation, national loyalties, or even bloodlines. Paul’s first instructions to the church at Rome after His incredible treatise on the gospel are how to live this out together through sacrifice, holiness, transformation, and humility.

Earthly wealth is the only kind guaranteed to one day fail us. Jesus redirects our pursuit of wealth in this life to the better investment: the one that lasts forever.

Fasting is not a sign of how righteous we are. Fasting is a sign of how broken things are. It is a recognition and reflection of the brokenness of the world and our need for God. Jesus rightly connects it with mourning, and it is appropriately observed by sinners in true repentance and dependence upon Him. Disconnected from its substance, it becomes nothing more than an external religious display....

Prayer is not a mere external religious act to be performed overwhelmingly in front of others to be seen. It is first and foremost communion with our Father. We come to Him like a child their Father, in true relationship, and speak with Him overwhelmingly one on one. And like a Father, He provides for us, protects us, leads and guides us, delivers us, and reconciles us to our brothers.

Jesus' call to righteousness goes beyond our outward actions, to our inward motivations. Performing religious acts to be noticed is as unrighteous before God as neglecting them altogether. The generosity to which Jesus calls his disciples is not to be done to be recognized by others, but actually to be such a normal part of our lives, that in a way, it isn't even recognized by us.

Perfection is not the "enemy of good" or the "enemy of progress," but the only standard for good and the only true progress for a sinful world. Contrary to popular belief, perfection is not the enemy of rest, but the only actual means by which it truly comes. The world is not at rest because it is not in a state of perfection, and we will not be at rest until we find ourselves in the One who is pe...

The kingdom of heaven, which is the kingdom of God, is His rule and reign that is presently experienced, yet still to come in its fullness. This kingdom was inaugurated by Christ at his coming and will be consummated following His return. This kingdom stands in contrast to the kingdoms of this present world because it is indestructible, unshakable, heavenly, eternal, perfect, and incorruptible. W...

Discipleship is a reorientation of all of life to the kingdom of God. As disciples, we are called to learn and to follow Jesus in every area of our lives, which is a life of repentance and faith. Because the work of God is to believe, our faith will be evidenced as we walk in the works God prepared beforehand. And as disciples, we are now called to go and make disciples of all nations.

The Church is the body of Christ, and we are individually members of it. The Church is the family of God, because we are His sons and daughters, brothers and sisters in the faith. The Church is the bride of Christ, who is called to submit to Him in everything, because He is the bridegroom who loved us and sacrificed for us. The Church is God's building, and we are living stones in it, Christ being...

The Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, proceeding from both, truly and fully God. He is a person, called the Helper and the Spirit of truth. He is the author of Scripture, our guide, our guarantee, and our intercessor in prayer. He convicts the world regarding sin and righteousness and judgment. He is a teacher and a witness to us of the things of God. He regenerates and renews us, dwelling i...

The gospel was delivered to us as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day. The good news is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world and, in love, predestined us for adoption according to the purpose of his will, to the praise...

The eternal Son of God is the Word, who, in the beginning, was with God and was God. All things were created through him and for him. He is the anointed of God who sits at his right hand. His throne is forever and his years will have no end. He is the image of the invisible God and the exact imprint of his nature. The fullness of God dwells in him and all things will be reconciled to him. In the f...

In his mercy, God promised to save his people. Beginning with Adam, God covenanted with man and foreshadowed the gospel in the garden. Through types and shadows, God continued to reveal his plan of salvation by covenant (Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic). These earthly copies and shadows were fulfilled in the New and better Covenant, enacted and mediated in Christ.

Tempted by the serpent, man disobeyed God and brought death to all through Adam. We are guilty in Adam because one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men. Now, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Man is born in iniquity and we are by nature children of wrath and enemies of God. We have been corrupted in heart, mind, and will, and have been separated from God because we all,...

On the sixth day of creation, man was created in the image of God, male and female. Man was created upright and declared "very good.” Adam and Eve were historical human beings, the first of their kind. Man did not evolve from other creatures, but was made in God’s image from the dust, and woman from the rib of man. God gave them dominion over all other living things on the earth and told them to b...

When your eyes are not fixed upon your only hope, which is God alone, you will feel despair. There is hope that afflictions will not last forever. It is difficult to see the way out when you are right in the middle of the valley. Lift up your eyes to where your help comes from. Your help comes from the Lord. He is the maker of heaven and earth.

God created everything that has been made, and this by the power of His Word. All things were created through him and for him, and in him all things hold together. Without him was not anything made that was made. In six days the LORD made heaven and earth and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh.

God has revealed Himself by his Word; that is, through the sixty-six books of Scripture and by his Son. The Scriptures were given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and are infallible and inerrant in the original languages. The Scriptures are sufficient in matters of life and faith, and they are clear, reliable, necessary, indestructible, and authoritative. The Word became flesh in the incarnation...

The LORD (YHWH) is the one true and living God who exists personally as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is one in essence and three in persons, each of whom is fully and truly God, equal in divine nature. The Father is God; neither created, nor begotten, nor proceeding from anything else. He is co-eternal with the Son and the Holy Spirit, not before either in time, but with both, did...

The perfect life of Jesus manifested in the flesh without resistance or retaliation against evil men. He overcame evil by laying down his life and loving His enemies as the ultimate fulfillment of God's law.

Vows to God and oaths to men were sworn by something or someone to help people understand how serious their words were to God. But the people of Jesus' day had created a hierarchy of objects to give more weight to their promises than they intended to give. They believed that if they didn't swear by God, they wouldn't be accountable to Him for their broken promises. Jesus corrects all of this in a...

Jesus' interpretation of the law of Moses continues to lay his hearers guilty and challenge any semblances of self-righteousness in them. His words cut deeper than any of the other teachers of His day, and yet He proves His yoke is easy and burden is light because God's commands are not burdensome.

Jesus begins to use a series of "You've heard it said...but I say to you" statements to show what was required to fulfill God's law. Our temptation towards self-justification regarding God's commandment not to murder falls utterly short in light of our sinful anger towards our brother.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus promised that three days after he died, he would rise from the grave. In a veiled way to the Pharisees and plainly to his disciples, Jesus repeatedly spoke of the necessity of his resurrection from death.

After being anointed, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to declare to His people “fear not,” for their king was coming to them. His declaration of peace on a donkey’s colt fulfilled prophecy that one day war would be cut off.