Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Our topic today is “The Blessing of Faithfulness.”
Reading Psalm 101:6, David wrote:
“My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,That they may dwell with me;He who walks in a perfect way,He shall serve me.”
The New Living Translation reads this way:
“I will search for faithful people to be my companions.Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.”
Let me also read Psalm 36:5:
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”
David describes the type of people that God will use greatly. He also expressed his preference for people who would serve with him. He stated that God wants—and he wants—faithful people as companions. He wasn’t looking for the famous, the wealthy, the powerful, or the self-promoting. Our faithfulness can only proceed from God’s faithfulness. As we read, God’s faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
It is never about how many people you can count. It is always about who you can count on. What we want to settle in our hearts is this: We want to be faithful because God is faithful. Even giftedness is no shortcut, because giftedness without faithfulness becomes a liability.
Walking with God and walking with others is beyond a casual association. Only faithfulness qualifies people for nearness and trust. Of all the characteristics required to serve God and serve others, being faithful is at the top of that list.
Proverbs 28:20 reads:
“A faithful man will abound with blessings,But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
So achieving blessing in life isn’t difficult; it is connected to faithfulness to God and faithfulness to others.
When it’s all said and done, we want to hear the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 25:21:
“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant;you were faithful over a few things,I will make you ruler over many things.Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
Let me encourage you to listen to my message from last Sunday, which is part two of the series “Rooted and Grounded.” That message was entitled “Agency: The Power Working Within.”
Never underestimate the power of God in you to give you the ability to act, to make things happen, and to influence your environment—and not just be influenced. That’s called agency.
God bless. Have a great day, and be encouraged.

DOWNLOAD KEYNOTE SLIDES
BRIEF SUMMARY: In Rooted & Grounded, Part Two: The Power Working Within, Pastor Bryan Hudson teaches from Ephesians 3:14–21 that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think because His power is working within believers. Being rooted and grounded in love gives us stability, while God’s inner power gives us strength, confidence, and responsibility.
The sermon emphasizes that believers are not powerless, even when they feel weak or overwhelmed. God’s power within us gives us agency—the ability to act, choose, make decisions, resist oppression, and make a difference. Pastor Hudson connects this spiritual truth to personal life, ministry, history, and justice, showing that God’s power is not only for personal blessing but also for serving others and impacting systems.
The main message is: God’s power within us enables us to live in victory, bless others, and use our God-given agency to make a difference in the world.
DETAILED SUMMARY
Series Title: Rooted & Grounded   Part Two: The Power Working WithinPastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.Main Text: Ephesians 3:14–21
Key Verse: Ephesians 3:20,  “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…” 
Central Theme
This sermon teaches that God’s power is not only above us or around us, but working within us. Pastor Hudson connects Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 to the believer’s personal life, the church’s corporate mission, and the broader responsibility to use God-given power to bless others and confront unjust systems.
The message moves from personal encouragement to social responsibility. God’s power within believers is not merely for feeling better, receiving blessings, or personal success. It is also for agency, dominion, service, courage, justice, and community impact.
1. Review of Part One: Rooted and Grounded
Pastor Hudson begins by reviewing the first part of the series. He explains that the phrase “rooted and grounded”combines two images:
Rooted is an agricultural term. It pictures a tree planted deeply in soil, drawing life, nourishment, and stability from its roots.
Grounded is an architectural term. It pictures a building resting on a strong foundation.
The point is clear:There is no growth without roots, and there is no structure without foundation.
Believers must be rooted in God’s love and grounded on a solid spiritual foundation. This foundation prepares them to understand and experience the power of God working within them.
2. Paul’s Prayer in Ephesians 3
The sermon centers on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21. Pastor Hudson highlights the major blessings Paul prays for:
The believer is strengthened with might through the Holy Spirit in the inner person. Christ dwells in the heart by faith. The believer is rooted and grounded in love. The saints are able to comprehend the width, length, depth, and height of Christ’s love. They come to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. They are filled with all the fullness of God.
Then Paul reaches the powerful conclusion:“Now to Him who is able…”
Pastor Hudson emphasizes that the words “He is able” summarize the confidence of the passage. God is able to do what we cannot do. He is able to work beyond human weakness, limited resources, opposition, uncertainty, and difficult circumstances.
3. God’s Ability Works Through God’s Power in Us
A major point of the sermon is that God’s ability is not disconnected from believers. God does exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think according to the power that works in us.
This means God’s power is not only external. It operates internally through believers.
Pastor Hudson stresses that life contains situations, circumstances, opportunities, and uncertainties. In all of these, believers need the mindset that God is able. But they must also understand that God often works through the power He has placed within them.
This power is not only for individual comfort. It is for generational impact, ministry, witness, and service. Pastor Hudson uses the example of ministry at a juvenile center, where young men were saved, to show that lives are changed when God’s power works through people.
4. God Is Never in a Slump
Pastor Hudson uses sports illustrations to explain that people may go through “slumps,” but God never does.
He references athletes such as James Harden and Shohei Ohtani to show that gifted people may have seasons when they do not seem to perform at their normal level. Yet the ability remains within them.
He applies this spiritually: believers may feel like they are in a slump, but God is never in a slump. The Holy Spirit is never in a slump. The Word of God is never in a slump.
Therefore, when believers feel weak, stuck, or discouraged, the issue is not that God’s power has disappeared. The issue is learning how to reconnect with, believe in, and act according to what God has already placed within them.
5. The Meaning of “Power”: Dunamis
Pastor Hudson explains that the Greek word for power in the New Testament is dunamis. He connects it to the idea of dynamite, noting that it refers to inherent ability, force, or capacity.
This power is not merely emotional excitement. It is the power residing in something by virtue of its nature. For believers, this means God has placed real spiritual capacity within them.
The sermon emphasizes that believers should not speak against what God has placed inside them. Even when they do not feel powerful, they should agree with God’s Word.
Pastor Hudson says believers should not primarily ask, “How do I feel?” Instead, they should ask, “What do I believe?”
Faith-filled speech matters because people hear their own words. What believers say can either strengthen or weaken their faith.
6. Powerlessness Is a Feeling, Not the Truth
Pastor Hudson identifies one of the worst feelings people can have: the feeling of powerlessness.
However, he warns that feelings are data, not final truth. A person may feel powerless, but that does not mean they are powerless.
He refers to 2 Corinthians 2:10–11, where Paul says believers are not ignorant of Satan’s devices. Pastor Hudson applies this principle by teaching that one of Satan’s devices is to make people feel powerless.
The enemy wants believers to accept the idea that they cannot act, decide, resist, speak, move, or make a difference. But this is deception.
The believer must reject the lie of powerlessness because God’s power is working within.
7. Agency: A Key Concept in the Sermon
A central concept in the sermon is agency.
Pastor Hudson defines agency as the ability or power to act, make decisions, choose, make things happen, and influence one’s life and environment rather than being controlled by others or circumstances.
He teaches that agency is part of being made in the image of God. The closest biblical concept to agency, he says, is dominion.
Using Genesis 1:26–27, he explains that God gave humanity dominion over creation. However, he makes an important distinction: God did not give people dominion over other people.
Agency means believers have responsibility before God to act faithfully. It does not mean controlling others.
8. The Loss of Agency as a Strategy of Oppression
Pastor Hudson teaches that one of the enemy’s strategies is to remove people’s sense of agency.
He shares personally that there have been times when he felt beat down, disrespected, or overwhelmed to the point that he began looking for others to tell him what to do. In those moments, he recognized that the enemy had tried to convince him he no longer had agency.
He recalls his mother’s counseling approach: after talking with someone, she would ask, “Now, what are you going to do?”
That question restores responsibility. Counseling, advice, prayer, and encouragement are valuable, but the person must eventually act. Agency requires decision and action.
9. Agency and the Founding of the United States
The sermon then moves into a civics and history application. Pastor Hudson notes that the United States is approaching the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the nation.
He warns that people will hear many romanticized and fabricated versions of American history. He urges listeners to value the full truth, not only the polished narrative.
He says the founding of the United States was rooted in agency because the colonists rebelled against the repressive reign of King George III. They resisted taxation, lack of representation, and oppressive control.
The nation was founded through rebellion against repression. That was an exercise of agency.
However, Pastor Hudson then exposes the contradiction: while the founders exercised agency for themselves, they denied agency to enslaved Africans.
10. The Contradiction of Liberty and Slavery
Pastor Hudson highlights the contradiction between the language of liberty in America’s founding documents and the reality of slavery.
He references the population of the colonies around the founding, noting that a significant number of people were enslaved. He also mentions the 1790 census, which counted millions of people in the new nation, including hundreds of thousands of enslaved people.
The point is not merely historical. It is theological and moral.
The founders spoke of liberty, justice, domestic tranquility, and the blessings of freedom, but enslaved people were excluded from those promises. Pastor Hudson asks: if the nation was truly founded on Christianity and the Bible, why were so many people kept enslaved?
He argues that the nation had brilliant founders and a remarkable Constitution, but the full history must be told honestly.
11. The United States Was Not Founded as a Christian Government
Pastor Hudson references the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, signed during the presidency of John Adams, which stated that the government of the United States was not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.
His point is that while many founders respected Christianity and some were Christian, the government itself was designed to be secular, not a church-state system.
He argues that the founders understood the danger of religious power being fused with government power, as had happened under monarchy in England.
This section supports his broader theme: people must know the truth, reject idolatry, and exercise agency wisely.
12. Civil Rights as an Example of Agency
Pastor Hudson then connects agency to the Civil Rights Movement.
He references the Freedom Riders of 1961, including young Black and white activists who rode buses together into the South to protest segregation. They knowingly entered dangerous situations because they believed segregation was wrong.
He mentions that the buses were attacked and firebombed, yet the Freedom Riders demonstrated agency by standing up to injustice.
He also references Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, especially the image of coming to the nation’s capital to “cash a check.” King used the words of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to demand that America honor its promises.
This is presented as agency in action: knowing what belongs to you, standing on truth, and acting for justice.
13. God’s Power Within Is Agency
Pastor Hudson brings the sermon back to Ephesians 3:20 by saying:
God’s power within is agency.
The power working in believers is not passive. It enables them to stand up, speak out, help people, challenge the status quo, and use their lives to make a difference.
This power is not only about personal victory. It is about responsibility.
Believers are called to use their agency to empower others.
14. Responsibility to Bless Others
The sermon closes with several scriptures that emphasize responsibility, service, and good works.
Pastor Hudson cites Jeremiah 29:7, where God tells His people to seek the peace of the city where they have been carried. He explains that peace means more than the absence of conflict. It includes completeness, welfare, soundness, and making a difference where one lives.
He also cites Acts 20:35, where Paul reminds believers to support the weak and remember Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
He references Titus 3:14, which teaches believers to maintain good works and meet urgent needs so they will not be unfruitful.
Finally, he cites Galatians 6:10, which says that as believers have opportunity, they should do good to all, especially those of the household of faith.
The sermon ends by calling believers to use their agency and dominion to honor God by blessing others.
Main Takeaways
The believer is rooted and grounded in love, but also empowered for action.
God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.
God’s power works within believers, not only around them.
Feelings of powerlessness are not the truth.
Agency is part of being made in the image of God.
Dominion does not mean controlling people; it means acting responsibly under God.
The enemy tries to remove people’s sense of agency.
Oppressive systems often function by denying agency to others.
Believers must use God’s power within them to bless others, seek justice, meet needs, and impact systems.
The blessing of God comes with responsibility.
 
Concise Sermon Thesis
Because believers are rooted and grounded in God’s love, they carry God’s power within them. That power gives them agency—the God-given ability to act, choose, serve, resist oppression, bless others, and make a difference in their generation.

Message from Sunday, May 3
Rooted & Grounded
Part One: Strengthened With Might
 
2 Kings 4:1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”So Elisha said to her, 2“What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Message from Sunday, May 3
Rooted & Grounded
Part One: Strengthened With Might
 
Romans 5:2 (NLT), Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory." 
 

DOWNLOAD KEYNOTE SLIDES
This sermon by Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min., begins the series “Rooted and Grounded” with the message “Strengthened with Might,” based on Ephesians 3. The central idea is that believers must be deeply rooted and firmly grounded in the love of God in order to live with spiritual strength, purpose, and endurance.
The message emphasizes that there are kingdom prerequisites—foundational habits, principles, and depths of relationship with God—that cannot be skipped. Just as students need prerequisites before advanced courses, believers need to be established in God’s love before they can fully serve others and walk in God’s purpose.
A key theme is the wise use of time and attention, described as non-renewable resources. The sermon warns against being distracted by things that may look good but are spiritually obsolete or irrelevant to God’s purpose. Instead, believers are called to invest their focus in Christ, His Word, and His love.
The sermon explains that being rooted is an agricultural image, like a tree planted deeply, while being grounded is an architectural image, like a building on a solid foundation. Both point to the need for a stable life built on God’s love.
The source of spiritual strength is the inner life: being strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the inner person, allowing Christ to dwell in the heart by faith. The love of Christ is described in four dimensions: wide, long, deep, and high—reaching all people, lasting eternally, going into human brokenness, and lifting believers into God’s higher purpose.
The sermon concludes with an affirmation that believers will make God’s kingdom a priority, use their time and attention wisely, and allow Christ to deepen their relationship with Him so they may be strengthened with might by His Spirit.

Ephesians 3:14, For this reason I bow my knees to the Father [f]of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Psalm 37:5, Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass
This is an excerpt from the Audible edition of new book:"Learning to Trust God More: 21-Day Devotional from Psalm 37"
It is available in three editions: Print, Kindle ebook, and Audible digital voice at https://bit.ly/4tqWi46
Includes contributions from Patricia Hudson, Stacy Williams, and Pastor L. Irving Robb.
In these times, we need to live on the firm foundation of loving and trusting the Lord, even while being active in serving others, and helping the vulnerable.
This Psalm begins with the words, "Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity." It ends with the words, "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble."
This 21-day devotional will educate, encourage, and inspire you to walk in faith in God and develop the courage to engage with wisdom.
 
Here are the topics for each day:
Day 1 — Do Not Fret
Day 2 — The Temporary Nature of Evil
Day 3 — Trust & Do Good
Day 4 — Delight in the Lord
Day 5 — Commit Your Way
Day 6 — God Will Vindicate
Day 7 — Loosen Your Grip on Anger
Day 8 — Waiting with Hope & Active Faith
Day 9 — The Way of Meekness
Day 10 — Use the Power of Another
Day 11 — God Sustains the Righteous
Day 12 — Evil is Self-Destructive
Day 13 — How Less Can Be More
Day 14 — God Knows Your Days
Day 15 — The End of the Wicked
Day 16 — Generosity Reveals the Heart
Day 17 — Ordered Steps, Part One
Day 18 — Ordered Steps, Part Two
Day 19 — A Living Testimony
Day 20 — God Loves Justice
Day 21 — Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Mark 6:30-32, Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.

Message from Sunday, April 5
Raised to Walk in the Newness of Life
 
Romans 12:15, Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
 

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This message centers on the resurrection of Jesus as both a past event and a present reality. It explains the phrase “Jesus is risen” as emphasizing that Christ is alive now, not merely that He rose in the past. Drawing primarily from Romans 6:4 and related passages, the sermon teaches that believers identify with Christ in His death, which brings liberation from sin, and that this liberation leads to elevation through “newness of life.” The message highlights two main principles: identification leads to liberation, and liberation leads to elevation. Through Christ’s resurrection, believers have access to resurrection power every day for healing, strength, encouragement, renewal, and victorious living. The sermon closes by urging listeners to embrace their new identity in Christ, walk in resurrection power, and live uplifted lives that also help lift others.
Romans 6:1, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.