Brett Esslinger

Senior Pastor of SAINTS CHURCH | Author of #HopeNotHype | #RealFaith4RealLife | #YEG | Nacho Enthusiast

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

If I got a tattoo, it would say, "Pessimists sound smart, optimists win.”

[Mattea Merta @MatteaMerta]

What happens when a nation starts calling parts of the Bible “hate speech?" That's what Canada's Bill C-9 seeks to do, and if it can happen there… what’s stopping it from happening anywhere?

Join me and @BrettEsslinger:
https://t.co/2irOKRvZdE

[Clint Teeples @TeeplesCY]

Poor Americans who attend church regularly are happier than rich Americans who never go.

Behavioral scientist William von Hippel thought he'd made a coding error. He hadn't.

"Regularly attending services has a bigger impact on your happiness than wealth," he writes. "Money buys a fair bit of happiness but connection gives you more bang for the buck."

What's happening? Rich people already have most of what money buys. What they lack is what churches provide for free: weekly, repeated contact with people who know your name.

Von Hippel is direct about the cost: "I suspect that wealthy, educated urbanites are paying a steeper price for their lifestyle than they realize. Many of us have paid too great a price in connection for our increased autonomy."

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

5. Because you have a mission.

- Church doesn’t exist to entertain you. It exists to equip you and send you.

Don’t just believe privately.
Build publicly.

Be the Church.
Go to church.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

5 Reasons You Don’t Skip Church:

1. Because your faith isn’t built alone.
- Isolation weakens you. Worship with others strengthens you.

2. Because truth calibrates your life.
- Not opinions. Not algorithms. The Word of God.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

3. Because you need real people.
- Not followers. Not likes. People who know your name and call you higher.

4.Because information isn’t enough.

- Church isn’t about being inspired—it’s about being transformed.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Moses spent 40 years thinking he was somebody; 40 learning he was nobody; and 40 discovering what God can do with a nobody.

— D. L. Moody

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@nielsonTSN1260

[Brady Shearer @BradyShearer]

"The Early Church didn't have social media" is a comment I've heard online for 10 years. Here's what else the Early Church didn't have:

- Indoor plumbing
- Electricity
- Hymnals

Mission and method are different things. Moreover, if you're using social media to dismiss social media, I can't take the argument seriously.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@JDShuttlesworth Love it

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

Brutal truth: most people don't want to change their lives. They just want to complain about it.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@IMJustinBrooke This is wildly fascinating…

[Adam | Faithful Messenger @Adam_FaithfulM]

In 1986, the American Medical Association published an article titled "The Physical Death of Jesus Christ". It details the entire process of Jesus' trial to His death on the cross.

In Luke 22, before Jesus is arrested, it is written that He was in great distress & sweating blood. Although rare, it is recognized as Hematidrosis, a condition caused by high levels of stress.

At the time, the crucifixion was considered the worst death for the worst of criminals. But this is not all Jesus faced. He endured whipping so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. He was beaten so horribly that His face was torn & His beard ripped.

A crown of thorns, 2-3 inches long cut deeply into His scalp. The leather whip used to flog Him had tiny iron balls & sharp bones. The balls caused internal injuries while the sharp bones ripped open His flesh. His skeletal muscles, veins, & bowels are exposed, causing major blood loss. Most men do not survive this kind of torture. After Jesus was severely flogged, He was forced to carry His cross while people mocked & spat on Him.

Crucifixion was a process meant to instill excruciating pain, creating a slow & agonizing death. Nails as long as 8 inches were driven into Jesus' wrists & feet. The Roman soldiers knew the tendons in the wrists would tear & break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the courage...Jesus endured this reality for 3 hours!

The Gospel of John writes that after Jesus' death, a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear & blood & water came out. Scientists explain that from hypovolemic shock, the rapid heart rate causes fluid to gather in the sack around the lungs & heart. The accumulation of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called a Pericardial effusion & the lungs is called a pleural effusion.

To the world, Christianity is as foolish as it can get. They believe it's for the weak. But when you are confronted by the reality of the cross, it's clearly not a pretty sight. It is brutal & horrific.

This is the weight Jesus carried. The weight of the sins of the world, all so that we can live. God's wrath is fully satisfied in Jesus. This is what it took. Repent & believe! Jesus is “God among us” in the flesh. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus loves you so much that He went through this spiritual and physical punishment for your sins and mine.

Jesus is the LORD, Almighty God, Everlasting Father.

Thank You, Jesus.

[Brady Shearer @BradyShearer]

In a world where AI optimizes everything for ease, comfort, and zero friction — the church might be one of the only places left that asks something of you.

Showing up. Committing. Sacrificing comfort for community.

When everything is convenient, places that cost something become more meaningful. Not less.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@ShawnRyan762 @ShawnRyanShow This was an incredible conversation. Thank you.

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@JDShuttlesworth @LeftismForU

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@JDShuttlesworth

[Daily Mail US @Daily_MailUS]

Scientists confirm biblical earthquake that 'shook the earth' during Jesus' crucifixion https://t.co/VPHDsI2R0I

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@JDShuttlesworth

[Brett Esslinger @BrettEsslinger]

@JDShuttlesworth Yes. Now the Oilers just need to get it done ✅