September 20, 2026

Guest Speaker: Mr. Kirby Brewer

As Union Avenue Baptist Church continues its 125th anniversary celebration, A Living Legacy: 1902–2027, we are honored to welcome Kirby Brewer as our second Legacy speaker. This series exists to remind us that our history is not merely something to look back on with fondness, but a living testimony to a church that has faithfully made disciples and sent them out to serve for well over a century. Few illustrate that calling more fittingly than someone who was raised within these very walls and has gone on to invest his life in the next generation elsewhere.

Kirby Brewer was born October 23, 1993, to Phil and Laura Brewer, and grew up alongside his younger sister, Natalie. He was raised in a family deeply involved at Union Avenue Baptist Church, where his own faith took root through the Nursery, Children's programs, and the Children's Choir, and where he served through Puppets and Student Ministry. As a young man, Kirby took part in a mission trip to Gulfport, Mississippi, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — an experience of hands-on service that reflected the very heart of what this church has always sought to instill. It was here at Union Avenue that Kirby accepted Christ and was baptized, marking the beginning of a lifelong calling to ministry.

That calling has carried Kirby beyond these walls and into faithful ministry elsewhere. He was deeply involved at Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis, where he also served on staff, and he has served on staff at Colonial Hills since 2017 as Middle School Director of Ministry. His journey — from the Nursery at Union Avenue to shepherding students of his own — is a living picture of what it means for a church to make disciples and equip them for service, not only for a season, but for a lifetime. We are grateful to welcome Kirby home as he brings the Legacy message and challenge during our worship service on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 11:00 AM.

Paul opens his most personal letter not with a defense of his ministry but with a doxology, blessing "the God of all comfort" who meets His people in the midst of affliction. This opening series traces that theme across the first four chapters of 2 Corinthians: comfort that overflows from suffering, integrity that refuses manipulation even amid painful conflict, the surpassing glory of a New Covenant ministry, and the paradox of carrying priceless treasure in fragile, ordinary vessels.

Together, these four messages lay the theological foundation for the entire letter — that God's power is displayed not in spite of weakness and hardship, but through it. Congregants will leave this series with a renewed grasp of how affliction, honesty, and gospel confidence hold together in genuine Christian ministry and life.

• Week 1 - The God of all Comfort

• Week 2 - Sincerity, Sorrow, and the Aroma of Christ

• Week 3 - From Veiled Glory to Unveiled Freedom

• Week 4 - Treasures in Jars of Clay