There is a tension between the concepts of holiness (remaining separate and distinct from the world) and submission (living in peace and being subject to proper authority). How should the church navigate the tension? And why does so much of the New Testament seem to assume that Christians will definitely be persecuted in the world?
(Preaching on the church engaging with the world. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 8, 2026.)
Twice in Luke 9-10 Jesus sends out his disciples on the so-called “limited commission” – a smaller version of what he would eventually command all Christians to do. What can we learn from these preparatory missions, and how do they foreshadow the mission of the church to come?
(Preaching through Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 8, 2026).
Twice in Luke 9 the question of Jesus’ identity is asked. Who is this man? Is he Elijah, or one of the prophets of old come back to life? The answer culminates in one of the most interesting gospel stories: the transfiguration. What should we learn from this section of Luke’s gospel?
(Preaching through the Gospel of Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 1, 2026.)
Jesus taught in many parables over the course of his earthly ministry; it is one of the most striking aspects of his teaching. What is a parables, how should we read them, and why are they such an powerful part of his message?
(Preaching through the Gospel of Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 22, 2026.)
By the seventh chapter of Luke, Jesus had already done more than enough to prove himself worthy of believing in and following, so it is worth considering how people started responding to him. What influenced people to reject or accept him, and how does this compare to our situation today?
(Preaching through Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 15, 2026.)
Jesus’s sermon in Luke 6 is very similar to another, more famous sermon of his, the sermon on the mount. What message was Jesus trying to convey to his audience, and how should this sermon affect our hearts today?
(Preaching through the Gospel of Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 8, 2026.)
After the “return” from exile, Israel began looking for a new king, the Messiah who would fulfill the promises of the prophets of old. Jesus was that king. But when he came, basically everything he said and did was the exact opposite of what Israel expected from their savior. What did Jesus teach about his kingdom, and what kind of king did he set himself up to be?
(Preaching on the church living in the world. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 1, 2026.)
The Rabbi system in first century Israel is an important piece of background information for contextualizing the story of Jesus. What was a Rabbi, and how did Jesus fit into this system? What does this mean for the modern reader?
(Preaching through Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 1, 2026.)
(Note: This audio sounds very different because it is livestreamed from home in a snow storm.)
The first few stories of Jesus’s ministry in Luke’s Gospel serve to introduce the purpose of his earthly ministry and reinforce some of the ways that Jesus might have been tempted to alter or change his purpose from the Father. What was his purpose, and how does it inform our own?
(Preaching through the Gospel of Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on January 25, 2026.)
When Israel failed to live as the Called-Out Kingdom God desired, he sent them back into the world, via the exiles. But God still expected holiness in their exile. What can we learn from God’s expectations for exiled Israel, and from Israel’s example of living in a nation that did not know or love Yahweh?
(Preaching on the way the church interacts with the world around it. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on January 18, 2026.)
Watts in the Word 