How we think about the form, structure, and purpose of the New Testament will inevitably affect the way we approach, read, and interpret it. What did Jesus have to say about it, and what did its writers say about why and how it was written?
(Preaching on the new covenant of Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 2, 2025.)
One of the main points of conflict in the early Church was the question of how to handle or relate to the Law of Moses. This is still a question many people wonder about today. How did Jesus and his apostles intend for Christians to think about the Law of Moses?
(Preaching on the transition to the Covenant of Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 2, 2025.)
Mark’s Gospel is a good one to use as a base for digging down to the core Gospel story; the part of the good news of Jesus’s life that all four Gospel writers included in their accounts. The list is surprisingly short, and while everything each writer wrote is essential for all Christians, considering the story in its most basic form powerfully confirms the simplicity and communicability of the Gospel story.
(NOTE: The audio cuts in and out a bit at the beginning. Sorry. Preaching on the Gospels. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 12, 2025.)
The “kingdom” is an especially important theme in Matthew’s version of the Gospel story. Jesus’s work was not disconnected from the story of Israel in the Old Testament; it was a fulfillment and continuation of God’s plan to establish his eternal kingdom, promised to David and Daniel. How does Matthew explore the importance of the “kingdom of heaven” in the life and teaching of Jesus?
(Preaching through the Gospels. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 5, 2025.)
Matthew’s gospel is the most closely connected to the Israelite story in the Old Testament. He connects these stories in two main ways: the fulfillment of prophecy, and the continuation of the kingdom. First, we will consider how Matthew addresses prophecy in the life of Jesus. How does Jesus fulfill all the promises of God in the Old Testament, and what does it mean for the modern reader?
(Preaching on the gospels. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 5, 2025.)
In addition to a heavy emphasis on Old Testament prophecy, Matthew also keys in on the idea of the “Kingdom.” This is an extension of two foundational Old Testament promises, one to Abraham and one to David. While Matthew really highlights Jesus’s teaching about what his new kingdom will be like, the New Testament writers as a whole connect Jesus to these ancient promises and emphasize that the kingdom of Jesus is the culmination of God’s redemptive work.
Matthew focuses on the Jesus the Jew more than the other gospel writers, especially in the way that Jesus is the culmination of so much Old Testament Hebrew prophecy. While Jesus fulfills more prophecy than just the ones listed on this chart, these are some of the most explicit references in Matthew, along with some overarching prophetic themes.
We begin our foray into the New Testament with the Gospel of John; not the first gospel in most English Bibles, but the one that most closely parallels the beginning of the Bible in Genesis. What is different about John’s version of Jesus’s story, and what does he emphasize more than the other authors?
(Preaching on the gospel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 28, 2025.)
Any Gospel parallels will be limited by John’s Gospel. A list of events common to Matthew, Mark, and Luke would be much longer than the following list. John acknowledges this (John 20:30-31), and by including John in our examination, we can dig toward the very core of the Gospel story. Even so, remember that everything mentioned by any of the gospels is important to the Christian message.
I post this every year around Easter as people are thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, with minor revisions and updates (this year some more-than-minor revisions). I hope this is helpful to you in some small way as you more deeply consider the resurrection of our Lord.
Watts in the Word 