Israel’s return from exile was a long process of rebuilding and restoring what had been lost, starting with the temple in the book of Ezra. But beyond rebuilding the physical buildings and towns, Israel needed to restore their relationship and obedience to God, a task that Ezra was well suited for. What can we learn from the process of returning and rebuilding in Ezra?
(Preaching on the return. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 17, 2025.)
After Saul’s rebellion and rejection, God told Samuel he would choose a new king after his own heart. What did God mean by this, what made David such a person, and how can we emulate the heart of David?
(Preaching on this history of early Israel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 6, 2025.)
Deuteronomy, in addition to being a summary and recap of the law given through Moses, serves as Moses’s farewell address to Israel. At the end of his life, Moses was predominantly concerned with how Israel would keep God’s covenant after he was gone. Deuteronomy contains his admonition and encouragement for Israel to keep the covenant. What can we learn from his instruction to Israel for our own efforts to keep covenant with God?
(Preaching through the Pentateuch. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 2, 2025.)
While there certainly are a lot of numbers in the book of Numbers, a better title for the book might be the Jewish one: In the Desert. The narrative sections focus on Israel’s struggles to obey the Law they had just received through Moses, and their journeys in the desert as a result. But our struggle to obey God mirrors theirs; we have the same heart problems and motivational issues as they did. What can we learn from their struggles in the desert?
(Preaching on Numbers. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 23, 2025.)
Inevitably as a person reads through the Law of Moses in Exodus-Deuteronomy, the many, many differences between that law and what would later come through Jesus and his apostles become glaring. How can we explain and understand the differences between God’s expectations for the Israelites, and his expectations of his people today? And why do the differences matter?
(Preaching on the law of Moses. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 9, 2025.)
While there are literally hundreds of laws in the Law of Moses, the first ten are called out as especially significant. What makes them so special, and how have they continually resonated with God’s people over the course of millennia?
(Preaching on the Law of Moses. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 9, 2025.)
Ezekiel, like most of the prophetic books, is full of Yahweh’s judgment and condemnation of Israel. What exactly were they doing that profaned his holy name so much? And how might we be in danger of the same kinds of actions and attitudes?
(Preaching in Ezekiel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 10, 2024.)
“The Son” is a complicated title of Jesus, a shortening of two separate titles, each of which is used in a variety of ways throughout the Bible. How does “Jesus the Son” apply to our own lives? What can we learn from this part of Jesus’s identity?
(Preaching on the identity of Jesus. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 20, 2024.)
The Passover in Exodus 12 is one of the most important stories in the Bible, not just for the Israelites but for Christians as well. What does this story teach us about our Passover Lamb, Jesus?
(Preaching on the lamb through the Bible. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on March 12, 2023.)
Is hell a literal, real place? What is it, exactly? And will God really consign the lost to such a torment?
(Preaching on last things. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on December 4, 2022.)
Watts in the Word 