Next in our list of Christian fundamentals is one that only appears in Hebrews 6: repentance from dead works. What is repentance, where does it come from in the Christian heart, and what should it look like in our lives?
(Preaching on Christian fundamentals. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 2, 2026.)
The metaphor of spiritual warfare is at the heart of the Christian life and our struggle with sin, the Devil, and temptation. In what way is a Christian like a soldier, and what does the image of war and fighting mean for our daily walk with Jesus?
(Preaching on images of the Church. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on May 24, 2026.)
The image of the church as branches of a tree or a vine is one of the less common in Scripture, but it is instructive nonetheless. What does this analogy teach us about our relationship with Jesus and our job as his followers?
(Preaching on the church. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on May 3, 2026.)
The second chapter of Ruth introduces a new pivotal character to the narrative; the wealthy and honorable Boaz, described in the ESV as “a worthy man.” What made Boaz so worthy, and what should we learn from his attitudes and behavior?
(Preaching through Ruth. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on April 19, 2026.)
In contrast to Matthew and John, Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus and his early life emphasizes Jesus’s humble origins and submissive attitude, from the circumstances of his birth, to his parents’ obedience to the Law of Moses, to his own submission to Mary and Joseph. What should we learn from this emphasis of Luke?
(Preaching through Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on January 11, 2026.)
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.)
Watts in the Word 