Paul’s letter to the Romans is the most “technical” of the epistles, in a sense. In it, Paul lays out a very detailed argument about righteousness, salvation, and faith that is just as applicable today as it ever was.
(Preaching on Romans. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 16, 2025.)
Romans is one of the more technical letters of the New Testament, almost a scholarly treatise on the nature of righteousness, salvation, and faith. But, it’s also framed in the form of a conversation. Paul anticipates and answers questions and objections that the reader will inevitably make to his core arguments. Keeping the “conversation” of Romans in mind can help us appreciate its message better.
The importance of being “led by the Spirit” as a Christian cannot be understated, but the exact means by which He leads us can be confusing to many Christians. Using several stories from the latter part of Paul’s mission work in Acts, let’s consider what exactly it means to be led by the Spirit.
(Preaching on the story of the early church. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 9, 2025.)
One of the benefits of reading through the story in Acts relatively quickly is repeated themes and events become more obvious, specifically in regards to evangelism and how people responded. What were the essential, elementary components of the Gospel message, and how did people typically respond to its truth?
(Preaching on the story of the early church. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 9, 2025.)
The latter half of Acts centers on Paul’s mission work and eventual arrest and journey to Rome. I hope these maps will help you keep the flow of the story in your mind as you read.
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.)
One of the ways to think about the book of Hebrews is an exchange of better things between us and God. He gives us many better things through Christ, and he in turn deserves a better response from us than he received in the Old Testament.
The first part of Acts is the first stage in the growth and the expansion of Jesus’s church, first in Jerusalem but then to the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria. What kinds of struggles did the early church face, how did they overcome, and which of their attitudes and characteristics should we be emulating?
(Preaching on the early church. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 26, 2025.)
As we transition out of the Gospels in our reading into the story of the early church in Acts, it can be helpful to be able to visualize what you are reading. Of course, you can find many versions of these kinds of maps online, but I hope these can be helpful to you.
Watts in the Word 