“The dark triad” is technically a term from modern psychology, but I am co-opting it as a label for John’s categorization of temptation. Throughout the Bible, in important stories of temptation, you see the same triad. What is this “dark triad” of temptation?
(Preaching on temptation. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on December 21, 2025.)
Solomon presided over the absolute height of the kingdom of Israel, because God granted his request for wisdom in addition to giving him wealth and power. But Solomon’s great wisdom did not prevent him from falling into the same kinds of temptations that face every human. How did a man whose reign started off so well fall into such problems, and how does our own struggle mirror his?
(Preaching on the history of early Israel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on May 11, 2025.)
Having just finished a series on “Developing an Identity in Christ”, we transition to thinking about Christ – who was he? Who is he? Like anyone else, the identity of Jesus is composed of many different facets. We will begin with the most basic part of the identity of Jesus – his Jewishness.
(Preaching on the identity of Jesus. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 13, 2024.)
In the garden we see Jesus at his most vulnerable and human. Why was he so troubled, what did he do about it, and what should we learn from this deeply emotional story?
(Preaching on the life of Jesus. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on January 21, 2024.)
David’s census is one of the most theologically complicated stories in his life. What is going on in this story, and why should it matter to us?
(Preaching on the life of David. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 5, 2023.)
In the story of David and Bathsheba we see a classic example of how one temptation leading to one sin can lead to a series of bad and worse choices and sins. How do we break the cycle?
(Preaching on David. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 6, 2022.)
David was a man who struggled with his darker impulses; Moses was a man who struggled with the opposite: the desire to not act. The temptation not to act can be just as strong as the temptation to act wrongly. How does it manifest, and what can we do about it?
(Preaching on temptation. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 9, 2018.)
Previously we examined what it takes to be a messenger of Jesus. This week we examine the contrast in Judas; what leads a person down a path of betrayal, and how are we in danger of the same?
(Preaching through John’s Gospel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 9, 2018.)
David was a mix of good and bad, success and failure, and fortunately for us, more of his successes and failures were recorded in God’s word. Looking at two of his triumphs over temptation and one of his failures, what can we learn?
(Preaching on temptation. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 2, 2018.)
We will spend the next few weeks looking at various case studies in temptation, but before that, we should examine temptation itself. What is it, and where does it come from?
(Preaching on temptation. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 19, 2018.)
Watts in the Word 