After the “return” from exile, Israel began looking for a new king, the Messiah who would fulfill the promises of the prophets of old. Jesus was that king. But when he came, basically everything he said and did was the exact opposite of what Israel expected from their savior. What did Jesus teach about his kingdom, and what kind of king did he set himself up to be?
(Preaching on the church living in the world. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on February 1, 2026.)
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.)
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.
This sermon is only tangentially related to our journey through the story of the Bible together this year, but it is a topic I get asked about a lot. How should Christians think about Israel today?
(Preaching on the promises made to Israel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 3, 2025.)
How did the religious leaders in Israel react to Jesus? Why did they react this way? And what warning should we take from their reaction?
(Preaching through Mark. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on January 26, 2020.)
Watts in the Word 