SERMONS

greed-and-gods-word – Do you ever wonder what the church’s response is to greed or even what the Bible says about Greed.  Here is a sermon that I preached concerning it.

Taking the “Sermon on the Mount” Seriously – How far should we take Jesus in Matthew 5-7?  Should we really love our enemies or was that just a nice saying?  In this sermon I explore different possibilities.

What Kind of Father is this? – The story of the prodigal Son

Unity Amidst Distractions – Lesson I did for the Walter Hill church of Christ on April 11th.  (Handout)

Baptism Remix – A “rethinking” about how we approach baptism.  Do we become baptized because we want to avoid hell or because we want to be a part of something amazingly different?  You decide.

Parable of the Talents – Sermon preached at West Dyersburg and Main Street.  Text comes from Matthew 25:14-30.

From Whence Cometh our Faith – A sermon about where our faith comes from.  Essentially this sermon tries to ask and answer the quest, “What is Faith?”

Defining Moments – What are the moments that define who we are as God’s people?  This sermon attempts to address that question.

The Greatest Gift A Father Could Ever Give – This was my father’s day sermon!

Unity in the Body of Christ – Part 1 – Ephesians 4:1-6

Unity in the Body of Christ – Part 2 – Ephesians 4:7-16

Flaming Darts and Piercing Swords – Ephesians 6:10-18

Waiting on God – A sermon from Isaiah 40 about the difficulties of waiting.

The Not-So-In Crowd – A Sermon about the Canaanite (Syrophoenician Woman) in Matthew 15:21-28.  It calls us to look at who we welcom and who we ignore.  It is also a call for us to be missional to people right here in our back yard.

Obscure Characters 1 – Philemon and Onesimus (Part 1) – A Sermon based on Philemon 1-7.  Introduces the book and discusses (briefly) the occasion of the letter.

Obscure Characters 2 – Philemon and Onesimus (Part 2) – Part 2 of the Philemon and Onesimus sermon.  Discusses reconciliation, slavery in Greco-Roman culture and asks the question, “What does this mean for me?”

The Lord’s Life – Sonshine Youth Rally Lesson #1

The Lord’s Death – Sonshine Youth Rally Lesson #2

The Lord’s Resurrection – Sonshine Youth Rally Lesson #3

Obscure Characters 3 – Mary, Mother of Jesus (Part 1) – How do we normally look at Mary, the Mother of Jesus?  Cute figure in a nativity scene?  Do we look at her from the lens of what she is not (i.e. anti-Catholicism)?  This is a sermon (a lot fo the material comes from Scot McKnight’s book The Real Mary) which aims to look at Mary from a healthy (dare I say Scriptural) view.

A Time to Grieve and a Time to Rejoice – A sermon I did to start 2010 off which was taken from Jeremiah 31:7-14.  One of my most passionate sermons yet.

Help! – Part 1 – An Introduction – A series teaching about the necessity of help and helping.  This sermon takes a look at the Biblical word “help” and how it is used in Scripture.

Help! – Part 2 – I’m Struggling With Doubt – Do you struggle with doubt?  How do we find answers to the deepest questions of our hearts?

Help! – Part 3 – I’m Struggling With Addictions – Addictions…alcohol, sex, drugs.  Not all addictions are so easily recognizable!  Read on…

Help! – Part 4 – I’m Struggling With Relationships – We all struggle with this one.  how you treat God affects how you treat others…and vice-versa.

Help! – Part 5 – I’m Struggling With Depression – 1 Kings 19 serves as an excellent introduction to he complex issue of depression.  Chronic depression is something that millions of Americans go through.  I imagine there are many Christians of that number who struggle as well.  How can we help them?  How can we help us?

Help! – Part 6 – I’m Struggling With Purpose – Why did God create me?  What am I here for?  What we need as Christians in a complex world is a clear and concise vision.  We need purpose!  Just ask John the Baptist!

Help! – Part 7 – I’m Struggling With Prayer – “Lord teach us how to pray.”  How is your prayer life?  Are you struggling or would you say your prayer life is as natural as breathing air?

Help! – Part 8 – I’m Struggling With Studying the Bible – Do you struggle with studying God’s Word?  This is a sermon about some things we can do to help us.

Help! – Part 9 – I’m Struggling with Fitting in With This Church – “I don’t fit in!” Do you ever have people say this?  Read this sermon to see what can be done.

Help! – Part 10 – A Conclusion – The conclusion to the 10-part series challenging all of us to help and to be helped.

Rich Young Ruler – Lesson preached at Savannah Church of Christ from Luke 18:18-30.

Patience, the Impossible Virtue – Do you struggle with Patience?  Read this sermon to get some good principles.

Approaching Jesus – The only way to grow closer to God is to focus on how we approach Jesus and the only way to approach Jesus is to make His story, our story.

Shepherding 101 – Sermon on shepherding using the Good Shepherd as THE model.

Zaqen – Men of Old – A survey of elders in the Old Testament.  I believe the Hebrew zaqen was the foundation for the New Testament elders.

Becoming a Professional- Managing Yourself and Your Ministry – I spoke at Heritage Christian University’s Lectureship on this topic.  You will enjoy it.

Back to School – Part 1 – Faith - We started a series at Main Street going back to 5 basic topics to help us in our spiritual formation.

Back to School – Part 3 (Courage) – We continue our series about characteristics we need to learn again.  Esther teaches us how to be courageous.

Back to School – Part 4 – Joy – Have you lost your joy?  What does it mean to rejoice?  The apostle Paul serves as our teacher.

Back to School – Part 5 – Mission – The last characteristic we learn is “mission.”  Our teacher is Jesus of Nazareth.

Relationships on Paper 1 – Transformation (12.1-2) – Joe Rushing and I started a series from Romans 12 to help our relationships.  The first lesson is important in that we must transform ourselves to be who God created us to be.

Relationships on Paper 3 – Genuine Love (Rom. 12.9) – Genuine love exists when we are authentic about who we are.  Not profound but the truth.  Do you love authentically?

The Goodness of God – We have a lot to be thankful even when it is hard and inconvenient to do so.  I did this thanksgiving sermon on the goodness of God.  “God is good all the time and all the time God is good.”  Easier said than believed.

Relationships on Paper 5 – Steadfast (Rom. 12.12) – How do you stay steadfast when things are so difficult in your life?  We continue this series from Romans 12.

CLASS MATERIAL

Combined Survey Results for Parent-Teen Class – This is the combined Results for the Parent-Teen Class

Effective Communication – This was my lesson at the 2009 Freed-Hardeman Lectures.  It is for youth ministers but I believe all could benefit from it.

Ephesians Class – This past summer we did a class on the Book of Ephesians.  It is all about identity.

Senior’s Special Class – Letters I wrote to myself if I could go back to my 12th grade self and what I would say.

PNEUMATOLOGY 101 – College class I taught this summer on the Holy Spirit.

Counterfeit gods – Teacher Copy – One of the best classes we have done that is based on the book Counterfeit gods by Tim Keller.  A must read.

You are Very Religious – This past quarter we sat down and talked about different world religions and three major cults.  We did it in a way that was not arrogant but informative and honest.  Check it out.

Soldiers of Christ, Arise – A year ago we did a guys class and I wrote the curriculum for that.

Life of David (Part 1) – Teacher Lessons – A year ago we did a guys class life of David.  It was great to dig deep into some of the things David did and experienced as a king.