Here are ten sample sermons so you can get a feel for my preaching. My style is expository: I strive to tell you what the text says. This was one of the main homeletical lessons I learned in seminary where my professors, including Dr. Bryan Chapell, would drive home the question, “What does this text say?”
I’ve also been greatly influenced by Pentecostal and Baptist preaching, and I appreciate some of the homiletical devices and the passion that they employ. I grew up Pentecostal and that shows through in my sermons.
My goal in preaching is to move hearts. I seek to inspire. I want you to feel something. This is not for the sake of pure emotionalism, but because God created us as emotional persons and to be moved deeply is part of what helps us grow in our faith. The scriptures describe Jesus himself being moved deeply several times. What do I want to inspire? I want to inspire you towards faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13). I want to inspire you to greater love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). I want to facilitate an encounter with God. Thus all the information that I deliver in a sermon is there for that purpose. It is not information for information’s sake, but information with a homiletical goal.
I strive to give the information I convey at an accessible level. One of my skills is to bring the insights of the academy to the pulpit in a way that everyone can benefit from. Yet, there is a depth of riches in the scriptures and in our tradition that everyone in the church should be able have access to.
I also work to bring cultural references and insights into the pulpit in order to defend the faith and present the gospel in compelling ways. I have a heart for the unchurched, dechurched, and deconstructed, what are called “the nones.”
I’ve picked ten sermons as a representation of my preaching. You don’t have to listen to them all, but I chose the ones I did because they give a range of different situations and issues. My goal is that you will be able to to learn more about me and also, hopefully, to be instructed and challenged in your faith.
You can right click on any of the audio players below to download the sermon.
God’s Care for the Church
Date: 4/3/33
Location: Resurrection Presbyterian Church, Madison, WI
Text: 1 Peter 5:1-7
I was invited to preach at a Sunday morning service that included the ordination and installation of elders. My sermon focused on the fact that ordained Church leadership is God’s gift to care for anxious hearts.
The sermon can be found here.
The Ties that Bind
Date: 2/13/22
Location: The Kirk of the Hills, St. Louis, MO
Text: Ephesians 4:1-6
I was invited by my friend, Senior Pastor Ben Porter, to teach an officer training class on church history and preach the Sunday Sermon at The Kirk of the Hills, PCA. The topic assigned to me for the sermon was “creeds and confessions.” I spoke about how the church is bound by a common creed, common sacraments, and our Triune God.
That They May All Be One
Date: 11/07/21
Location: Providence Presbyterian Church, Salisbury, MD
Text: John 17:17-26
This was the Sunday morning sermon at a Reformation conference I spoke at for a church in Maryland. Because I was the invited speaker for this conference, and the sermon was a part of the conference, the sermon has more historical references than normal. This sermon is a good example of how I approach preaching for special occasions.
A Trustworthy Message
Date: 7/25/21
Location: Covenant Community Church, Wexford, PA
Text: Galatians 1:10-24
A guest sermon for my friend Pastor Jon Price. It may seem like a strange text to preach a one-off sermon, but the reason is because I had preached the same text for another pastor friend of mine a week before as a part of a series on Galatians. At any rate, this sermon demonstrates my ability to exegete a difficult or “boring” passage.
Sermon Audio (right click to download)
Sermon Video
An Encounter With God
Date: 4/25/21
Location: Second City Church, Harrisburg, PA
Text: Luke 24:13-35
I was invited to preach by my friend Pastor Peter Rowan of Second City Church in Harrisburg, PA. The text is one of my favorites: The Emmaus Road Journey. In it I give an invitation to an encounter with God through his word and sacrament.
The Elephant (and Donkey) in the Room
Date: 10/11/20
Location: Grace and Peace Fellowship (outdoor service)
Series: Politics and the Church
Text: Topical
This is a topical sermon from a series called “Politics and the Church” in the lead up to the election. This is a sermon that seeks to shepherd the congregation towards unity in the midst of a divisive time.
Everything Sad is Coming Untrue
Date: 9/13/20
Location: Grace and Peace Fellowship
Series: The Doctrines of Grace
Text: Revelation 21:1-8
This is a sermon from a doctrinal sermon series on the Calvinistic doctrines of grace. In this sermon I explore the topic of All Encompassing Salvation. While speaking about traditional Calvinistic teachings, I also explore our secular culture’s desire for justice and connect that to God’s eschatological plan to renew all things.
Sermon Series on 1 Peter: Strangers in a Strange Land
Here are three sermons from a sermon series on 1 Peter that I preached in the fall of 2019. I include these so you can get a sense for how I preach through a book of the Bible. Included are the first and last sermons in the series along with a particularly notable one.
Two Easter Sermons
Here are two sermons from the 2019 Easter season, one from Easter Sunday and one two weeks later. In them you get a sense for how I preach major holidays and big scriptural themes.
You can listen to any of my sermons from my time at Grace and Peace by clicking here.
Vita pastoralis 