Categories
Writings on Christianity

Easter 2021 Sermon

Here are the notes for my 2021 Easter sermon on John 20:11-18 at our church in Naperville, Cross of Christ Fellowship. You can find the audio under ‘stand alone sermons’ here (near bottom of the page). [If you listen, you will hear the birds chirping because this was preached outside!] Easter 2021 “Believing with Mary […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Value & Variety of Preaching Straight Through a Book of the Bible

There are many benefits to preaching straight through a book of the Bible on Sundays. Preaching straight through makes you deal with a variety of topics, some you may tend to avoid. So far, in our Romans series, we have looked at Romans 1:1-2:11 over 6 different sermons, breaking the passage down into smaller parts. […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Unashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17)

Here’s the notes from my sermon on Romans 1:16-17, preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship (our church in Naperville). You can here the audio here. “Unashamed of the GOSPEL” Rom 1:16-17                                                                                        INTRO: The passage we are considering today changed the life of a man named Martin Luther. Martin was a Roman Catholic monk, and very […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Calvin on Romans 1:16-17

“For if we seek salvation, that is life with God, righteousness must be first sought, by which being reconciled to him, we may, through him being propitious to us, obtain that life which consists only in his favor; for in order to be loved by God, we must first become righteous, since he regards unrighteousness […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

4 Alternatives to Preaching Christ in a Sermon

In Gordon’s book “Why Johnny Can’t Preach,” he lists 4 prominent alternatives to preaching Christ a sermon: MORALISM (be a good person) HOW TO-ISM (here’s how to be a better spouse/parent, how to be more happy, etc) INTROSPECTION (you’re probably not a Christian because of how pathetic you are at following him) CULTURAL WARS (we […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Everyone Gospel (Rom 1:8-15)

Here’s the notes for my sermon on Romans 1:8-15 “The EVERYONE Gospel,” preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville. You can find the audio here. Romans 1:8-15 “The Everyone Gospel” Intro: The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is good news from God about God. It […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Learning From Charles Simeon the Preacher

I recently read through Hopkins’ biography on Charles Simeon. Simeon was a pioneer of expository preaching and lived had a faithful preaching ministry of over 50 years in Cambridge, England in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. Here’s some quotes from the biography about Simeon’s approach to preaching: “Simeon believed that his task was to […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

A KNOWN GOSPEL

Here’s the outline for my sermon on Romans 1:2-7 at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville. You can find the audio here. Intro: Is it actually POSSIBLE to know who God is? Can we REALLY know what God is like? Could we ever actually hear a message from Him? Many around us would […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Shaped by the GOSPEL

Here’s the outline for my sermon on Romans 1:1, which I preached at our church in Naperville, Cross of Christ Fellowship. You can find the audio here. Romans 1:1 “Shaped by the Gospel”INTRO: We learn from the book of Acts, that the first Christian martyr was a man named Stephen. The Jews hated what they […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Why Have Preaching In A Church Service?

Several years ago someone took me out to dinner and asked me, “Why have preaching in a church service?” I was challenged on theological and biblical grounds. That conversation always stuck with me. I think we do need to know why we have preaching of sermons in a church service, and I think there is […]