Watts in the Word

Nobody exemplifies the power of prayer more than Jesus. Through a basic word study on prayer in the Gospels, what can we learn from our Lord about when, how, and why we should pray?

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(Preaching on prayer. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 1, 2026.)

Luke 17-18 begin to wrap up the middle section of Luke’s Gospel, containing most of Jesus’ direct teaching, indicated by Jesus himself beginning to look more toward his impending arrest and crucifixion. What kind of instruction does Jesus leave for those who would follow him in discipleship?

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(Preaching through Luke’s Gospel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on November 1, 2026.)

Perhaps the two most controversial, confusing parables in all the gospels are both in the same chapter, Luke 16. Why did Luke put these two parables together, and how do they each inform our understanding of the other?

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(Preaching through Luke’s Gospel. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 18, 2026.)

Why don’t we pray more? It’s obvious why non-Christians wouldn’t pray, but why would people who claim to believe in and have a relationship with Jesus not pray like they should? Let’s consider three common reasons, as well as strategies to overcome these barriers to prayer.

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(Preaching on prayer. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 11, 2026.)

Most of Jesus’ parables in Luke were direct responses to a situation he was in or a comment or question directed at him, including the parables of lost things in Luke 15. What attitude was Jesus responding to, and how might we be in danger of the same attitude today?

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(Preaching through the Gospel of Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 11, 2026.)

We begin a series on prayer to close out this year by considering the most basic question of all: what is prayer?

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(Preaching on prayer. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 4, 2026.)

We resume our study of Luke’s gospel this week. Luke 14 contains maybe the most famous parable about the “cost of discipleship,” but there are three different parables about feasts before it in Luke 14 that all make answer a similar question: what does it take to follow Jesus?

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(Preaching through Luke. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on October 4, 2026.)

The last chapter of James deals with two very different ends of the spectrum of life: success and earthly wealth, and suffering in earthly trials. How do we hold these two parts of life in balance while maintaining a healthy relationship with God?

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(Preaching through James. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 27, 2026.)

We obviously can’t cover every name and title of God in one sermon series; there are dozens or maybe hundreds of ways that God is referred to in Scripture. We conclude this series with a survey of several ways we could categorize these references and ask: what’s the point of such a study anyway?

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(Preaching on the names of God. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 20, 2026.)

In considering how the ancient wisdom of the Bible might apply to modern life, it is of utmost importance to remember the core facet of human nature that leads to rebellion against God: pride, arrogance, and selfishness. Pride manifests in all the same ways throughout human history, and thus James’ advice for overcoming pride is just as relevant now as it ever was.

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(Preaching through James. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 20, 2026.)