The story of Samson is both heroic and tragic. Samson’s supernatural strength creates several memorable moments, but his lack of any other kind of strength led him into sorrow, anger, and despair. What can we learn from this tragic judge?

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(Preaching through Judges. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 8, 2024.)

In many ways humans are defined by their relationships to others. It can be easy to allow our individual identities to be subsumed by these connections. How does God expect our relationships to influence our identities, and how can we develop an identity in Christ while also righteously connecting with others?

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(Preaching on developing an identity in Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 8, 2024.)

The story of Judges is one of a steady decline in Israel away from God and further into unrighteousness. The judges themselves were not exempt from this digression. The sequence of Gideon-Jephthah-Samson highlights how even the leaders in Israel fell further and further from God. What can we learn from Jephthah’s failure?

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(Preaching on Judges. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 1, 2024.)

Politics dominates modern discourse, but what exactly are politics. What makes something political? And, most importantly, what does God expect of the Christian in regards to politics?

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(Preaching on developing an identity in Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on September 1, 2024.)

Most adults spend most of their waking hours at work, so it’s not surprising that working or professional identity becomes a central part of our sense of self. But what is the point of work in the Bible? What does God have to say about the role of work in our identity?

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(Preaching on developing an identity in Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 25, 2024.)

It’s not saying anything special to note that sexuality is at the heart of a lot of modern life, from advertising to politics to entertainment and culture. What does God have to say about human sexuality and gender, and how can we fit our sense of self into God’s design for humanity?

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(Preaching on developing an identity in Christ. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 18, 2024.)

The story of Abimelech in Judges 9 is really the conclusion to Gideon’s story, and brings up many of the themes we have seen throughout our study of Judges: foreshadowing against kings, the rule of God versus the rule of men, and the tension between boldness and arrogance, insecurity and humility.

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(Preaching through Judges. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 11, 2024.)

We continue our study on identity by considering the difference between the word “Christian” and “disciple” – which word did the early Christians use to identify themselves? How does our spirituality relate to our self-formulation of identity?

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(Preaching on identity. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 11, 2024.)

Many (if not most) Christians are familiar with the first two-thirds of Gideon’s story, with good reason. It’s full of great lessons and easy-to-remember events. But to fully situate Gideon in the context of Judges, we need to consider his whole story. How did Gideon’s success and failures echo down to Israel after his death?

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(Preaching through Judges. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 4, 2024.)

Questions of personal identity have become endemic to modern politics and culture, from the way we teach our children to the way we vote for president. How does the Bible talk about identity, and how can we righteously consider the question “who am I”?

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(Preaching on personal identity. This sermon was preached at the Dewey Church of Christ on August 4, 2024.)