College Wesleyan Church Sermons

Steve DeNeff: “Now that I know you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” The altar is a place where we lay down what we can least afford to lose.

Steve DeNeff: “They built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord . . . (even) though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.” There is a difference between a church with an altar, and an altar with a Church.

Ethan Linder: Our world is broken (that’s no surprise to us). In Revelation, John writes of a world made new; and if Revelation isn’t just a prediction about the end of the world, but a window into God’s work now, how do we make sense of the brokenness going on in the world? In this sermon, we’ll talk about what it means for God to make the world new, and how we (even amidst our brokenness) can join God in the work of repair.

Steve DeNeff: “Let us rejoice and be glad, for the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.” The single most compelling metaphor for salvation in the Bible is not a trial with God on the bench and humanity in the dock. It’s a wedding with Christ at the altar, awaiting the arrival of his bride, the Church. When we think of salvation in these terms, it changes almost everything about the way we live each day.

Emily Vermilya: “I looked and there before me was a door standing open in heaven and the Voice I heard speaking to me said, ‘Come up here…’”. Despite the controversy over worship in the Church today, there is no confusion in heaven. Here, in what some call the center of Revelation, is an open door with an invitation to join the worship already in progress. When we join the worship of heaven it redescribes the world as we know it. It re-interprets all that is happening and empowers us to be faithful in the present age.

Steve DeNeff: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” What would Jesus notice if he came to Church, to His people, and looked at their heart? For some it would be an unnerving visit from a familiar stranger, someone they knew who knows everything about them. The seven letters of Revelation are descriptions of seven different souls. Which one describes us? Which describes you? And what would Jesus tell us to do?

Steve DeNeff: “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last… I am alive forever and I have the keys.” Revelation is the last word on Jesus and what makes it so relevant is that it’s spoken in a time when everything is coming apart. It’s a commentary on all that’s happening in John’s day and in ours. It’s a manifesto of sorts to the faithful, calling us to resist the pull of empire and to follow the Lamb no matter what.

Nathan Metz: Relax. Have you ever started a project, a mission or a new year with relaxation in mind? It seems oxymoronic. Yet, when asked to describe Jesus in a word, Dallas Willard responded “relaxed”. Surely he isn’t implying something negative, tired, lethargic or detached. Perhaps there’s something worth considering in this idea! Let’s explore the imagery of the vine in John 15 and chariots in 2 Kings as we envision a Christ-centered life.

Andrea Summers: Two very different responses meet the birth of Jesus. Herod responds with fear, suspicion, and self-preservation; while the Magi respond with curiosity, humility, and sacrifice. Matthew invites us to see that it was not who they were or how much they knew that mattered most, but their willingness to worship. The Magi teach us that when we worship Jesus, even imperfectly, God is often doing more than we know.

Steve DeNeff: “Glory to God in heaven, and peace for the people on earth,” (Lk 2:14, Fitzmyer). This song of salvation, begun on Christmas, continues to the end of time. The world’s alternative to this salvation is optimism, a vague and tenuous feeling that everything will be alright. But in Revelation it’s crystal clear: God has invaded, invited and wooed all of creation into a multitude that sings like thunder: “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God … for the Lord our God Almighty reigns,” (19:1,7). The Child, the Lamb, the Faithful and True is King and the government is on his shoulders. Let heaven and nature sing!

Daniel Rife: “There are powers that make the world,” wrote Flannery O’Connor, “and other powers that unmake it.” Halfway through Revelation is an unpopular retelling of the nativity and it’s anything but a silent night. This one involves a cosmic war between a woman’s child and a dragon reminding us of both the nature and the scale of our conflicts today. They are not simply between individuals, tribes or even nations but between good and evil - between the Child and the dragon - and at Christmas God has come into the battle Himself and judged the systems that unmake the world.

Ethan Linder: The Christmas story contains a lot of surprises: not the least of which is Jesus’ lowliness as a peasant announced to shepherds, born to a family with limited prospects, raised in an ancient near-Eastern backwater. Because the story has grown familiar to some of us, we can overlook the scandal of Jesus’ lowliness in his first coming, as we wait for a triumphant second-coming. But what if we’re in for yet another surprise? This sermon will explore John’s vision of Jesus as (simultaneously) the Lion of Judah and Lamb of God, giving us (in both Spirit and example) an invitation to see how power and gentleness can live together.

Steve DeNeff: “I was on the island called Patmos … I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Those two sentences form the crucible in which the Revelation is given. God is with us, even when we’re alone on Patmos. He comes, not merely a child, but “one like the Son of Man approaching at an infinite speed, setting up his kingdom amidst the powers that rule the world. His kingdom “is eternal and will never be destroyed,” (Dan. 7:14). God is with us … the Voice is behind us … always closer than we think.

Nathan Metz: The book of Acts reveals a process of “rediscovering” God (through the new realities of the Work of Christ and the Gift of the Spirit). The sermon will be preached to a “curious attender” who has come to learn more about God. I will walk this person through three phases of getting to know God: (1) wanting to be Him, (2) wanting to paint Him (3) wanting to be painted by Him. At its core, this is a sermon about the faults of modern subjectivism, the challenge of seeing God rightly and the implications of Godly humility.

Lori Minor: Good news is only good for those who benefit from its “goodness." As believers it's important that we properly define and distribute the powerful "Good News" of the Gospel!

Steve DeNeff: In the Church that God planted there is a conspicuous absence of heroes. Every member is active. Everyone plays a part, each one doing what seems natural (like common sense) to them, but together they accomplish what no hero ever could. Everyone wins! And so when we walk in the Spirit, we become ALL that we were made to be.

Emily Vermilya: Abiding in Christ is the source of all true courage. In Acts 4, Peter and John show that when believers draw their strength from Jesus, they can face anything. The Spirit who once empowered them now empowers us to live and speak with fearless humility in Jesus’ name.

Steve DeNeff: When Spirit-animated people (or churches) make decisions, they discern more than decide. They have assumptions, they follow practices that others simply lack. What are they? And how do we practice them today? We need a model for making decisions that is spiritual, practical, repeatable and can be done quickly.

Steve DeNeff: Growth brings complexity and complexity strangles growth. That is the paradox confronting every church that grows. How do Spirit-animated churches, like ours, protect the mission from the threat of success? How do they find their leaders? And what do they expect from them? As we think about leaders in our church, what can we learn from the one in Acts?

Steve DeNeff: For years the Church has been “the most segregated hour all week,” but slowly things are changing. As we become more integrated, does anyone have a vision for something beyond diversity? What does the Holy Spirit want diversity for? What is possible for the Church only after it has engaged and empowered ALL the children of God? And how does a church like ours become more like that in the power of the Spirit, rather than our own power?