Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe walks through the life of the apostle Peter, showing how Jesus saw in Simon something Simon couldn't yet see in himself — a rock. Through Peter's failures, restorations, and ultimate transformation, Karl reminds us that Jesus doesn't call us because we're already who we should be, but because he intends to make us who he created us to be. It's all grace — only grace, ever...

In this opening sermon of the "Behind the Ministry" series, Karl Ihfe examines the life of Judas Iscariot as a sobering warning that it's possible to be physically close to Jesus — attending church, knowing Scripture, even serving in ministry — while remaining spiritually unchanged. Judas walked with Jesus for three years, yet never truly surrendered his heart, ultimately letting greed and disillu...

In this sermon, Jordan Tatum reflects on how pride — what C.S. Lewis called a "spiritual cancer" — can quietly pull us away from God, convincing us we're good enough on our own. Drawing from Romans 5:8, Jordan unpacks three humbling truths: we have sinned against God, we can't fix what we've broken, and it takes an act of God to overcome sin. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus, the Lamb of...

In a culture obsessed with attention, recognition, and being "lions," Dr. Jordan Tatum calls Broadway Church to embrace a radically different way — the way of the Lamb. Drawing from Psalm 23, Proverbs, and Philippians 2, he diagnoses pride as the great spiritual cancer of our age and points to the humility of Jesus Christ as the model for God's people. We are not called to personal glory, but to f...

After 16 months of prayerful listening, Broadway Church's Vision Team — represented by Jennifer Smith, Jeff Johnston, and Karl Ihfe — unveiled a vision rooted in a simple but powerful truth: people experienced the love of God before they ever knew God. Drawing from congregational stories, community conversations, and discernment of Broadway's unique gifts, the team discovered — not invented — a vi...

In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 5, Karl Ihfe challenges believers to stop drifting through their faith and start living with intentional purpose. Drawing on Paul's closing commands to the Thessalonian church, Karl unpacks what purposeful faith looks like in everyday life — investing in people, staying connected to God, and making room for the Holy Spirit. Just as no one stumbles into a great m...

In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 4, Karl Ihfe walks through Paul's pastoral words to a grieving church, reminding believers that Christian hope doesn't ask us to deny grief — it anchors our grief in the resurrection of Jesus. The difference between Christian grief and hopeless despair isn't the absence of tears, but the presence of hope. Because Jesus rose, death is not the end of the story, an...

In this sermon from the series  Faith in Real Life , Karl Ihfe draws from 1 Thessalonians 2 to show that real faith isn't just something we believe — it's something we live out in genuine, personal relationship with others. Just as Paul didn't simply preach to the Thessalonians but shared his very life with them, Karl challenges the congregation to move beyond surface-level connection and intentio...

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe opens a four-week series called  Faith in Real Life by examining 1 Thessalonians 1, where Paul celebrates the young church at Thessalonica for developing a faith worth imitating. Karl challenges the congregation to move beyond merely knowing the gospel to being transformed by it — turning away from the idols competing for their hearts and toward the living God. A faith wo...

Drawing from Deuteronomy 6, Karl Ihfe reminds us that every family passes something down — the question is  what . Real, lasting faith is built not through perfect plans or polished religion, but through genuine love for God, everyday moments, intentional habits, and a shared community of believers. As Karl puts it, it takes more than a village — it takes a church — to pass down a faith worth inhe...

In this sermon on John 11, Karl Ihfe explores the story of Lazarus to remind us that God's timing, though often confusing, never fails us. Through Martha's honest cry — "Lord, if you had been here" — and Jesus' deliberate delay, Karl shows us that delays are not signs of God's disinterest, but invitations to deeper trust. What feels like a setback may actually be the stage God is setting for his g...

On Senior Sunday at Broadway Church of Christ, Bryan Brunson addresses graduating seniors Spencer and Evelyn through the lens of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Drawing parallels between Jesus' graduation into public ministry and the students' transition to adulthood, Brunson explores three key temptations that both Jesus and modern graduates face. The first temptation involves taking shortcu...

In this sermon from 1 Kings 19, Karl uses the analogy of airplane turbulence to explore Elijah's emotional and spiritual crisis following his great victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Despite witnessing God's incredible power, Elijah finds himself running from Jezebel's threats, exhausted and praying to die under a broom bush. Karl emphasizes that Elijah wasn't faithless but simply...

Karl Ihfe begins his Easter sermon by comparing the resurrection to great rescue stories where hope triumphs over despair and life conquers death. He notes that the women who went to Jesus' tomb in Luke 24 expected to find it full, not empty, and even the disciples initially didn't believe their report that Jesus had risen. The shocking discovery of the empty tomb and the angels' question, "Why do...

Jordan Tatum begins this Palm Sunday message by reflecting on the honor given to Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, explaining how honor and shame functioned as social currencies in the ancient world. He then delves into the deeper problem of sin, describing it not merely as bad choices but as a supernatural force that deceives, enslaves, and ultimately fills us with shame. Tatum shares how shame acts...

Karl Ihfe opens his sermon with the movie "The Shawshank Redemption," focusing on the pivotal moment when Andy tells Red to choose between "get busy living or get busy dying." This sets up the central theme that while getting free from bondage is one challenge, learning how to live in that freedom is often much harder. Ihfe connects this to Israel's experience in Exodus and Numbers, where God resc...

Karl Ihfe opens his sermon with references to the movie Jaws and the dramatic Thai cave rescue to illustrate his central theme: God's rescue operation requires "a bigger boat" because it encompasses far more than individual salvation. Using Exodus 3 as his foundation, Ihfe demonstrates how God heard the collective cries of the Israelites in Egypt and came down to rescue them as a people, not just...

In this Lenten sermon from the "Rescue" series, Karl Ihfe uses the analogy of movie trailers to explain how the Old Testament points to Jesus' ultimate rescue mission. Beginning with Abraham's call in Genesis 12, where God promises to bless all nations through him, Karl traces the thread of rescue throughout Scripture. He shows how Abraham had to trust a promise he couldn't see, and how generation...

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe uses personal stories of helplessness—his son Gabriel's premature birth and his father's heart transplant—to illustrate humanity's need for rescue. He traces God's rescue plan back to Genesis 3, arguing that salvation didn't begin at the cross but immediately after the fall. Drawing on theological insights about Adam and Eve being like children who were "sinned against be...

In this concluding message of the Expectation Gap series, Karl Ihfe tackles the challenging topic of sin and punishment by examining Luke 15 and the famous parable of the prodigal son. He poses a crucial question: when we sin, who punishes us - God or sin? Through the story of the father and his two lost sons, Karl illustrates that the father's loving posture never changes toward either son, wheth...

Karl Ihfe concludes the "Expectation Gap" series by addressing our tendency to focus on self-improvement rather than allowing God to transform us through His love. Using the fruit of the Spirit passage from Galatians 5, he explains that qualities like patience don't come from willpower but from the Spirit working in us. Instead of asking "How can I be more patient?" we should ask "What belief is s...

Karl Ihfe continues the "Expectation Gap" series by tackling the third gap: we believe God wants us to grow, but we're often disappointed by our progress. Speaking honestly about his own 37-year journey with Christ, Karl admits he thought he'd be "a little further along" by now - more patient, less selfish, quicker to forgive. He suggests that part of our struggle comes from misusing Scripture by...

Karl Ihfe continues the "Expectation Gap" series by examining the second gap: believing God is with us while struggling to see His presence. Using the story from Matthew 12 where Jesus heals a man's withered hand on the Sabbath, Ihfe illustrates how different "gospels" shape our perspective. He shares Stephen Covey's subway story about a widowed father and his disruptive children, demonstrating ho...

Karl Ihfe continues the "Expectation Gap" series by exploring why we believe God is loving but don't always feel loved. Drawing from Steve Cuss's insights, Karl explains that every "gospel" has three elements: a path, a promise, and a payment. While worldly gospels make us pay for empty promises, Jesus's gospel reverses this - God pays the price and we receive the benefit. Karl identifies how our...

Karl Ihfe begins a new series called "The Expectation Gap: Where Faith and Life Meet," inspired by Steve Cuss's book. He addresses the reality that followers of Jesus often experience a gap between core beliefs—like "God loves me" and "God is with me"—and their actual lived experience. Drawing from Mark 9, where a desperate father brings his tormented son to Jesus and declares "I believe, help me...