Citadel Square Sermons

Pastor Steve Heron continues our series in Luke and preaches from Luke 22:35-38. In Jesus' last moments around the Passover table, he prepares his disciples for what's to come in His absence. Recalling the history of divine provision for ministry in the past, he introduces a new age where ministry is going to look different. While these times will be filled with new enemies and challenges, he turn...

Pastor AJ Rankin preaches from Luke 22:31-34. Jesus tells Peter that Satan wants to sift him like wheat, but Peter insists he is ready to go to prison or even die for Jesus. Jesus predicts Peter will deny Him three times before the rooster crows. Despite this, Jesus has prayed for Peter and laid the groundwork for his restoration before Peter ever fails. Jesus also prays for us. And when we do fai...

Pastor Steve Heron preaches from Luke 22:14-30. As the hour approaches for Jesus' crucifixion, he sits down for his final meal. Gathering his apostles around him, he inaugurates what the entire Old Testament predicted: The new covenant. Fulfilling the shadows of the sacrificial system, Jesus breaks the bread and pours the cup to open the way to God through his ultimate sacrifice on the cross for s...

Pastor Steve Lindenmeyer continues our Luke series and preaches from Luke 21:37-22:13. As the time draws near for the crucifixion, Jesus continues to teach in the temple and the disciples begin to prepare for the Passover meal. Judas, however, turns against Jesus and conspires with the Jewish leaders on a plan to arrest Him.

Pastor Steve Lindenmeyer preaches from Luke 21:29-36. In this week's passage, Jesus shares the parable of the fig tree to summarize his previous teaching. As Jesus prepares us for the coming Kingdom He reminds us that His words are eternal and He exhorts us to be watchful and prayerful as we await his second coming. What does it look like for us to live in light of eternity instead of being consum...

Pastor AJ Rankin continues our series in Luke and preaches from Luke 21:5-28. In this week's passage, we see Jesus spending the days leading up to his crucifixion teaching at the temple. He warns them about future chaos, destruction, and persecution that are to come before the end. He also encourages his followers to endure and be prepared for his return. Why is it important for Christians to be w...

Jon Merkling preaches from Luke 20:45-21:4. In this week’s passage, we see that things are not always what they seem in the Kingdom of God. Jesus contrasts the Jewish teachers of the law, who only care about themselves and the pretense of godliness, with the faith of a poor widow who gives all she has to God. Here we learn that God is concerned not with external appearances, but rather with what’s...

Pastor AJ Rankin continues our Luke series and preaches from Luke 20:41-44. Now it is Jesus’ turn to pose a question to the religious leaders about the identity of the Messiah. He asks, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” Then, citing Psalm 110:1, Jesus shows that David calls him Lord. How is he both Lord and David’s son? The Redeemer must be David’s greater Son and God himself. So...

Pastor AJ Rankin preaches on Luke 20:27-40. The next test for Jesus comes by way of the Sadducees who are also attempting to trap Jesus into saying something blasphemous. In his supreme wisdom, Jesus avoids the trap and shatters the Sadducees preconceived notions about him, the resurrection, and the age to come.

Ben Miller preaches from Luke 20:19-26 as we continue in our study of the Gospel of Luke. This week we continue the showdown with the religious leaders that began at the start of chapter 20. As their motivations have now been exposed, this week we see their primary goal on full display: they want to get rid of Jesus. In a passage that records some of Jesus’ most famous words, Luke takes us further...

Jonathan Suggs preaches from Luke 20:9-18. After Jesus' authority is challenged in the temple, he responds with a thinly veiled parable that mirrors God’s dealings with his people and their leaders’ rejection of his servants. Their greed would ultimately lead them to reject his Son, not knowing that the one they killed would be the cornerstone who will have the last word in all of our lives.

Jared Johnson preaches from Luke 20:1-8. This week we’ll see Jesus enter the temple in Jerusalem, just days before he is crucified. As he enters, he is confronted by the religious leaders and questioned about his authority. This confrontation teaches us about who Jesus is and how his authority gives us reason to trust in him and surrender our own authority for something greater.

Steve Lindenmeyer preaches from Luke 19:45-48 as we continue our series through the Gospel of Luke. As Jesus enters Jerusalem he confronts those who were desecrating the temple and reminds them that God's house should be a house of prayer. The leaders tried to kill him, but many people hung on every word as he continued to teach and preach just days before his crucifixion.

Steve Lindenmeyer begins Part 4 of our study through the gospel of Luke and preaches from Luke 19:28-44. This week we will see the much-awaited and anticipated revelation of King Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. Many react with joyful worship and celebration while others respond with skepticism and doubt. As Jesus enters the city, his humility, authority, compassion, and power will be on full display...

Our Student Ministry Director, Ben Miller, preaches from Luke 19:11-27. As Christians, we know that Jesus will return again and consummate his kingdom. However, one of the biggest tensions in the Christian life is figuring out the “here and now.” How do we know that what we do in this life will pay off in eternity? Does God see our everyday acts of faithfulness? In this week’s passage, Jesus will...

Jonathan Suggs, our Young Adult Director, preaches from Luke 19:1-10. In this passage, we see Jesus passing through Jericho, his last stop before Jerusalem when a famous tax collector named Zacchaeus tries to catch a glimpse of him. Jesus shockingly addresses Zacchaeus and tells him to come down. What seems like an incidental moment changes everything and teaches us about the nature of true conver...

Pastor AJ Rankin continues our Gospel of Luke series and preaches from Luke 18:35-43. As Jesus approaches Jericho, he encounters a blind beggar. When told that Jesus passing by, the blind man calls out for Jesus to have mercy on him because he wants his sight to be recovered. Jesus restores the blind man’s sight and he begins to glorify God by way of following Jesus. The people around them praise...

Pastor AJ Rankin preaches from Luke 18:31-34. Jesus takes the twelve aside to once again tell them about his coming fate on the cross. He explains the heinous mistreatment and gruesome beating that lay ahead for him before his death. He also tells them that he will rise again on the third day. Despite hearing all this, the disciples do not grasp the significance of his words, as the meaning is hid...

Steve Lindenmeyer preaches from Luke 18:18-30. This week we will see a rich man run up to Jesus and ask the most important question that could ever be asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus' interaction with this man will dispel some of the most common misconceptions about salvation and encourage us to consider what prevents us from wholehearted surrender to His lordship. Jesus wil...

To continue our series in the Gospel of Luke, Ben Miller preaches from Luke 18:15-17. In this passage, we arrive at another of Jesus’ most famous interactions. Yet, as is often the case, the “familiar” strikes us with a dose of humility. This week we answer the question, “How does one enter the Kingdom of God??” Just as it did then, the answer to that question might just surprise us and force us a...

Jonathan Suggs, our Young Adult Director, preaches from Luke 18:9-14. Having just encouraged his disciples not to lose heart in their praying, Jesus recognizes one way prayer can go terribly wrong. What happens if prayer becomes a means to bolster our own self-righteousness? Contrasting two different men who approach God, Jesus shows us that true prayer is seasoned with penitence, rather than reca...

Pastor AJ Rankin preaches from Luke 18:1-8. We need to pray. God has created prayer as the relational pathway to intimacy between Him and his people. Unfortunately, prayer often gets neglected, avoided, or downright forgotten. Jesus knows that we can often falter, and get discouraged with prayer. Therefore, he gives us a parable of a vulnerable, yet persistent woman who bothers an unrighteous judg...

Pastor Steve Lindenmeyer preaches from Luke 17:20-37. Everyone looks forward to a better day, a beautiful future, to the hope of heaven. The Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom will arrive but Jesus confounds their expectations by pointing to his work as the Son of Man. Taking them on a survey of the Old Testament, Jesus points to the historical rejection of prophets like Noah and Lot. Just like...

Pastor AJ Rankin preaches from Luke 17:11-19. As Jesus continues toward Jerusalem, he encounters ten lepers who cry out for mercy. Jesus instructs them to show themselves to the priests, and as they go, they are cleansed. However, only one of them, a Samaritan, returns to praise God. Jesus observes the absence of the other nine and commends the faith of the Samaritan, using this moment to teach hi...

Pastor Steve Heron preaches from Luke 17:1-10. Luke closes this chapter with one of Jesus' more enigmatic parables: The rich man and Lazarus. Jesus shows us the paralyzing effects that wealth can have. Deadening our senses to the eternal state, the truth of God's word, and even the resurrection—a life of luxury leaves us both deaf and dumb. Jesus shows us that hearing His word protects us from the...