College Wesleyan Church Sermons

Vickie Conrad: As we enter the Christmas season, we are reminded that the greatest gift to the world is Jesus. Unlike the earthly gifts we unwrap during the holidays, this eternal gift calls for more than a one-time thank you—it invites a daily response of obedience, gratitude, and praise.

Steve DeNeff: In Luke’s version of Christmas, there are two stories occurring at the same time, each in a different city, with different kings and kingdoms, each with a different spirit. These two stories continue to this day. One gets all the news. We belong to the other.

Ethan Linder: An angel appeared to Joseph, because (though he didn’t carry the life of God within him) he had a load-bearing role to play in Jesus’ life. The angel’s call to Joseph – to adopt the promise of God – offers us countless gifts in the inheritance of faith: from the way we interpret Scripture, to the way we see our lives in light of other people’s callings. This sermon will explore some...

Sermon Summary Nathan Metz: What does it mean to be ‘favored’ by God? It’s not a reward. It can’t be withheld. Favor is not a commodity, it’s a relational posture. The ultimate expression of God’s favor is Christ’s filling, the incarnation. Mary was favored and filled so that we may now be favored and filled. How? Faith. The filling of Christ in Mary and in us is a theological mystery. We respond...

Steve DeNeff: For anyone still wondering if their faithfulness still matters, this story of Zechariah and Elizabeth reminds us that anything… literally anything… is possible with God.

Steve DeNeff: Whatever God has called you to do must be done with hope and patience.

Steve DeNeff: In God’s economy, there is more joy in giving than in receiving. There is freedom in possessing nothing. There is wisdom in trading what we cannot keep for gaining what we cannot lose. Before we enjoy this freedom, we will have to unlearn virtually everything we’ve been taught about our things.

Steve DeNeff: The political illusion is that all problems have, in our mind, become political. But as Christians we have a different story and a better alternative in the shape of a Beloved Community practicing these five values.

Steve DeNeff, What is most needed - in fact, what the public is waiting for - is a church with a vision for something bigger than itself, that lives for the sake of the city and the life of the Church.

Steve DeNeff, Obedience is the best interpretation of Scripture.

Sermon Summary Ethan Linder, Nehemiah’s work is largely focused on rebuilding crumbling walls; but in this passage, he’s worried about a crumbling community. This sermon will walk through the forces that pulled Nehemiah’s community (and ours) apart – and the invitation of God to live in a new way that pulls us together.

Josh Davis, As we consider scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, we see that God is a diverse, unified community. In order to more fully reflect God’s glory, we the Church must be what, in Christ, we already are: diverse and unified. *Josh Davis loves people and loves to make safe space for complexity. A third-culture person himself, Josh served as a missionary to the Dominican Republic before fo...

Steve DeNeff, Who are the people God will use to rebuild the city?

Steve DeNeff, If the altar builds the temple, then what (and how) we worship is what we will become.

Steve DeNeff, Soon or later, everything about us – our families, our work, and especially our worship – takes the shape of an altar hidden in the routines of our lives.

Steve DeNeff, Ezra 2:68-3:1, 10-13; Haggai 2:1-9. The story of Ezra-Nehemiah: A nation once devastated by the exile is given permission from an unlikely source to rebuild. But sometimes the hardest work is that which is done in the people themselves before the building begins.

Steve DeNeff, The story of Ezra-Nehemiah: A nation once devastated by the exile is given permission from an unlikely source to rebuild. But sometimes the hardest work is that which is done in the people themselves before the building begins.

Emily Vermilya, Our understanding of the gift of the Holy Spirit is often incomplete. What does the Spirit make possible, not only through deliverance and relief, but also through sustaining and enduring our present realities?

Ethan Linder, Mark 6 is one of the most infamous “un-miracle” stories in the Bible. Jesus is back in his hometown, and instead of receiving a warm reception, he’s met with unbelief… so much so that he’s unable to do much of his best work; he later explains this to his hearers, saying that a “prophet is without honor in his hometown.” Why – on the heels of incredible miracles – is Jesus unable to d...

Elizabeth Scull , John 15:1-17. God is so often our coach, our encourager, our lifeline, or our resource in how to live our life...but a vine is greater than all of those things. Jesus illustrates how God isn't just a resource in our life, rather the source of our life. How does that kind of living with God look different?

Caleb Dunn , Luke 14:1-24. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses simple table interactions to reveal the truth of who God is and the nature of God's Kingdom. In this passage of Scripture at the table of a prominent Pharisee, Jesus not only challenges those who value religious traditions or personal prominence over the love of their neighbors, but also Jesus uses the parable the great banqu...

Kasey Kalk, Matthew 11:25-30. Rest is a pretty hot topic these days. It's talked about a lot. But for many, rest feels like an allusive concept. How can I possibly meet all the expectations of life and work and still find time for rest? Misconceptions about rest that are likely influenced by the cultural view of work/productivity can lead us to believe that the work has to be done in order to...

Ryley Olson, John 9:24-25. Worship is revelation and response. But often times a part of this equation can break down. The breakdown is not in God's revelation; it's in our response. In the ninth chapter of John we see four groups of people respond to a miracle from Jesus. Only one responds correctly. By seeing ourselves in the story, we are asking God to help us respond correctly when He...

Roger Younce, John 4:1-32. Jesus engaged in a conversation with an outcast. No one expected him to talk with her and yet the conversation led to many finding Christ. What can we learn from this conversation? What did Jesus see in the woman at the well that we might be missing?

Vickie Conrad, Ezekiel 47. This message explores the narrative of how water is a recurring theme from Genesis to Revelation, symbolizing God's provision and life-giving power. In Genesis, God provides life-sustaining water through rivers and rain, but human thirst for more than just water leads to spiritual drought. Throughout the Bible, figures like Jacob and the Israelites encounter water in...