When I first received the invitation from Parsons Porch to submit 25-30 sermons for a series on Sermons Matter, I felt a holy nudge in my spirit. This invitation to submit sermons struck a chord in my soul. Since serving on a church planting team for Liberty Vineyard Church in 2013, I preached several times in a calendar year, sometimes on Mother's Day, Father's Day, Advent, and after Easter, or during our pastor's summer vacations. As an Associate Pastor, I preach on our Preaching Team monthly. Last year I audited a preaching class at the seminary where I teach as an adjunct professor. Auditing that class sparked my desire to improve my preaching moments. Since seminary classes in 2006 and graduation in 2007, I have grown as a preacher and a preaching student.
When we were not preaching a specific series of sermons, and I had the freedom to preach anything from the biblical text, I often gravitated toward biblical characters. I found Naaman and a turning point question his servants asked. I imagined what it might have been like to be Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night. I considered Mary, the mother of our Lord, and how she treasured things in her heart. In 2021, I preached a first-person sermon with the voice of Mary Magdalene on the Sunday after Easter. Recently, I preached "Redeeming Martha" since so many women need to hear the invitation of "Martha, Martha" instead of imagining Jesus's voice with tones of condemnation or accusation.Please know that some of these sermons were originally forty-five minutes, and in the process of formatting them for this manuscript, I edited them down to fewer pages and points. You will hear the same sermons with more scriptures and examples if you listen online. I preached some of these sermons on Zoom and some in the parking lot when we met outdoors.Vineyard sermons lead to Ministry Time, where those listening have opportunities to respond to the message, the worship time, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We have teams of people who pray with and for one another as we respond to the Lord's invitation to our souls. Some of the sermons have benedictions because we did that for a while. Some do not. Most have opening prayers. Preaching involves art and skill and editing sermons to be thirty minutes takes discipline. It is easier to preach a longer sermon than a shorter one.
Of all the sermons I have preached at Liberty Vineyard Church, I have selected twenty-seven, starting with Advent and the Magi finding "A