Progressive Christian Sermons with Rev. David Wheeler
Expansive faith rooted in compassion, justice, and thoughtful engagement with scripture. Questions welcome. Doubt allowed. New sermons every week. Preaching from New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Episodes
In this Easter Sunday message, Rev. David Wheeler explored Matthew 28:1–10 and invited us to see resurrection not just as something that happened long ago, but as a living, ongoing reality in our world today. Moving beyond debates about how the resurrection happened, this sermon asked a deeper question: do we have the eyes to see it now?
Through story, scripture, and reflection, we were reminded that God has always been in the busi...
On Palm Sunday, Rev. David Wheeler explored a deeper layer of the story—moving beyond simple celebration into courage, tension, and choice. What if there wasn’t just one parade that day, but two? One representing power and control, the other humility and love.
Through this lens, the sermon invited listeners to consider what it meant to follow Jesus not just in belief, but in action. With timely connections to our world today, we we...
Matthew 19:13–15 | Deuteronomy 24:17–22
This week, guest preacher Rev. Nancy Hodgkinson reflects on one of the clearest threads in Jesus’ ministry: a deep, unwavering commitment to protecting and caring for the most vulnerable among us.
In a world that often prioritizes power, status, and self-preservation, Jesus turns our assumptions upside down—welcoming children, centering those on the margins, and reminding us that we have all...
Who gets access? Who is welcomed, protected, and allowed to belong?
In this sermon from Matthew 19:13–15 and Deuteronomy 24:17–22, Rev. David Wheeler explores how Jesus challenges the quiet systems that decide who matters and who doesn’t. When the disciples tried to push children aside, Jesus interrupted them—placing the most vulnerable at the very center of God’s kin-dom.
From ancient laws that protected strangers, orphans, and wi...
Guest preacher Drew Southworth brings the message for the Third Sunday in Lent in our series “The Good News Is…”. In a world that often pushes people away from the table, the gospel invites us to pull up chairs instead. Through simple acts of welcome, shared humanity, and courageous love of neighbor, we discover that when communities choose belonging over division, the impossible begins to become possible.
This sermon invites us ...
Luke 7:36–50 | Matthew 25:35–40
On this Second Sunday of Lent, Rev. David Wheeler explores the story often titled “The Sinful Woman” and Jesus’ teaching that whatever we do to “the least of these,” we do to him.
What if the real failure in Luke 7 isn’t scandalous behavior — but withheld welcome? What if the most dangerous sin is not what we do, but the love we refuse to give?
Preaching in the midst of U.S. military action toward Ir...
John 2:1–11 | Matthew 13:31–32 | First Sunday in Lent
At a wedding in Cana, the wine runs out. Instead of shame or scarcity, Jesus brings abundance. Instead of tightening boundaries, he widens the table.
In this Lenten sermon, we explore what the miracle at Cana and the mustard seed parable reveal about joy, justice, and the kin-dom of God. What does it mean to practice joy as resistance in a culture shaped by fear? How do we embod...
James 2:1–9; Matthew 23:23–24
Not every Bible verse carries equal weight.
In this sermon from The Bible They Never Told You About series, Rev. David Wheeler explores what Jesus called the “weightier matters” of the law: justice, mercy, and faith.
How we read Scripture shapes who gets a seat at the table — and who gets pushed to the margins. The Bible has been used to defend power and to proclaim liberation. Same text. Different len...
What do we do when the Bible seems to contradict itself? And what happens when Scripture is used not to heal—but to harm?
In this sermon, Rev. David Wheeler explores two foundational questions many people are quietly asking today: how to read biblical contradictions with honesty, and how to confront verses that have been weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and women.
Drawing from Genesis 1–2 and Acts 15, this messag...
What happens when faith steps out of the sanctuary and onto streets marked by fear?
After traveling to Minneapolis to witness the impact of immigration enforcement firsthand, Pastor David reflects on what he saw — and how two ancient scriptures suddenly felt urgently alive. Drawing from Micah’s call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” and Jesus’ surprising list of who is truly blessed, this message explores what disciplesh...
In part 1 of this Advent series, Rev. Wheeler suggests that in every era, the world has had leaders, like Herod, who led unjustly, hoarded wealth and power for themselves, and let the real needs of their people go unaddressed. In times like these, we long for God to "break in" and set the wrongs to right. But what if God has already been breaking in? What if God works through us instead of through proverbial lightning bolts from th...
This was Rev. Wheeler's Reign of Christ/Christ the King Sunday sermon on November 23, 2025. Based on Luke 23:33-43, he suggests that the world will never be transformed by the love of power; only the power of love can transform it! Christian Nationalism and other coercive forms of attempts at change do nothing but add to the noise and division. Can we love our way into a better world?
In this final sermon (part 4 of 4) in the Rooted and Rising series, Rev. Wheeler uses Isaiah 43:18-19 and John 15:1-5 to make the case that God is always doing a new thing. Can we trust that as we do our part today, new growth and fresh fruit will flourish for generations to come through our whole community's active participation?
In part 3 of the Rooted and Rising series, Rev. Wheeler draws from Isaiah 40:28-31 and John 16:33 to encourage the church to be a daring community that serves boldly, stands for justice, and embodies compassion in tangible ways. Courage is expressed when we use our resources, voices, creativity, and hands to build ministries that reflect God's love in the world.
In part 2 of the Rooted and Rising series, Rev. Wheeler draws on Acts 2:42-47 and Ephesians 3:16-19 as illustrations of how the early Christian communities lived out their faith together. Our own roots are deepened when we show up for one another, bring our diverse gifts to the table to be shared, and embody love in action.
Rev. Wheeler presents Part 1 of the new "Rooted and Rising Series," based on Psalm 1:1-3 and Colossians 2:6-7, this sermon explores grace as the soil that nourishes us. Offering our gifts of time, talents, and treasures, we provide a countercultural witness that roots us deeply in grace, giving us strength to resist shallow religiosity and live out a deeper discipleship.
Rev. Wheeler offered this sermon on October 12, 2025, to offer some words of hope and healing to those who have been “othered” by the church in the name of religion. Based on the healing story of the 10 Lepers, he suggests that those who return to the church are our prophets and actually offer healing to the church.
This is part 4 of 4 in the "What Might Jesus Say," series. In this sermon, Rev. Wheeler draws from Amos and Matthew to offer praise and critique to each of these three groups of voters in an effort to encourage staying focused on the "weightier matters of faith," Jesus was talking about in Matthew 23:23.
In part 3 of the "What Might Jesus Say," series, Rev. Wheeler offers this sermon about the abortion debate. Drawing from Genesis 2:7 and Mark 5:25-34, he suggests that Jesus' Jewish upbringing would have influenced Jesus' views on this topic. He also suggests that most pro-life and pro-choice folks are not as far apart in their convictions as the loudest voices in our culture war would have us believe.
In this sermon, Rev. Wheeler addresses the moral crisis American Christians are facing in regard to our broken immigration system. Drawing on Leviticus 19:33-34 and Matthew 25:35, he suggests that how we welcome or neglect the stranger is how we welcome or neglect Christ. This is part 2 of 4 in the series, "What Might Jesus Say."
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