Progressive Christian Sermons with Rev. David Wheeler

Rev. David Wheeler
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Christianity
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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.

  1. 1d ago

    Invitations

    Join Us as we welcome Rev. Nancy Hodgkinson's Sermon on: Matthew 22:1-14 What do we do when Jesus tells a parable that doesn't wrap up neatly with a bow, but instead leaves us uncomfortable, disturbed, and wrestling with hard questions? In this Sunday’s sermon, we step into the Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22—a story that can only be described as a "hot mess." As C.H. Dodd observed, parables are not simple moral tales; they are arresting, vivid similes designed to leave the hearer in sufficient doubt so as to "tease the mind into active thought." Set during Holy Week as tension mounts between Jesus and the religious establishment in Jerusalem, this parable serves as the third in a series of direct challenges to the chief priests and elders. A king throws a wedding feast for his son, but the elite invitees refuse to attend. When servants are sent a second time, they are mistreated and killed, prompting the king to send troops, destroy the murderers, and burn their city. The banquet doors are then thrown open to anyone on the streets—both the "bad and the good"—until the king confronts a guest lacking a wedding robe, who is bound and cast into the outer darkness. Rather than rushing past the difficult details, we pause to examine what this wild, unsettling story reveals about power, privilege, accountability, and the nature of God's invitation. Join us as we explore: Confronting the "Hot Mess": Why parables are meant to wake us up and provoke deep reflection rather than provide easy, tidy answers. Rejecting Supersessionism: Why this parable must never be used to claim Christianity replaces Judaism, honoring our Jewish siblings and reading the text within its proper historical context. Questioning Divine Violence: Exercising caution when scripture depicts royal violence, refusing to use religious language to justify state cruelty against those on the margins. The Guest Without a Robe: Looking at the silent guest through multiple lenses—from Warren Carter's reading of displaced refugees and quiet protest to Brené Brown’s research on dress codes, scofflaws, and the generous assumption that people are doing the best they can. Living Into Accountability: Connecting the wedding hall to our recent reflections on the prophet Amos—reminding us that true righteousness is deeply social, deeply public, and inseparable from how we treat the vulnerable. Parables refuse to let us remain passive spectators. In the midst of a world fractured by exclusion and violence, we are met by a God of boundless, extravagant invitation—calling us to respond with open hearts, mutual accountability, and a willingness to share in a feast of radical love.

  2. Oct 6

    When Hope Starts Rebuilding

    When Hope Starts Rebuilding  Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent (Part 4 of 4) Scripture Readings: Amos 9:11-15 | Amos 5:14-15 After weeks of hearing the prophet Amos dismantle religious hypocrisy, call out corrupt leadership, and expose systemic oppression, where does faith go when everything feels broken? In the conclusion of our four-part series, Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent, we reach the surprising turning point in the book of Amos. The prophet who spent chapters detailing national ruin, greed, and divine judgment suddenly looks at the devastation and does something extraordinary: he imagines restoration. In Amos 9, God promises to rebuild the fallen booth of David, repair its breaches, and plant people in a fruitful land where ruins become homes and mountains drip with sweet wine. Naming what is wrong in the world is vital, but spiritual maturity requires more than endless deconstruction, outrage, or cynicism. Drawing on Carl Jung’s concept of enantiodromia—the danger of slowly turning into the very cruelty, contempt, and fundamentalism we oppose—we are reminded that despair has never rebuilt a community, fed a hungry child, or repaired an unjust system. True biblical hope does not deny the darkness; it looks at the dirt, picks up a shovel, and decides to plant anyway. Join us as we explore: The Trap of Becoming What We Oppose: Recognizing the subtle danger of letting outrage harden our hearts into cynicism, contempt, and partisan hostility. Justice in the Gate: Unpacking Amos 5:14-15 and what it means to establish justice where public decisions, laws, and policies directly impact real human lives. "Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity": Reflecting on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s historic Civil Rights challenge to President John F. Kennedy, and why moral crisis demands more than polite declarations. Hope vs. Cheap Optimism: Understanding why optimism merely expects circumstances to improve, while prophetic hope actively trusts that another way is possible and begins living toward it today. The Outrageous Act of Planting: Embracing constructive, faithful verbs—seek good, love good, establish justice, repair, rebuild, plant—even when we may never live long enough to taste the harvest ourselves. We are not called to fix the entire world overnight, but we are commanded not to surrender to despair. Take your place at the gate, refuse the path of hatred, and join in the sacred work of planting seeds of justice and hope for generations yet to come.

  3. Oct 1

    When the Poor Pay the Price (Part 3 of 4) of our Faith Was Never Supposed to be Silent Series

    When the Poor Pay the Price (Sermon: September 27, 2026) Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent (Part 3 of 4) Scripture Readings: Amos 8:4-7 | Amos 2:6-8 We often hear the phrase "follow the money," but what happens when following the money leads us straight to the people bearing the unseen cost? In Part 3 of our series, Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent, we dive into the fierce economic critique of the prophet Amos. Nearly 3,000 years ago in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Amos confronted merchants and leaders who kept the Sabbath on the outside while impatiently checking their watches, eager for religious observances to end so they could open the markets, cheat with false scales, shrink measurements, and sell the poor for a pair of sandals. In Amos 2, the indictment cuts even deeper: religious people were taking outer garments from the impoverished as collateral and using them as comfortable floor cushions beside holy altars. Through the story of a grocery store balance sheet—contrasting the manager balancing utility costs and shrinking product sizes with a working single mother forced to decide what food to put back—we examine how economic decisions that look reasonable on paper carry devastating human costs in real life. When we look at Amos from the other side of the counter, his prophetic anger is not merely judgment; it is good news that God never overlooks the vulnerable. Join us as we explore: The Sabbath and the Scale: How Amos exposes religious performance that coexists comfortably with economic exploitation and deliberate deceit. The Cost Behind the Bottom Line: Contrasting boardrooms and budget spreadsheets with the daily reality of families choosing between groceries, utilities, and rent. Garments Beside the Altar: Why scripture condemns turning another person's suffering and desperation into our own religious comfort. Good News for the Overlooked: Recognizing that God sees, names, and defends the dignity of every worker, parent, and neighbor who feels invisible. Charity AND Justice: Why the church must feed hungry neighbors today through direct service while simultaneously asking the harder systemic question: Why are so many people hungry in a land of abundance? Faith cannot stop when worship ends on Sunday morning. Step beyond the spreadsheet, see our neighbors through the eyes of God, and join in the holy work of building a community where everyone has enough.

  4. Sep 23

    When a Nation Loses Its Moral Center | Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent, Part 2

    How do we know when something has become morally crooked—especially when we've grown so accustomed to it that it looks perfectly normal? In Part Two of Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent, Rev. David Wheeler explores one of the prophet Amos’s most unforgettable images: God holding a plumb line against the life of a nation. What Amos reveals may surprise us. God isn’t measuring only private morality. God is measuring the kind of society religious people are helping to build. Through Amos 7:7–9, 5:10–15, and 3:9–10, we explore what happens when injustice becomes ordinary, truth becomes inconvenient, and people lose the ability to recognize what is right. Along the way, we discover how deeply Jesus stands within the Hebrew prophetic tradition—and why Christian faith must help us think theologically about public life. The most dangerous crookedness may be the crookedness we have learned to call normal. But the plumb line is not only an image of judgment. It may also be an invitation to grace, transformation, and the courage to imagine a different kind of world. Preached September 20, 2026, at New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Oklahoma City.

  5. Sep 15

    When Elected Leaders Use God

    When Elected Leaders Use God  Scripture Readings: Amos 7:10-17 | Amos 5:21-24 What happens when faith gets too close to political power, and sacred language is used to shield rulers from accountability? In Part 1 of our four-part series, Faith Was Never Supposed to Be Silent, we examine the ancient confrontation between the prophet Amos and Amaziah, the royal priest of Bethel. When Amos spoke out against systemic corruption and the mistreatment of the poor, Amaziah tried to silence him, declaring the temple to be "the King’s sanctuary and a temple of the kingdom". Somewhere along the way, the house of God had been co-opted to serve the interests of the crown. Throughout history, politicians and leaders of all stripes have reached for the Bible, not necessarily to submit to its moral vision, but to borrow its sacred authority. But as Amos boldly proclaimed in Amos 5, God rejects performative worship that remains comfortable with injustice: "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Join us as we explore: The "King’s Sanctuary" vs. God’s House: How religious institutions risk losing their soul when they trade prophetic truth-telling for political access and cultural influence. Guidance vs. Endorsement: Discerning the critical difference between political leaders genuinely asking for God’s guidance and weaponizing God’s name to claim divine endorsement. Prophetic Preaching vs. Partisan Preaching: Why a truly biblical faith refuses to become campaign property for any party, holding leaders on the left and the right accountable to the standard of justice and human dignity. Righteousness as Public Justice: Moving past privatized piety to reclaim the Hebrew scriptures' definition of righteousness as relational equity, protecting the vulnerable, and ensuring people are treated with dignity. A Faith That Cannot Be Captured: Learning how to participate passionately in public life and vote with our values without surrendering our conscience or confusing any nation with the Kingdom of God. The church does not belong to any empire, administration, or political party—we belong to God. Let us keep our faith free, our worship honest, and our voices clear as we seek the common good of all our neighbors.

  6. Sep 8

    John Lennon's song "Imagine"

    Imagine (Sermon: September 6, 2026) Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11:1-9 What is the difference between escapist fantasy and a truly holy imagination? In the finale of our summer sermon series, Songs That Changed the World, we explore John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s iconic 1971 anthem "Imagine" alongside the ancient prophet Isaiah’s vision of the "Peaceable Kingdom" in Isaiah 11. Long viewed with suspicion by traditional religious institutions for daring to imagine "no religion" and "no heaven," Lennon's gentle melody wrapped a radical political challenge in three minutes of sweet simplicity—questioning how borders, wealth, and dogmas have historically been weaponized to divide the human family. Rather than dismissing this critique, we place it in dialogue with the prophet Isaiah, who spoke into a terrifying world under the shadow of the brutal Assyrian Empire. Isaiah didn’t imagine a sterile world where difference is erased; he imagined an empire transformed—a green shoot sprouting from a dead stump, where the wolf dwells with the lamb, predators lay down their hunger to dominate, and equity is restored to the vulnerable. Join us as we explore: Fantasy vs. Holy Imagination: Why escapist fantasy ignores the pain of reality, while holy imagination looks directly at the world's wounds and begins the work of transformation. Subtraction vs. Transformation: Comparing Lennon’s question of what must disappear with Isaiah’s deeper question of what must be redeemed and reordered around justice. The Peaceable Kingdom in Context: Honoring the original Jewish context of Isaiah 11 as a bold critique of political corruption, predatory power, and systemic injustice. When Religion Needs Pruning: Acknowledging why religion that blesses cruelty, nationalism, and greed deserves to be challenged so that genuine, loving faith can grow in its place. "Practice Resurrection": Drawing from Wendell Berry and everyday faithfulness to remember that peace doesn’t arrive overnight from kings or congress—it sprouts shoot by shoot, table by table, and neighbor by neighbor. We may not fix the entire world in a day, but we can refuse to let cynicism have the final word. Keep the vision alive, stand beside the vulnerable, and practice the holy work of resurrection right where you are.

  7. Sep 1

    Coat Of Many Colors

    We added Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors to our Songs That Changed the World series in honor of her passing. Coat of Many Colors  Scripture Reading: James 2:1-7 Who gets to decide what—or who—is truly valuable? In this week's sermon from our summer series, Songs That Changed the World, we explore Dolly Parton’s deeply personal autobiographical classic, "Coat of Many Colors," alongside the piercing words of James 2 on the sin of favoritism. Stitched together from discarded rags by her mother in the mountains of East Tennessee, Dolly’s coat was mocked by schoolmates who only saw scraps and poverty. But where others saw deficiency, Dolly saw time, care, devotion, and love. Centuries earlier, James challenged the early church with an uncomfortable reality check: what happens when someone in fine clothes and gold rings walks into your gathering, followed by someone in worn, dirty clothes? When we reserve our best seats for the influential while pushing the vulnerable to the margins, James warns that we have imported the world's broken hierarchies right into the sanctuary of God. The Gospel consistently turns worldly price tags upside down. True faith does not measure human worth by wealth, appearance, or status—it looks through the eyes of love. Join us as we discuss: The Story Behind the Song: How Dolly Parton's childhood coat of scraps became a masterclass in seeing dignity where the world only sees poverty. Price vs. Value: How culture constantly assigns monetary value to human lives, and why Jesus consistently upends those measuring sticks. The Warning of James 2: Confronting the persistent temptation to practice partiality and flatter the powerful while sidelining those in need. Giving a Better Story: Why one of the holiest ministries of a healthy church is telling people the truth about who they are—beloved, worthy, and never defined by their worst day or their bank balance. Dignity at the Table: Recognizing that shared tables, food pantries, and mutual care are never just about calories—they are tangible declarations that no one is disposable. You are far more than the patchwork of your past or the labels the world has handed you. Come as you are, take your place at the table, and discover a community where everyone belongs.

  8. Aug 25

    All You Need is Love

    All You Need Is Love  Scripture Readings: 1 John 4:7-9, 13-15, 18-21 Is "all you need is love" just a naive slogan on a bumper sticker, or is it the most radical, demanding criterion of the Gospel? In Part 9 of our summer sermon series, Songs That Changed the World, we explore The Beatles' legendary 1967 anthem "All You Need Is Love" alongside the profound theological claims of 1 John 4. Broadcast to over 400 million viewers on the historic Our World satellite program during the height of the Vietnam War and deep global division, The Beatles didn't offer relationship advice—they offered a bold, countercultural message to a world at war. Centuries earlier, writing to a Christian community fractured by internal arguments over who possessed the "real truth," the author of 1 John stripped away the theological jargon to establish the ultimate measuring stick of faith: "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God." Love is not sentimental softness or polite passivity; love is the home base from which we live, the standard by which all theology must be judged, and the tangible way God is made visible in a hurting world. Join us as we explore: Love as the Ultimate Test of Faith: Why correct doctrine, biblical knowledge, and theological debates mean nothing if they do not produce deeper, tangible love. The Theological Litmus Test: Why an understanding of God that demands cruelty, exclusion, or dehumanization requires examining our theology, not abandoning our love. Justice as Love in Public: Embracing Cornel West's reminder that justice is what love looks like in public—feeding the hungry, protecting vulnerable neighbors, and tearing down systems of harm. Perfect Love Casting Out Fear: Understanding teleios (maturing love) not as flawless performance, but as a growing grace that refuses to let fear run the house or dictate how we treat our neighbors. Living as "PR for God": Recognizing that whether we intend to or not, our everyday actions show the world what God is like—and committing to making that picture one of an ever-widening table. We love because God first loved us. Step out of fear, make love your home base, and let your faith be known by the way you love your neighbor.

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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.

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