Scripture: John 10:1–10

In a world full of voices competing for our attention—political, cultural, religious, and digital—how do we know which ones are actually worth trusting? In this message, Rev. David Wheeler explores Jesus’ words in John 10 and the powerful claim that not every voice leads to life. Some voices divide, diminish, and drain us. Others—even when they challenge us—lead to deeper compassion, connection, and wholeness.

This sermon invites us to rethink what “abundant life” really means—not something reserved for the future, but a way of living that begins now. As New Covenant Christian Church marks two years as an Open and Affirming congregation, we reflect on how choosing to trust voices that lead to life has shaped who we are—and who we are still becoming.

The question isn’t just, “Who are you listening to?” It’s: “What are those voices doing to your life?”

What do you do when trust is broken and hope feels like it belongs in the past tense?

In this message from Luke 24:13–35, Rev. David Wheeler explores the story of the road to Emmaus and how trust is not restored in a single moment—but rekindled along the way. Long before the disciples recognize Jesus, they are already walking in the way of honesty, community, and searching for meaning.

This sermon also includes a powerful personal reflection on stepping away from ministry due to disillusionment and unexpectedly finding a path back—reminding us that failure, doubt, or distance never disqualify us from the journey.

If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “We had hoped…” this message is for you.

Because the good news is this: you can lose your way… without losing your place in the way.

Scripture: Luke 24:13–35 Series: Learning to Trust Again (Part 2 of 4) Speaker: Rev. David Wheeler Church: New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Oklahoma City

In this first message of the Learning to Trust Again series, Rev. David Wheeler explores one of the most misunderstood parts of faith: doubt. Drawing from John 20:19–31 and the story of Thomas, this sermon reframes doubt not as failure, but as honesty—and even as the beginning of trust.

What if doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, but part of it? What if the questions we carry are not something to hide, but the very place where something deeper can begin?

This message invites us to stop pretending, to tell the truth about where we are, and to discover that we are met there—with grace, with compassion, and with the possibility of learning to trust again.

Scripture: John 20:19–31

Series: Learning to Trust Again (Part 1 of 4)

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 business of bringing life out of what looks like the end—and that this pattern of resurrection is still unfolding all around us. From quiet acts of courage and compassion to communities showing up for one another, signs of new life are everywhere if we learn how to look.

This message culminated in a powerful, embodied moment of worship set to Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising, as the congregation was invited to respond—whether in joy, in hope, or simply by remaining open to the possibility that resurrection might find them in time.

Because the good news of Easter is not just that Christ was raised…

but that life is still rising.

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 were reminded that the good news isn’t just something we celebrate—it’s something that inspires us to act.

Scripture: Mark 11:1–11

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 known vulnerability at some point in our lives.

Through scripture, story, and reflection, Nancy invites us to consider what it truly means to embody the good news—not just by avoiding harm, but by actively creating communities where all people are protected, valued, and able to flourish.

What might change if we took seriously the call to care for the “least of these”?

And how might that calling shape the life of the church today?

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 widows to the pressing questions of our own time, this message invites us to imagine a different kind of community—one that refuses to guard the gates and instead opens them wider.

Because in God’s kin-dom, those standing at the edge of the crowd are not turned away.

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 to imagine what could happen if ordinary people committed themselves to widening the circle—making room for one more story, one more life, one more seat at the table.