Shows
Pastor PausePastor Pause - Episode 8 - Jim EbyIn this episode Steve talks to Jim Eby. Jim has over 50 years of ministry experience. In the last two decades his ministry Mission Catalyst International (https://mci3.org/) has conducted some 2,500 Great Commission Equipping Trainings in which more than 150,000 national pastors, evangelists, and missionary church planters have been trained by 46 indigenous Master Trainers. The vast majority of those trained have been in countries located in the 10/40 Window. Steve and Jim discuss the challenge American pastors are facing today and how we address the declines we are seeing. This episode will challenge you to pause and plan.
2024-08-1637 min
Spirit Anointed Leadership084: The Journey of Crafting Sermons - With Pastor Steve DeNeff Pastor Steve DeNeff, Lead Pastor of College Wesleyan Church, is a dynamic and gifted communicator. In this episode, Steve takes us on a journey through his personal devotion and methodology behind crafting impactful sermons. Steve dives deep into this process, from describing what his quiet time and hearing from the Lord looks like to specific steps to constructing a message, engaging the congregation, creating a sermon series, and what common mistakes preachers can avoid. Show Notes & Resources:https://drive.google.com/file/d/18iacUz0LjDY0p1ZVDnINp0qVHJvQMq5S/view?usp=share_l...
2024-03-2533 minSpirit Anointed Leadership060: Marketplace Ministry / Leading From the Margins - With Pastor Steve DeNeff As preachers navigate increasingly challenging terrain, we delve into the concept of influencing from unexpected places. In today’s episode, Chris and Steve talk about what it looks like for leaders to take their faith into the familiar places they call work in order to transform those environments with the presence and power of Jesus. This episode prompts each of us to embrace our authority given by Almighty God to be His vessels and ambassadors, especially outside of the church building.Show Notes & Resources:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WvTUYSu11SRTuH5Xc...
2023-10-0222 min
Luke Powell Daily DevotionsOur Deepest Needs Restored day 1 - Wholly Significant (Steve DeNeff)We were born to matter! Steve Deneff's book More Than Forgiveness shows us how our need for significance has been distorted by sin, but is healed at the cross of Jesus.
2023-05-2202 min
SimplyWhyDr. Steve DeNeff: Called Out of WeaknessThis week Connor is joined by pastor and author Dr. Steve DeNeff. Dr. DeNeff is the senior pastor of College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana. He has been in ministry for more than 35 years and has written multiple books, including "More Than Forgiveness," "7 Saving Graces," and "Soul Shift." Listen in to hear the traits of a good leader, the value of community, and why the early hours are the most critical time of the day. Link to Dr. DeNeff's books: https://finelink.com/wphstoreretail/catalogsearch/result/?q=steve+deneffLink to Dr. DeNeff's s...
2023-02-0118 min
Marc Jolicoeur (aka "Jolly Thoughts")Episode Thirty-Four // Conversation with Steve DeneffY’all, it’s been a minute, but after much summer adventuring I’m (mostly) baaaaack in the saddle for September. One of the marvellous weeks I was able to spend this summer was at our local church district’s campground, Beulah Camp, and during that week I was blessed to have been preached at by a number of folks, including this fellow follically-challenge brother, Steve Deneff:Steve preached about a half-dozen times over the days he was with us, and I was blown away by not only his content, but his VOICE. The waaaay he communicated the thin...
2022-09-0949 min
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The ApproachThe Shifting Narrative Of Culture with Steve DeNeff(Bonus Episode)On this bonus episode, we sat down with the lead pastor of College Wesleyan Church, Steve DeNeff, to discuss shifts taking place in culture and how they impact the next generation. As someone who has led the local church for decades, Steve provides his take on the next generation, culture, the stories that shape us, and humanity. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss—and it will help you better live out the kingdom of God while walking with the next generation!
2022-06-0745 min
RemnantRemnant #9: Working Together for the Common GoodWith Ezra and Nehemiah we see the cooperation between the church (Ezra: Temple) and the state (Nehemiah: Wall) and we are inspired to strive for similar arrangements with the leaders in our city. This message will call our church into formal partnerships with more civic leaders, and will challenge us to partner with other area churches to form a coalition for the revitalization of our community. (Resourcing the Church; Transforming the Community). Scripture: Nehemiah 8:1, 4-6, 8-12; 9:1-6, 38-10:1a; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with oth...
2021-11-2438 min
RemnantRemnant #8: Speaking Truth to PowerFrom Daniel we learn that there is a time to submit and a time to resist, but the best resistance is a counter-offer and the most persuasive argument is our loyalty to those in charge. This sermon will teach us how to discern whether to submit or to resist, and how to resist while remaining loyal and useful to those in control. We’ll call people to “lead up,” like Daniel did, by speaking truth with humility and grace. (Developing Leaders; Transforming the Community). Scripture: Daniel 1:1-5, 17-21; 5:10-17; 6:10-28; 1 Peter 4:7-11. This is a public e...
2021-11-2438 min
RemnantRemnant #7: The Commitment to GenerosityOver the past 40 years we have witnessed the migration of wealth toward a few who were already wealthy, and away from the masses who were already poor. The political answer is to change the laws, to stimulate the economy, to incentivize the behavior of the rich and the poor but this is doomed to fail unless the heart of a nation is changed. In protest of our unprecedented greed, the Remnant will be people with a fundamentally different view of possessions. They will edify others with compassion and opportunity. (Scripture: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-10, 33-34; Zechariah 7:8-14; M...
2021-11-2437 min
RemnantRemnant #6: The Commitment to CivilityOurs is a loud and angry culture in which words turn suddenly into threats, and then to violence. People are slow to listen and fast to speak, often in militant tones. We are more demanding and less patient. As our culture becomes more polarized by our convictions and more fragile by our threats, we will fray the “more perfect union.” But the remnant will live quiet and peaceful lives. They will distinguish themselves by their reverence (for God) and their respect (for others). (Scriptures: Leviticus 19:1-2, 16-18; Isaiah 32:1-4, 16-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Matthew 5:21-24, 43-45a)
2021-11-2434 min
RemnantRemnant #5: The Commitment to Purity4 Marks of the Remnant (Against the dominant culture)To frame this portion of the series, we’ll argue that the dominant culture has invented gods and that these gods have led us into trouble. The response of the remnant is not to condemn those caught in society’s evil but to offer a quiet, simple and consistent alternative so that those in the dominant culture will have, at least, a choice. This is the purpose of both the Holiness Code (Leviticus 18-20) and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and so we’ll compare these Scriptures as the foun...
2021-11-2435 min
RemnantRemnant #4: The Temptation to ReturnJust as some are always changing there are others who get stuck. They bide their time on the margins, waiting for the day when things will return to normal. To them, the remnant is something left over from the past and so they cling to traditions. They can be critical of any attempt to re-interpret the faith because they cannot imagine God revealing Himself in ways that are different from the past. What they miss is that the remnant is also the first component of the future. It is the gospel that the next generation will believe, stripped of all time...
2021-11-2429 min
RemnantRemnant #3: The Temptation of RelevanceOnce on the margins, we want to be relevant. We seek the approval of those in the center. We try to become what we think the host culture will value and sometimes forget that our first call is to the Lord our God. We confuse our loyalties to the culture (in the name of evangelism) with our loyalties to God because we want to be respected by the secular age. Right here we face the choice between being prophetic and being popular. Both are ways of being relevant, but the former is less gratifying unless our loyalties have changed. Will we con...
2021-11-2432 min
RemnantRemnant #2: The Temptation of PowerWhen we first hear of exile, we are tempted to complain, to resist, to try and regain control. We insist that we have rights, or that we are too powerful to ignore. And here we are faced with the choice between the way of opposition or the way of humility. We must decide what kind of power we want. Must we be in the center, or will we accept our place on the margins? The remnant answers: We will go quietly and support those in the center. (Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:4-13; Habakkuk 3:16-19; 1 Peter 1:14-17) This is a publ...
2021-11-2431 min
RemnantRemnant #1: Vision SundayThis sermon will blend the first and last questions: What time is it? And what kind of Church produces the people that are called for by these times? This sermon we’ll introduce the series by suggesting that we live in a time of exile, and that the kind of people called for are a “remnant.” This provides the context for the gospel, the mission and the cause of our church. We’ll show how our vision of transforming the community, of developing future leaders and of resourcing the Church is an answer to the kind of church that is needed in ex...
2021-11-2430 min
Fresh Text1 John 3v1-7 With Steve Deneff (Third Sunday of Easter)John Drury and Steve Deneff discuss this week’s text: 1 John 3v1-7
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2021-04-121h 02
Marketplace Multipliers#4: TLC CEO Gary Ott(1:06) Wayne Schmidt and Jeff Clark discuss featured MM Gary Ott’s widespread influence in the local church and beyond.
(4:58) David Drury interviews Gary Ott about moments of surrender in his life and how it has led him to give complete control of his company to God.
(19:32) Pastor Steve DeNeff shares about a shift in the people of College Wesleyan Church from Sheep to Shepherd. He gives insight into a movement of shepherds for Christ being commissioned into every domain of society and how Gary Ott has been on the front edge of this movement.
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2020-11-0228 min
GodWorx Podcast#4: TLC CEO Gary Ott(1:06) Wayne Schmidt and Jeff Clark discuss featured MM Gary Ott’s widespread influence in the local church and beyond.
(4:58) David Drury interviews Gary Ott about moments of surrender in his life and how it has led him to give complete control of his company to God.
(19:32) Pastor Steve DeNeff shares about a shift in the people of College Wesleyan Church from Sheep to Shepherd. He gives insight into a movement of shepherds for Christ being commissioned into every domain of society and how Gary Ott has been on the front edge of this movement.
...
2020-11-0228 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Goal of Christian CommunitySteve DeNeff - Ephesians 1:15-23. Christ is the Center of every Christian community and that community is the portal into Christ. They are not the same - Christ and His Community - yet we can’t get into the One except through the Other, nor into the Other except through the One. But what, exactly, is that community? And what are we doing to help each other find Christ?
2020-09-2032 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsBelongingSteve DeNeff - Belonging - Ephesians 1:3-11, 22. Most of us have a deep longing to belong to another person or community but it’s often for our own sake. Paul describes a different kind of community and another way of belonging. In the Church, our community begins and continues in what Christ has done to both of us, whether we know it or not.
2020-09-0637 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsSecond ConversionSteve DeNeff - Second Conversion - Acts 9. In the famous story of Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, there were two encounters that changed Saul’s life. One was with Jesus himself. The other was with Jesus’ people. Both were essential to Saul’s conversion. Yet we speak of one more than the other. In this intro to the fall series, Me-to-We, we’ll look at 4 characters that God brings into our lives to finish the work he started in us.
2020-08-3031 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Greatest of These…Steve DeNeff - The Greatest of These… - John 15:7-14; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a. It is common to hear people speak about love. We search for it but too often it eludes us. The Christian vision of love is more powerful and practical than almost everything we’re hearing. And it is within our reach. At the peak of Peter’s list of virtues is love - for those inside the Church and those outside as well- but how do we learn it and what does it actually do?
2020-08-0934 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsFor Goodness SakeSteve DeNeff - Colossians 1:9-10; Philippians 1:9-11. The first two virtues of a beautiful life, virtue and knowledge, are often competitors in society today. In reality they are joined, but how? How does knowledge stimulate virtue and how does virtue cultivate more knowledge? In other words, how do we get smarter without becoming insulated or arrogant? To link these two virtues we need to practice the Biblical vision of both as expressed in these prayers of Paul.
2020-07-2625 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsUnstuckSteve DeNeff - 2 Peter 1:2-11. Of all those who become Christians this year, about one in four will actively pursue this spiritual growth and of those who do, about one in ten will move on to new heights. What the others lack is often a vision and/or a plan. What do you want to be? And how is that going to happen? In this passage, written to new believers in the first century, Peter gives us a vision (v.4) and a plan (v. 5-7) for getting unstuck in our spiritual lives.
2020-07-1928 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsA Chosen PeopleSteve DeNeff - 1 Peter 2:5-10. When something happens, like what happened lately, our tendency as exiles is to get so embroiled in the controversy that we forget who we are. Without formally denying our identity - our right to practice our faith - the culture subtly gives us another one. Now more than ever, we must rediscover our narrative, our name and our agenda.
2020-06-1433 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Hope of the DisinheritedSteve DeNeff - 1 Peter 1:1-9, 17-21. The past few months have been among the most disruptive and uncertain of our lives. We have suffered many losses and from everything we hear, there will be even more. Yet our hope is that in and by these losses we are being perfected and saved for the day when Christ is finally revealed.
2020-06-0734 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsRe-thinking HeavenSteve DeNeff - Acts 1:1-3, 6-11. Everyone wants to go to heaven ... but not today! Perhaps it’s because we’ve misjudged it. What if heaven is other than we think? Closer than we think? In the ascension of Jesus everything changes on earth and in heaven. So why do we still stand “gazing into heaven” as though it were some idyllic place far removed from our world and our mission?
2020-05-2434 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsAnointedSteve DeNeff- Joel 2:28-30a, 32a; Luke 4:14-21. In various times, as God decides, the Spirit takes over our faculties and channels himself through us in superhuman ways. In these moments, we accomplish far more than usual and always for the glory of God. While these moments come and go, our daily lives continually prepare us for them.
2020-05-1026 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsLedSteve DeNeff - Isaiah 11:1-2; John 14:26; 16:12-15. The same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness, then out again is the One who guides us into all truth, always reminding us of what Jesus said and sometimes even more. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the faculty God has given us for hearing His Voice.
2020-05-0329 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsBreathSteve DeNeff - John 14:15-20, 20:19-23. When Jesus “breathed onto” his disciples he intended to, not just sustain his ministry but to expand it with, in and through us. Through the Holy Spirit God dwells within the Body of Christ like he dwelled in the humanity of Christ. Through the Holy Spirit we may become, by grace, what Jesus was by nature. It is time for us to live up to that.
2020-04-1930 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Are You Discussing As You Walk Along?Steve DeNeff - Luke 24:13-27. We’re in the middle of the two worst weeks, people are worried about the economy, about their families and their jobs. They’re looking for good news. Yet they want more than good news. What they’re craving - and don’t have words for - is Easter and Easter is more than the resurrection.
2020-04-1229 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Shall I SaySteve DeNeff - John 12:20-36. Palm Sunday is best known as the coronation of Jesus our King. But later that day - after the famous parade - our King’s heart was “troubled” as he confronted a dilemma and a question that confronts us in these worrisome days. What is the dilemma and “what shall we say?”
2020-04-0524 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhere Will We Find Bread for the People To Eat?Steve DeNeff - John 6:1-14. As disciples, our calling in a time like this is to be an extension of Christ’s own doing and being.
2020-03-2922 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Do You Want Me To Do For You?Steve DeNeff - Mark 10:46-52. If you could have a private audience with Jesus and ask for anything you wanted, what would you ask for? No, really, with all that’s been happening you’ve got one ask and you’ll probably get it. What would it be? What should it be? Here’s an example of how we might pray in these times.
2020-03-2224 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsDo You Want To Be Well?Steve DeNeff - John 5:1-15. This has to do with our dis-ease: Do I still believe in wellness; do I think it is possible and do I really want it for myself? What about the change will be most disruptive?
2020-03-1518 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhy Are You So Afraid?Steve DeNeff - Mark 4:35-41. This has to do with our trust: Where have I put my trust? In whom or in what do I have faith? Who will take care of me? How do I know I will be okay?
2020-03-0825 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Do You Want?Steve DeNeff - John 1:29-39a. This has to do with our purpose: What are my dreams? What do I want out of life? What kind of life is worth wanting? What desires occupy my thoughts and lead my ambitions?
2020-03-0125 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Lost Art of GospelingSteve DeNeff - Acts 8:26-39. Most Christians want to help others find their way back to God but for some the idea of sharing the gospel feels awkward. What if, instead of learning a few talking points, we learned a few skills? And what if these skills applied to almost any conversation?
2020-02-1628 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Gospel of IndwellingSteve DeNeff - Genesis 3:9-13; Matthew 8:1-13; Galatians 3:26-28. Why is there so much division among us? The walls that divide us are not between different races or generations but in every human heart. The good news is that in Christ these walls come tumbling down as God forms us all into one new Person.
2020-02-0238 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Gospel of FreedomSteve DeNeff - Genesis 3:6-10; Mark 5:1-20; John 8:31-36. Why does our pursuit of “freedom” only lead to more bondage? We are too easily entangled in things that once gave us pleasure until, before long, we serve them. The good news is that through Christ the Spirit of God has set us free from the power of sin and death.
2020-01-2642 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Gospel of the Good LifeSteve DeNeff - Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Proverbs 4:18-19; Mark 8:22-25. Why do smart people do stupid things? Our trouble is not rebellion but folly. Blindness. We walk in darkness, “having no idea what we’re stumbling over. The good news is that, in Jesus, God has opened our eyes and we can see things as they really are.
2020-01-1941 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsAn Optimistic GospelSteve DeNeff - Isaiah 55:1-7, 12-13; Mark 1:1-8; 14-15. The gospel is not about going to heaven after we die. It’s about heaven coming into us before we die. It’s more than a message. It’s a miracle. And it’s a way of life practiced in community before a world that is desperate for answers.
2020-01-1243 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsNot AshamedSteve DeNeff - Mark 7:31-37 & Isaiah 40:3-5, 9-11. It has never been harder, and it has never been more urgent to share the gospel than it is today: harder because people are disenchanted and less interested, yet urgent because so much is at stake. But even when the soil is hard, we must keep sowing.
2020-01-0530 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Obedience of AnotherSteve DeNeff - Luke 2:8-12; Philippians 2:5-11. To humble ourselves and obey is the nature of God: “Being in very nature God . . . he made himself nothing and took the very nature of a servant . . . (then) he humbled himself, and became obedient,” (Phil. 2:6-8). This is not only Jesus’ humanity; it’s ours at its best. It’s who we are and who we want to be.
2019-12-2220 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsMinority ReportSteve DeNeff - Isaiah 40:1-5; 42:1-9. Sometimes obedience means believing the impossible, saying the absurd, holding onto he improbable simply because we’ve heard God’s Voice. It means being the minority report. Sometimes the certainty of it is unclear, even to us, so it is only by looking back that we know what the will of God was.
2019-12-0136 min
Fresh TextIsaiah 2:1-5 with Steve DeneffJohn Drury and Steve Deneff discuss this week’s text: Isaiah 2:1-5
2019-11-251h 02
College Wesleyan Church SermonsA Whole New EconomySteve DeNeff - Luke 20:45 - 21:4. Contrary to popular belief, our possessions lie at the heart of our spiritual lives because whatever we do with them, for better or worse, we do to ourselves. That’s why the widow who “put in everything - all that she had to live on” is so impressive a model of discipleship. In sharp contrast to the “long and flowing robes” of the Pharisees, she quietly reflects the character of God’s own gift, Jesus, who noticed her.
2019-11-1040 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhen God Is SilentSteve DeNeff - Matthew 15:21-28. What happens in seasons when God is not speaking? Whether we like it or not, every one of us has been (or at least “felt” like we’ve been) in that season. Like the Canaanite woman, we’ve desperately cried to God, “Lord, help me” but “Jesus did not answer us at all.” This message - on the importance of not speaking for God when God is not speaking - will give counsel to both those crying out (like the woman) and those who try to avoid them (like the disciples).
2019-11-0335 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Certainty of ChanceSteve DeNeff - 1 Samuel 16:1-13. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance… The Lord does not look at the things man looks at… the Lord looks at the heart.” On discernment as the single most important practice for dealing with complexity in our contemporary lives.
2019-10-2033 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsA Scriptural ImaginationSteve DeNeff - Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10, 17-19. “Look I have put my words in your mouth. Get up and prepare for action.” On the importance of Biblical imagination.
2019-10-0636 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsEat This ScrollSteve DeNeff - Ezekiel 3:1-11. “The voice said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what I am giving you – eat this scroll – (and) let my words sink deep into your own heart first; then go to the people in exile.” On the importance of putting ourselves before the Word and obeying it, whether anyone else does or not.
2019-09-2929 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsPeople of the BookSteve DeNeff - Nehemiah 8:1-8, 13-17. “He read aloud from daybreak until noon… and all the people listened attentively to the Book.” On getting reacquainted with Scripture as the Speaking Voice of God.
2019-09-2232 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe WhisperSteve DeNeff - 1 Kings 19:3-4a, 8b-13a. “After the fire came a gentle whisper . . . and Elijah went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” On the importance of hearing the still small voice (meditation).
2019-09-1541 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Dialects of GodSteve DeNeff - Numbers 22:21-31. “Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and she spoke to Balaam… so Balaam bowed low and fell facedown.” On the importance of hearing God in a multiplicity of ways.
2019-09-0838 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Listening LifeSteve DeNeff - 1 Samuel 3:1-12, 15-21. “One night, Eli was lying down in his usual place… and Samuel was lying down in the Temple, where the ark of God was.” On the importance of rhythms and regiment for hearing the word of the Lord.
2019-09-0135 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsSpeechlessSteve DeNeff - Mark 9:14-27. In this well-known miracle is a parable for the contemporary Church. Like the father’s boy, we have been “robbed of our speech” (v.17). In the eyes of the public, we cannot speak because we cannot hear (v.26) and we cannot hear because we no longer believe (v.19, 29). We are “disenchanted,” by our overcrowded beliefs. Whenever we’re speechless, the solution is not to keep talking - though, often, that’s what we do - but to really listen, first to God and then to others before we know what the gospel really means for our world
2019-08-2533 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Comes NextSteve DeNeff - Philippians 3:10-4:1. What happens after we believe? What do we do next, and what if nothing happens? Many Christians complain that their lives are not what they expected, not even after they were “saved.” Have they done something wrong? Has God over-promised and under-performed? Or were they wrong about what it means to be “saved?” This message will re-examine conversion in the light of Paul’s experience and contemporary Christianity and show how this effects our lives, as individuals, and our church.
2019-08-1142 min
College Wesleyan Church Sermons“Mission Center”Steve DeNeff - Philippians 3:1-12. At the core of our church is a mission, and at the core of that mission is the pursuit of God in Christ as he is manifest in the Word, the Gospel and the Church. Today’s culture has challenged the Church’s commitment to these three things - offering substitutes that have only a form of godliness - but every disciple and every church will ultimately be measured by their pursuit of them.
2019-08-0438 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsHow to Say, ’Thank You'Steve DeNeff - Psalm 100. Saying “thank you” is one of the first things we learn as a child, yet the words can seem shallow when there is lots to be thankful for. Perhaps that is the plight of most, even poor Americans. The more we have, the more we notice what we don’t have. Yet “thanksgiving” and “praise” v.4) mean something different in the Psalms. Here they are not just words, but rituals. They are not just manners, but ways of life. What if saying “thank you” is more than good etiquette; what if it’s good therapy? And what if it chang...
2019-07-2829 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhat Are You Waiting for?Steve DeNeff - Psalm 130-131. As Americans we are not accustomed to waiting nor do we wait for the right things. This song, sung on the temple steps by a seeker on his way into worship, describes one whose heart is pure even if the rest of him is not. He was once in the depths (v.1) and has found God’s forgiveness (v.4), but he has not yet found redemption (v.7). Here on the steps, between forgiveness and redemption, he waits (v.5-6) for himself and for his people. One day, he/they will be what God created hi...
2019-07-2133 min
College Wesleyan Church Sermons“The End of Innocence”Steve DeNeff - Psalm 32. The desire for innocence is a primal instinct. Just as we seem inclined to do what is wrong, we are inclined to cover it up (v.1), to “keep silent” (v.3) until we can stand it no more (v.4). Then we admit to our sin and discover that our innocence lies, not away from guilt, but through it… on the other side of it (v.5). With new confidence and enthusiasm we cling to God who does even more than we ask for, who not only covers our sin (v.1) but surrounds us with songs of deliverance (v.7...
2019-07-1438 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsA City Under SiegeSteve DeNeff - Psalm 31. In the last twenty years, we’ve seen the rise of a new intolerance for, not just the “religious” but the “righteous” in particular. Around the world, and especially in America, the people of God have become the subject of criticism and scorn. The righteous have been labeled, “intolerant, irrelevant and extreme,” and not only by their enemies, but by their friends “who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.” We are like "a city under siege,” (31:21). In response to our critics, Christians today have resorted to a few strategies designed to protect them but...
2019-06-2335 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWhom Shall I Fear?Steve DeNeff - Psalm 27. Terror… threat… intimidation… anxiety… dread and the failure of nerve. It seems like a low-grade fear has gripped the soul of our nation, our neighborhoods and even our leaders. At the bottom of our trouble is a deep and subtle fear… of failure, of rejection, of loss, of each other. Yet the Psalmist, whose circumstances were more dire than our own, found a way to conquer his fears, not by casting them out but by finding God in them: “He will conceal me there when trouble comes,” (v.4, NLT). What has fear kept you from doing? What ha...
2019-06-1636 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsFor the Love of GodSteve DeNeff - John 14:15-24. Obedience is the first and last lesson in discipleship: If we love God, we will obey him. But if we obey God, does that mean we love him? In fact, there are 3 reasons to obey God and not all of them are equal. To obey God for love is the highest form of obedience. What are the others? And how do we know which one motivates us?
2019-05-0534 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsProving Your LoveSteve DeNeff - John 21:1-17. Most of us have heard, and some of us believe that God loves us like a child. But do we love God? Really? How would we know? More than that, how we he know? We may tell him, perhaps every Sunday, but relationships are complex. Most require more than words. They require action. So what might we do to prove that we love God? What actions might he interpret as evidence of our love? Fortunately, we are not on our own here. The Bible offers a handful of things we can do to “prove” that...
2019-04-2822 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsJesus & the Improbable Reign of GodSteve DeNeff - Isaiah 42:1-4; John 12:12-19. In Jesus’ day, as in ours, there were lots of expectations, social and political, swirling around the coming of Israel’s King. But what rode into Jerusalem that day was something else - something uninvited and underwhelming - such that everyone missed it. We still do. Now as then, even those shouting “Hosanna” seem oblivious to the subtle correction of Jesus to our expectations: “Our king comes to us righteous and having salvation . . . (but) riding on a donkey,” (Zech. 9:9; Jn. 12:15). The message is clear, and maybe we’ll see it “only after Jesus is glorifi...
2019-04-1434 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsJesus and the Furious Love of GodSteve DeNeff - Mark 11:12-19. It is common, today, to hear religious people say that God is love. Isn’t that what the Bible says? But has anyone wondered what His love is capable of? Have they wondered if there are not, perhaps, sides to it that we have not seen and will not accept? These two stories, told on the way to Jerusalem, reveal how loyal and furious is the love of God, such that we do not want to be on the wrong side of it. Apparently this can happen even to those safe inside the “temple” system...
2019-04-0734 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThe Vulnerability of GodSteve DeNeff - John 6:16-21; 11:17-37. Most of us want a God that can do miracles because there is always something too big or too hard for us that we need God to do. So if God should calm a storm or raise the dead, it is no surprise to anyone. This is what gods do or they are no god at all. The real surprise comes when God, instead of calming the storm, should walk out into it and, instead of raising the dead, should grieve at the funeral even more than the family. Most of us don’t...
2019-03-2428 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsJesus and the Death of GodSteve DeNeff - Mark 8:31-9:1. What is it about Jesus that most surprises you about God? The images that we have of God come early in life and, over time, become fixed and then fragile. When something goes wrong, or when God is silent for a period of time, it rattles these images and we let go fo them a little. Something about God “dies” and in this death, something new, something stronger, more personal and closer to the Truth rises in its place. This cycle, known as “conversion,” is a predictable, normal and even healthy process. By holding on to th...
2019-03-1033 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsWaking the DeadSteve DeNeff - John 11:38-45. In one of Jesus’ most memorable and disruptive miracles, he raises Lazarus from the dead. But this time he does not finish the miracle alone. He orders his disciples to “take off the grave clothes and let him go.” This week, we’ll profile some of our people who have been forming one another communities across our city. We’ll tell their stories and celebrate the ways that they have been “taking off the grave clothes” for people that Jesus has raised from the dead.
2019-02-2441 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsPray for One AnotherSteve DeNeff - Luke 11:1-10. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer… Have equal concern for one another… (and) pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
2019-02-1737 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsServe One AnotherSteve DeNeff - John 13:1-17. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves; each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others… Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
2019-02-1046 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsForgive One AnotherSteve DeNeff - John 8:1-11. “Do not repay evil for evil; if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone… be patient, bearing with one another in love… Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another; forgive, as the Lord forgave you… Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed… (and) remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
2019-02-0340 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsTeach One AnotherSteve DeNeff - Matthew 7:24-29. “I am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another… Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ… and let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom… set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
2019-01-2735 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsBuild Up One AnotherSteve DeNeff - Matthew 9:18-26. “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another… Don’t grumble against each other or you will be judged, for the Judge is standing at the door… Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing… Let us hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess… and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Do not give up meeting together – as some are in the habit of doing – but let us encourage one another, and all the more as we see the (last...
2019-01-2038 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsAccept One AnotherSteve DeNeff - Luke 5:27-32. “Live in harmony with one another. Don’t be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position… Do not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another… Instead, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another… accept one another, just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God… be devoted to one another in brotherly love (and) honor one another above yourselves… be kind and compassionate to one another… offer hospitality to one another without grumbling… and when you gather to eat, you should wait for each other.”
2019-01-1339 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsLove CompleteSteve DeNeff - John 17:20-26. In Jesus, God’s solution to a universal problem is a particular person and not just a person but a people through whom God will bless the earth. These people live with God and God lives through these people in ways that are peculiar, yet attractive to the rest of the world. Jesus, the Son of God, is the whole Church in the shape of a single person. What if a whole community moved toward this together, from slave to child? What if the Church was truly the Body, the physical Presence of Christ in...
2019-01-0639 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsIncarnateSteve DeNeff - Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-14. For many, the shift from Slave to Child is only self-actualization. They celebrate the privileges of a firstborn, yet forget their commensurate responsibility. Like Jesus, we are the Presence of God in this world. We live in the Father for the world. That is why Jesus’ birth and ours is “good news of great joy to all people.”
2018-12-2328 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsThis Is Me!Steve DeNeff - John 1:1-2, 10-14; Colossians 2:9-10. For many, their humanity is a weakness: “I’m only human,” they say to excuse their last failure, yet the more of these failures they have the less human they become. What if Jesus, and not somebody else, is the measure of our humanity? What if God took on our flesh so that we, in our flesh, can be like God? But how? In his humanity, God makes demands upon our humanity, yet He offers freely to give us all that He demands.
2018-12-0924 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsFirstbornSteve DeNeff - Hosea 11:1-4, 8-11; Luke 1:26-32a. Fatherhood is an idea that many today find repulsive because it stirs up images of male dominance, of abuse or neglect, and so much of it is for good reason. Yet God is a Father and that’s how He wants to be known. What if fatherhood properly understood is the cure for fatherhood properly condemned. The relationship that Jesus had with his Father is the very relationship that we can have, not some other.
2018-12-0234 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsOutside These WallsSteve DeNeff - Acts 1:4-8; 11:19-26. Organizations are often attracted to the obsolete, to things that should have worked but did not, to things that were once productive but no longer are. Then something happens - something unpredictable and unwelcome - that forces us to re-examine our assumptions, methods and goals. It’s a moment that calls us forward, from Jerusalem to Antioch, and if we go God will meet us there with new power and new opportunities. I believe our church is in an Antioch moment that calls for us to establish new presence in the community, outside th...
2018-11-1835 min
College Wesleyan Church SermonsGathered and SentSteve DeNeff - Mark 3:7-16a, 19b. As we discussed last week, we live in a time of unprecedented change. Traditions, values and mores that have governed our lives for years are met with suspicion from a public determined to “do what is right in their own eyes.” Even the institutions that have stabilized us in the past are, themselves, weakened by internal conflict and impotence. One of those is the Church. Never has the public been less interested in the Church; never have they needed it more. We must now ask, “what will the Church do? How will we ada...
2018-11-0432 min
ALIVE WesleyanReclaiming Sin (Meat & Potatoes - Week 4)Do I have a relationship with God and if so, what does it look like?“ . . . let us remember that we are in the battle for our own souls here, and when we decide the fate of holiness for this generation, we are, in that moment, deciding everything else.-Steve Deneff#alivewesleyanchurch For the latest sermons, stories, & training: https://alivewesleyan.com/sermons/STAY CONNECTED: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ALIVEWesleyanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALIVEwesleyanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alivewesleyan/Website: https://alivewesleyan.comNewsletter: ht...
2018-09-1739 min
Wesley Seminary Podcast#8 Dr. Steve DeNeff & Dr. Laura Catlin: Preaching Biblically to a Church in Exile#8 Dr. Steve DeNeff and Dr. Laura Catlin: Preaching Biblically To A Church In Exile by Aaron Perry
2017-11-1526 min
GracePoint ChurchCommitted to IntegrityContinuing the Remnant series, guest speaker Steve DeNeff, brings a message teaching the importance integrety. A cheating culture exists when “everyone does what is right in his own eyes.” In our day, there is a sense that everyone is cheating – and justifying it – so that cheating in return is thought a matter of survival. Before the mayhem destroys us, we will need a community who live simple, transparent lives, who risk being taken advantage of because their trust is in God. Against this culture of hidden agendas and spin, the Remnant will be people of integrity.
2017-10-2239 min
How to Grab Free Audiobook in Religion & Spirituality, ChristianitySoulShift by Steve DeNeff | Free AudiobookListen to full audiobooks for free on :https://hotaudiobook.com/freeTitle: SoulShift
Author: Steve DeNeff, David Drury
Narrator: Claton Butcher
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
Language: English
Release date: 08-14-15
Publisher: Wesleyan Publishing House
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Summary:
We want to be different, but we don't want to change. Our attempts at spiritual formation and growth are consistently sabotaged by our surface efforts that never quite get to the root of the problem. We think we know what we're supposed to do, but we're not quite sure who we're supposed to be on the other side of...
2015-08-145h 56
Experience Free Audiobook in Religion & Spirituality, Religious ThoughtFaultLines by Steve DeNeff | Free AudiobookListen to full audiobooks for free on :https://hotaudiobook.com/freeTitle: FaultLines
Author: Steve DeNeff
Narrator: Claton Butcher
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-04-15
Publisher: Wesleyan Publishing House
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Religious Thought
Summary:
SoulShift coauthor Steve DeNeff reveals to both the young and veteran in faith how soul-growing transformations happen only as God breaks through spiritual hardness. These moments are life's "fault lines", and they are periods of great upheaval - disruptive, always unfair, always troublesome, but not always bad. When life beneath our feet is moving and shaking, it must end in...
2015-06-045h 33
Kingswood University20140402 Festival On Preaching, Session Eight, Steve Deneff20140402 Festival On Preaching, Session Eight, Steve Deneff
@SteveDeNeff
2014-04-0349 minKingswood University20140402 Festival On Preaching, Session One, Steve Deneff20140402 Festival On Preaching, Session One, Steve Deneff
@SteveDeNeff | Slide
2014-04-031h 28Kingswood University20140401, Chapel, Steve DeNeff, Soteriology20140401, Chapel, Steve DeNeff, Soteriology
2014-04-0140 min
Indiana Wesleyan University ChapelSteve DeNeff (2000)Steve DeNeff talks on Holiness in Chapel, on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2000.
2000-02-2336 min