Sermon Sources

I listen to sermons regularly. Almost every day – or to be more specific, almost every night. I use sermons as my “bed time story.” I find it difficult to go to sleep as my mind struggles to switch off. If I should go to bed and just lay and wait, my mind would soon get engaged in all kinds of internal dialogues, or I’d be writing essays in my thoughts, or contemplate some dilemma, or think about the state of the world.

Some would suggest listening to soothing music, but this only aggravates the problem. Soothing music just helps my mind to get into a calmer state in which it can think more clearly. Through the years I’ve found that relaxing background music does not help me fall asleep – instead, music that forces some engagement actually works much better as it keeps my mind from wandering and getting too busy. But this type of music – rock music – does not create the state of mind I wish to fall asleep at. I’m sure our last waking thoughts mull through our minds while we are asleep; therefore, I do not wish for the aggressive mood created by rock music to be infested in my brain while I’m sleeping. So, I listen to sermons.

Sermons are about God and especially the type of sermons I listen to are often about God’s character, God’s grace and God’s love. These are wonderful topics to fall asleep to. And those times I do not fall asleep before the end of the sermon I would put on another sermon, or just think about the topic of the sermon until I do eventually fall asleep. When I fall asleep before I heard the end of the sermon I would listen to the rest of it the following morning or evening.

Since I listen to sermons practically every night, I’m always searching for good sermons. See, just any sermon would not do. It needs to be biblically sound. I have to agree with a big part of the preacher’s theology. If the preacher were to say something which I thought unbiblical that would just be the end of my sleep right there. I would feel compelled to get up and start writing an expository essay in which I give a proper exegesis of the scripture or teaching in question. So doctrinally weak sermons would help nothing towards my sleep problem. Furthermore, I have a very good view of God’s character and sermons that blight God’s character would just not do. I do not believe that God will keep people alive in hell so that He could torture them through all eternity. For this reason, many of the sermons I listen to are by Seventh Day Adventist preachers. The Seventh Day Adventist denomination is one of only two Christian denominations that do not believe in people burning in hell forever and ever.

However, I listen to a variety of speakers from a wide denominational spectrum (although exclusively protestant) that include charismatic, evangelical, Calvinist, Ana-baptist, and Anglican.

Here are the sermon sources I make the most use of:

Dan Smith

Pastor Dan Smith is probably one of my favourite preachers. For a long time, I couldn’t find his regular sermons and I really felt an emptiness of my spiritual plate but I was able to locate the website of his local church again. Pastor Dan Smith is a Seventh Day Adventist pastor with a very strong grace-filled (righteousness by grace, not works) theology that revolutionized by understanding of grace. I’ve been listening to him since 2003 and even though I’ve probably heard all his anecdotes, jokes, and points of view, I still appreciate his sermons.




Tom Wright

The Bishop of Durham, N. T. Wright, gives wonderful intellectual sermons. His sermons are more like lectures than typical sermons (many of them are indeed lectures), but it is probably for this reason that I enjoy them so much. He engages one in long, but interesting, discussions on biblical topics. Tom Wright is of the Anglican tradition and is a professor of New Testament Studies, and has lectured at many noteworthy institutions.





Marco Belmonte

Pastor Marco Belmonte reveals a beautiful God that one cannot help but appreciate. Marco’s lively preaching style is also fully engaging and his personal experience with this God that he so loves helps to make the sermons practical. Marco is a Seventh Day Adventist pastor with what would probably be called a somewhat liberal theology. His sermon series “God the Father, or the Godfather” is especially thought provoking. Unfortunately, he does not have a regularly updated sermon feed. I usually get his sermons from HeavenlySanctuary.Com.


Joyce Meyer

Pastor Joyce Meyer teaches a very practical theology, often based on her own spiritual walk with God. Her teaching is candid and reveals many of her own spiritual struggles. She reveals sensible solutions that are biblically sound. There is also a funny side to her preaching, that probably originates in her honest reflection of everyday trials. I think her denominational background is Charismatic Evangelical. The nice thing about her sermons is that material is available every day from Monday through Friday.



Christine Oberg

La Sierra University Church has a number of pastors sharing pastoral duties, although Pastor Chris(tine) Oberg is the senior pastor. La Sierra University Church usually has a sermon series on which the pastoral staff preaches over a large number of weeks per year. Since the sermons are presented by more than one person, but on the same topic, one gets an interesting spectrum of perspectives, which I enjoy.






Greg Boyd

I heard Pastor Greg Boyd the first time during a three part CNN documentary called “God’s Warriors.” Boyd’s explanation of God and the function of the church stood in such poignant contrast to the other Christian representatives that I had to find out more about his views which match my own so closely. Pastor Boyd used to be a professor of Theology. He is an accomplished author of theological books and a great, albeit somewhat self-admitted ADHD, speaker. He is evangelical with a strong leaning towards Ana-Baptist theology. I often look forward to listening to his weekly sermon.





Herb Montgomery

Pastor Herb Montgomery also paints a wonderful picture of God similar to that of Marco Belmonte, which I truly appreciate. Pastor Herb can sometimes become overly emotional, which I find a little distracting, but at the heart of his messages is a God that is truly worthy of praise.








Audio Bible

Sometimes I’m not in the mood for a sermon or I’ve exhausted my supply of new sermons, in which case I’d listen to the Bible in audio. I have readings of the Bible in the King James Version and in the The Message paraphrase. I prefer listening to the latter and usually listen to readings of Psalms, Romans or Ephesians.