Cited in sermons
Kevin DeYoung
7 sermons · All people cited
The Parables of Seed and Leaven
The two briefest parables in Matthew 13's kingdom discourse — the mustard seed and the leaven — address a perennial temptation: to judge the kingdom of God by its small and seemingly insignificant beginnings. This exposition argues that both parables teach the same essential truth: the kingdom inaugurated by Christ begins imperceptibly but grows inevitably and pervasively, and its lowly origin in the incarnation, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus is not a contradiction of royal power but its very pattern. The sermon concludes with a threefold application — the parables explain Christ's ministry, call the church to resist discouragement, and confront the unconverted with the call to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Glory of Christ
Psalm 45 is a royal wedding song that the New Testament explicitly applies to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this expository meditation works through its portrait of the glory of the Savior under three headings: His person as the God-Man, His attributes, and His saving works. The sermon traces how the psalmist's overflowing heart moves from the beauty and eloquence of Christ, through His might, blessedness, glory, majesty, and righteousness, to His work as warrior King riding in truth and righteousness for His church. The church is called to respond to so glorious a Savior with wholehearted worship, abandonment of competing loyalties, and the endurance of faith — looking unto Jesus as the author and finisher of faith, not unto one's own performance.
The First Petition of the Lord's Prayer
The first petition of the Lord's Prayer, 'Hallowed be Your name' (Matthew 6:9), confronts the creature's instinctive self-centeredness with the prior claim of God's glory. The sermon unfolds the meaning of God's name — his triune being, his attributes, and his word — before explaining that the petition does not pray God into holiness but calls the creature to recognize and reflect holiness that already belongs to God essentially. Five practical particulars for praying this petition are drawn out: knowing, professing, depending on, esteeming, and promoting the divine name — with the sobering insistence, drawn from John Owen, that he who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays.
The Identity of the Church
What is the church, and what is she for? Expounding 1 Timothy 3:14–16, this sermon sets out the identity and confession of the church under three descriptions Paul gives: the house of God, the church of the living God, and the pillar and ground of the truth. The church's unique institutional privilege — distinct from family and state — is to proclaim, defend, and propagate the gospel of Christ crucified and risen. The sermon closes with a call to resist pragmatism, hold fast to sound doctrine, and enter the house of God through Christ alone.
The Wisdom of the Small
Proverbs 30:24–28 presents four small creatures — the ant, the rock badger (coney), the locust, and the spider — each of which compensates for its weakness through a distinct virtue: preparation, caution, cooperation, and ambition. The sermon draws out the spiritual import of each creature's instinct, pressing the hearer to prepare for the coming day of judgment by faith in Christ alone, to guard against spiritual danger through prayerful dependence on God's Word, to pursue unity in family and church, and to press forward with holy ambition through every trial. Applications are directed with particular warmth toward children and young people, calling them to receive the gospel while youth remains their 'summer.'
The Ascension of Jesus Christ
The ascension of Jesus Christ is not a theological footnote but the capstone event that confirms the completion of His atoning work and inaugurates His present reign at the right hand of the Father. Working through Acts 1:9–11, this sermon establishes six observations: the ascension followed Christ's finished atonement, was visible and bodily, was glorious in the Shekinah cloud, sets the pattern for a literal and visible second coming, and resulted in His enthronement as Messiah-King over all nations. The enthroned Christ is the ground of Christian perseverance, bold prayer, and the church's missionary commission — and He is the only refuge for sinners who will otherwise confess Him as Lord on the day of judgment.
The Announcement of Zion's King
Zechariah 9 addresses a post-exilic community in need of assurance that their God governs the nations, defends His people, and will send a King whose dominion reaches the ends of the earth. The sermon expounds three movements in the chapter: God's judgment against the surrounding city-states (vv. 1–8), the announcement of Zion's King riding in lowly triumph (vv. 9–10), and God's covenantal deliverance of His people (vv. 11–17). The messianic fulfillment of verses 9–10 in the triumphal entry of Christ establishes that Zechariah is a Christocentric prophet whose words undergird the Great Commission and the peace-making work of Christ across all nations. The sermon closes with a threefold application: God destroys His enemies, Christ builds His church with certainty, and believers are called to interpret all of providence theologically rather than as practical atheists.