Sermons on Hyde:

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 29, 2020

Evangelical Christianity often struggles with the words of James 2 when he declares things like "faith without works is dead," and "Abraham was justified by works." This sermon reconciles his meaning to that of Paul and demonstrates genuine faith is always expressed in works.

GHOSTS IN A CULTURE'S PAST During my Sophomore year of college at Wartburg College – a Lutheran school in Northeast Iowa, I had the privilege of taking a class which took us to Germany for a month to tour sites associated with the Reformation, as we learned about the history of the movement ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26, Romans 4:1-5, Ephesians 2:8-10, Hebrews 11:8-12

Denomination: Nazarene

Funeral Sermon For The Loss Of A Young Child: "the Smallest Life, A Miracle" Series

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Jun 23, 2023

The loss of a young child or infant is one of the most difficult experiences for any family to process. This funeral sermon is meant to communicate the inherent beauty and worth of even the most fleeting of lives.

Words alone cannot comfort a grieving heart, because words cannot replace the ones we love. Even the most beautiful words are little things, here for only a moment, fleeting and often unnoticed. We live in a world filled with words, some shouted from rooftops and some whispered in a quiet room, yet ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:7-18, Revelation 21:1-5

Denomination: Nazarene

Focused On One Thing

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Aug 22, 2023

In a world full of distraction, it is more important than ever to refocus our attention and worship on what truly matters: Christ.

TOO BUSY TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING How many of you have ever had a day where you had so much to do, that you just couldn’t get anything done? As soon as you’d start a task, something else – just as essential – would grab your attention, and then just as you got the ball rolling, a third thing would ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 56:1-8, Matthew 11:15-19

Denomination: Nazarene

The Rich Man's Choice

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Oct 16, 2021

At some point we all have to make the same choice the Rich Man was faced with when he encountered Jesus in Mark 10:17-31. Will you be willing to give everything up to follow Him?

SPELUNKING How many here are familiar with the practice of exploring caves or spelunking? How many of you have ever gone spelunking? How many enjoy just saying the word spelunking? It’s like the sound water makes when it drops in a bucket… spelunking. It’s a fun word! And it’s an even more fun ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31, Exodus 20:2-17, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Denomination: Nazarene

Resiliency Rooted In Hope

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Aug 1, 2019

So many people feel more alone and alienated than ever before. In this sermon I discuss the grace of Christ which enables hope in the midst of struggle, and the practical tools necessary to build resilience in the face of hardship.

A RIDE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS This weekend, as my family and I headed back through the mountains from District Assembly in Denver, we happened to pass a bike race with athletes peddling through the steep twists and turns leading to Wolf Creek Pass and I couldn’t help but marvel at the determination ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-5

Denomination: Nazarene

Getting Your Feet Wet

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Aug 5, 2019

In healing the Syrian Army commander Namaan through the prophet Elijah, God shows us some surprising things about His grace and the importance of stepping out in faith and "getting our feet wet."

A GOOD SOLDIER, BUT LEPROUS Our story this morning is one of the most remarkable in the Old Testament, not least because it defies all of our expectations of how God deals with his people and their enemies. And make no mistake, that’s exactly who the central figure in this morning’s story is: ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

Staying In The Fight: Spiritual Warfare In The 21st Century

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 26, 2019

Do you believe there are forces around us, influencing our lives, which are battling for control of our world? This sermon makes the case that spiritual warfare is very real, and that at the end of the day we all serve one side or the other, whether we want to admit it or not.

INTRODUCTION Do you believe in spiritual warfare? Do you believe there are forces around us, influencing our lives, which are battling for control of our world? It sounds sort of conspiratorial doesn’t it? It sounds like something that drives the plot of a movie, or maybe a sensationalist blog ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18, Ezekiel 28:13-19, Isaiah 14:12-15

Denomination: Nazarene

Finding Our Worth In Christ

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 26, 2019

In a culture obsessed with self-image, how do we find our self-worth and redefine ourselves in the image of Christ?

American Individualism I want you to take a moment, as we reflect on this verse, to think about the culture we find ourselves in today. At its heart, it is a very individualistic, self-centered and image obsessed culture. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love this country and the people in it. But we ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Denomination: Nazarene

The Call To Holiness

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 26, 2019

The call to holiness is one which we all share. But none of us are called because we are good enough. In fact, by our own efforts none of us could ever be good enough. And yet each of us is called to a purpose greater than any of us could imagine.

A Strange Encounter Imagine for a moment a young woman waking early, just before dawn to begin her daily chores. Still groggy with sleep though the morning is cold and quiet, she feeds the animals, and gathers water for the day’s washing. As she fills her bucket at the well, she imagines the life ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Denomination: Nazarene

A Light In The Darkness

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 29, 2019

The beautiful truth of Christ's mission is that God was not just content to contain darkness or to hold it at bay for a while. Instead, he pierced the heart of it and conquered it on our behalf.

INTRODUCTION The passage just read is probably one of my favorite Christmas passages from one of my favorite books of the Bible. In fact, it is one of the reasons Isaiah has sometimes been called the “fifth gospel”, because between this, 7:14, 11:1-9, and chapter 53, we have an almost complete ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7

Denomination: Nazarene

Dressing In Layers

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Mar 30, 2019

Being prepared to face the elements! This sermon gets the congregation involved by (comically) demonstrating the need to "dress in layers", clothing ourselves in true virtue, bearing one another up in love, and worshiping together as a community.

OPENING STORY My freshman year of college, I was blessed with the opportunity to take a quarter class in Denver learning about urban development and strategies for alleviating poverty. Now, I could claim that my motivations were noble, and they somewhat were. I mean, I really did want to help ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Denomination: Nazarene

Taking The Journey

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Apr 1, 2019

God’s call to take the journey to worship the newborn king isn’t just for those born to privilege, or those born in the church. It isn’t just for pastors, scholars, and religious leaders. No, God’s call to worship is for anyone who will listen.

OPENING STORY An old king sat uncomfortably on his throne, fingernails dug into well-worn grooves in the wood as he waited nervously for the mysterious travelers to approach. All Jerusalem was abuzz with the rumors that these men were searching for a new heir which had just been born, yet neither ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Denomination: Nazarene

Fidelity To God's Call

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Apr 1, 2019

When we hear the word “prophet”, we often think of someone whose primary job is to tell the future. But prophets had a much more important job: they were called to bring the hard truth to God’s people, so that they would realize their need for reconciliation with God.

INTRODUCTION When we hear the word “prophet”, we often think of someone whose primary job is to tell the future. We might equate the term with “soothsayer”, “seer,” or even in a non-Christian context, “fortune teller”. We most often judge a prophet by whether or not their words come true. There is ...read more

Scripture: Amos 7:7-15, Amos 2:6-8

Denomination: Nazarene

The Spirit Of Hope

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Apr 3, 2019

If there are two things which are universal to the human condition, it’s that we all hold hope dear to our heart, and we all have to face disappointments and some time or another. Though many may not realize it, hope isn’t just a universal experience, it’s a universal need.

OPENING STORY On this Armed Forces Day weekend, I am reminded of one of the persistent dreams of my childhood. When I was a kid, there was nothing I hoped for more than to one day be a Soldier like my dad. In fact, both my parents had served, and some of my earliest memories were putting my dad’s ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:22-27

Denomination: Nazarene

Finding Rest Among The Crowds

Contributed by Ian Hyde on Apr 10, 2019

We often pride ourselves in our work ethic, but we are addicted to work! This sermon takes a look at our need to find rest in the midst of a chaotic world and a myriad of responsibilities; using Jesus' practice of finding rest as our example.

IMMEDIACY IN MARK When we read the Gospel of Mark, we read a story moving at breakneck speed. Mark is the shortest gospel, and in it we don’t find a genealogy, or narratives from his childhood, or even much of a prelude before Jesus is baptized. And once he is baptized, it seems like he is ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:30-34, Mark 6:53-56

Denomination: Nazarene