Expository Sermons and Worship Resources
By Coty Pinckney
Desiring God Community Church . Coty planted and now serves as one of the pastors and elders of this church in Charlotte, NC, associated with John Piper's church in Minneapolis. DGCC began public meetings in September, 2003, and is devoted to expositional preaching. See also the pastors’ blog.
Recent Changes
5/6/09 – The Scripture Index is now up to date. Here is a list of the sermons preached this year through 5/3/09 in the most recent series on Acts. These days, it is most efficient to subscribe to the RSS feed at the DGCC blog and media page to receive notice of files as they are uploaded.
Acts 8, Spreading a Passion in 2009 (Preached 1/4/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 9:1-31, God's Mercy on the Chief of Sinners (Preached 1/11/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 9:32-11:18, part 1, God's Mercy on Us Gentiles (Preached 1/18/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 10:1-11:18, part 2, Who Can Be Saved? (Preached 1/25/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 12, Do You Trust God? (Preached 2/8/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 11:19-30 and 13:1-12 Who Will Go? (Preached 2/15/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 13:13-52, Thrusting Aside the Word of God (Preached 2/22/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 14, Through Many Tribulations We Must Enter the Kingdom of God (Preached 3/1/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 15, Part 1, Should Other Believers Look Like Me? Culture and the Gospel (Preached 3/15/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 15, Part 2, Forbearing With One Another for the Glory of God (Preached 3/22/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 15:36-16:15, Closed Doors and Open Hearts (Preached 3/29/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 16:16-40, Suffering and Salvation (Preached 4/5/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 17:1-3, Jesus Must Rise from the Dead (Preached 4/12/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Acts 17, Reaching the Unreached (Preached 5/3/09): text, audio (10Mb mp3)
Scripture Index to Sermons (Individual sermons are no longer listed on this page. Use the Scripture index instead; the most current series is on Acts).
Audio Sermons at Desiring God Community Church: All sermons recorded at the church since April 2007 (and some earlier) are linked through this web page. Normally updated within two days.
Desiring God Community Church Blog: Written versions of sermons are now posted here.
Expository Preaching Resources
Powerful Expository Preaching Series, by Ray Stedman
Part 1: The Glory of Preaching
Part 2: Preparation of Expository Sermons
Part 3: The Accountability of the Preacher
Ray delivered these talks at the first Congress on the Bible, held in 1982 in San Diego. I've transcribed them (with virtually no editing) from PBC tapes; RealAudio files are available at the RayStedman.org. Invaluable advice from one of the best expository preachers.
In these talks Ray recommends two books on expository preaching: Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century by John Stott (originally entitled I Believe in Preaching). To these two fine books I would add my recommendation for John Piper's The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Order any of these through Amazon by clicking on the link.
I also highly recommend John Piper's Mullins Lectures on Preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, September 14 to 16, 1999. Two of his three talks are available as mp3 files at the SBTS website: "Why Does Preaching Have Such a Prominent Place in Worship" and "A Zeal That Accords with Knowledge."
An email list to encourage expository preaching: Expositor's Quote of the Week. Follow this link to join the list, or to read inspiring and challenging quotes on preaching from the likes of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John Stott, Charles Spurgeon, Ray Stedman, John Owen, and John Piper.
Worship Resources
Unusual Christmas Carols and Hymns.
A sample Christmas Eve program.
Recommended Christmas Stories (with excerpts), for children and adults.
George Macdonald's classic Christmas story The Gifts of the Child Christ, in its entirety.
A Responsive Prayer for the Christmas Season
John Piper's Advent Poems. Piper composes four poems each Advent season, and reads them during services. Most are biblical stories, expanded and set to verse. More than 70 are now available. These are moving poems, biblically sound and theologically deep. "The Innkeeper" is my favorite. This poem is also available in book form, and makes an attractive gift.
Expository Christmas Sermons: Links to more than 50 sermons by Charles Spurgeon, Ray Stedman, John Piper, John MacArthur, and others.
Expository Easter Sermons, links to more than 70 Easter, Good Friday, and Maundy Thursday messages by Charles Spurgeon, John Piper, Martin Luther, Ray Stedman, and others.
A Good Friday order of service
John Newton's poem In Evil Long I Took Delight
John Donne's poem Good Friday, 1613: Riding Westward; these two poems are especially effective in Good Friday services.
An Hour of Prayer: A suggested outline to use when praying for an hour, first written for use in a 24-hour New Year's prayer vigil.
Bible Studies
Bible Unity Reading Plan. A guide to reading through the entire Bible in one year, with most selections arranged chronologically, in order to highlight the way all history points to the coming of Jesus Christ. Unlike other chronological plans, however, this guide includes selections from both New and Old Testaments the entire year. Access as either a a pdf file (which requires the free Acrobat reader), or a Microsoft Word document
Shorter Bible Unity Reading Plan. A similar plan which takes the reader through all of the New Testament and about half of the Old Testament in a year. Aimed at those who have never used a regular Bible reading plan before, particularly children. This plan is also useful for family devotions, as selections are short enough to be read aloud. Available as a Microsoft Word Document and a pdf file.
Marriage and Family Teaching Notes. Handouts from a seminary class Beth and I taught together in Cameroon, including an extensive discussion of Ephesians 5:22-6:4. This is a large (183k) Microsoft Word document. Also available in pdf format (307k).
Study Guides for Small Groups or Personal Study:
For those who don't believe, or are new believers:
The Message of the Bible, a brief, 6-week overview of the plan of redemption. Studies include: Creation, the Fall, God's Promise of a Deliverer, Jesus and New Birth, the Death of Jesus, and the Resurrection.
For new believers, or those who would like a better grounding in the basic tenets of the faith:
Life-Changing Doctrines: A 10-Week Study.
Short study questions for a low-key small group:
The Gospel of Mark, a 10-week study of the entire gospel.
In-depth studies:
The Purifying Power of Living By Faith in Future Grace: A Six-Month Bible Study Based on the Book by John Piper: html, Word document
The Pleasures of God: A 12-week study of the character of God, focusing on what gives Him pleasure. Each week, participants study a passage of Scripture and read a chapter from John Piper's book by this name.
The Greatest Chapter in the Bible? A 12 to 16 week study of Romans 8.
Study Guide to Revelation. Twenty-seven weekly studies covering the entire book.
A new version of the Study Guide to Revelation. This version is aimed at those who know a bit of Greek, and goes into somewhat more depth than the version above. Posted as a Microsoft Word document containing all 27 lessons.
Truth that Matters: A Scripture-based introduction to systematic theology.
Salvation by Grace Through Faith
Send meyour comments or questions. I will try to respond as time allows.