So What Faith

Greg Smith

Top 10 Sermons Preached at Advent Lutheran Church (#2254)

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This Sunday will be my final day as the Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Arlington, Texas.

Preaching at Advent on May 25, 2025 (photo by Susan Smith)

Over the last fourteen months I have preached more than 50 sermons in this congregation. The top ten, based on YouTube views are (sermon titles link to videos)

  1. Answering the Call (part of the Meeting Jesus Again series) – January 26, 2025
  2. God’s Year to Act (part of the Meeting Jesus Again series) – January 19, 2025
  3. God Doesn’t Play it Safe (part of the Stories that Shape Us series) – July 13, 2025
  4. Welcoming Doubt (part of the Meeting Jesus Again series) – February 16, 2025
  5. Living the Story (part of A More Spacious Christianity series) – October 27, 2024
  6. Wrestling with God (part of A More Spacious Christianity series) – November 10, 2024
  7. Jesus in Disguise (part of the Stories that Shape Us series) – July 20, 2025
  8. Choosing Jesus (part of the Lenten Challenges series) – April 13, 2025
  9. Build Wisely (part of the Stories that Shape Us series) – June 29, 2025
  10. Growing for the Future (part of the Easter Hope series) – May 4, 2025
Sermon Series Marketing Slide (designed by Meg McCann)

Top Series

Organizing the top sermons by the sermon series they were a part of reveals that five different series appeared in the top ten list. The top series, as reflected by most sermons in the top ten, are

  1. Tie: Meeting Jesus Again and Stories that Shape Us – 3 sermons each
  2. A More Spacious Christianity – 2 sermons
  3. Tie: Meeting Jesus Again and Easter Hope – 1 sermon each
Sermon Series Marketing Slide (designed by Meg McCann)

Reflections

Preaching is a highly contextual speech act. Without going into great detail, I’d like to share a little more about some of the sermons that made this list.

  • Presidential Inauguration. The top two sermons (Answering the Call and God’s Year to Act) were preached on the Sunday’s just before and just after the United States Presidential Inauguration. In the week between them, the newly inaugurated President issued a number of Executive Orders focused on specific groups of people and Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s preached what became the most viral sermon of the year at the Inaugural Prayer Service.
  • VBS. God Doesn’t Play It Safe, third on the list, was preached following VBS. After frankly stating the severity of decline in Mainline Protestantism, the message shifts to explore how our shared path forward could be transformed by the Parable of the Sower.
  • Doubt. I’ve long found doubt to be an important part of the faith that is often undervalued and fails to receive adequate attention in many congregations. Given this, it isn’t a surprise that my sermon on doubt (Welcoming Doubt) is fourth on the list.
  • Reformation. Living the Story, the fifth place message, was a sermon about stories – the Christian story, the Reformation story, and the story of the local congregation known as Advent Lutheran. On Reformation Sunday these stories were shared as an invitation for folks to join their stories with God’s ongoing story.
  • Presidential Election. The sixth place sermon (Wrestling with God) was perhaps the hardest of all to prepare and preach as it was delivered the Sunday after Donald Trump was elected to a second term as President. It is also the most personal since it includes the story of my recent near death experience.
  • Undercover Jesus. Next on the list (Jesus in Disguise) was a message that invites people to see others differently by seeing Jesus in every person we encounter.
  • Palm Sunday. Choosing Jesus came in eighth. It draws from the dueling parade imagery popularized by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan.
  • Constructing. The messages in ninth (Build Wisely) and tenth places (Growing for the Future) focus on what we are building and how it is we are preparing for all that is ahead. The last message on this list was preached on Stewardship Sunday.
Sermon Series Marketing Slide (designed by Meg McCann)

So What?

I’m sure a list of most popular sermons would differ significantly from this list if it were based on a survey of the congregation. And, I know I would choose differently if I were picking what I think were my best sermons. Nonetheless I also believe that the most popular list based on YouTube views and these other potential lists would have significant overlap.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to serve this growing church where all are welcome and discover ways to serve. And, I’m hopeful that my preaching and overall pastoral leadership contributed positively to preparing them for the bright future God intends.

If you have listened to several of my sermons, I’d be delighted to hear which one or ones you found to be particularly meaningful.