Sermons by John Nuxoll
Nothing Wasted
Most of us don’t stop working—we just stop expecting it to matter. The tasks keep coming, but the meaning quietly thins out. But if most of life is lived in what feels temporary, what gives it substance–and keeps us going?
Big God, Hard Places
When Work Feels Dead and You Can’t Walk Away TAG: We’re taught that effort should lead somewhere—that faithfulness eventually clears the fog. But what happens when the work stays heavy, the feedback stays off, and nothing seems to change? Where does God fit when heaven and work feel out of sync?
More Than a Paycheck
Most of us don’t stop working—we stop expecting work to matter. We adjust our effort, narrow our hopes, and learn how to survive without disappointment. But if results aren’t the only thing that give work meaning, what is meant to carry us when the payoff disappears?
Hope Knows
When There is Something Better to Live on Than “Maybe Someday” Hope often gets reduced to wishful thinking—something we want to be true but can’t quite rely on. But what if real hope isn’t fragile optimism at all? What if it knows something we don’t—and that changes how we live right now?
Hope Sees
We protect good things for good reasons—stability, responsibility, the people and plans entrusted to us. But when what we protect starts limiting what we’re able to hope for, how do we let God expand our hopes without feeling reckless or irresponsible?
Hope Grows
When life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped, we quietly recalibrate—lowering expectations so hope won’t hurt us again. How does the Advent story of Mary reveal a hope that doesn’t shrink with disappointment, but grows different—and bigger?
Faithfulness
So much of life feels like motion without meaning — the work, the waiting, the showing up. But what if what seems small or unseen is the very thing God is growing into something lasting?
Love
Love doesn’t always die with drama; sometimes it just drifts into autopilot. How can the Spirit make love real again when the heart no longer feels what it knows is true?
Goodness
We pour ourselves into doing what’s right, yet the goodness we chase can quietly leave us empty. What if the life that looks right isn’t the one that’s truly alive? And if truly alive could be had…how can we obtain it?
Kindness
Heated moments tempt us to withdraw or fight back. But what if those very moments were sacred opportunities to shape something deeper? How does the Spirit teach us to lean in when every instinct says to leave?
Joy
Results rise and fall, and our hearts ride the scoreboard—yet Jesus anchors joy where no metric can touch it. What would it take for joy to grow bigger than the scoreboard?
Hope Runs
When we’re hurt, we wait for the apology that might never come — building walls while time widens the gap. Could moving toward those who hurt us actually be the first step toward freedom?