The Heart of a King: What Matters Most
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Release Date: 05/19/2025
The Heart of a King: A Heart for God
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Karl Ihfe concludes his series on King David by examining why Jesus is called the "Son of David" from Matthew 1 through Revelation 22:16. This title signifies hope, as David's reign represented Israel's golden age—a time when the kingdom was united, prosperous, and free from oppression. When people cried out "Son of David, have mercy" to Jesus, they were expressing hope that He could restore what was broken. The title also emphasizes Jesus' humanity through His genealogy in Matthew 1, which breaks traditional rules by including women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba) and non-Israelites....
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The Heart of a King: A Compassionate Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Karl Ihfe examines 2 Samuel 9, where King David seeks out Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son, to show him kindness. This story reveals three essential qualities of compassion that made David a man after God's own heart. First, compassion is personal—David called Mephibosheth by name, restoring dignity to someone who saw himself as "a dead dog." Second, compassion is active—David didn't just feel sorry for Mephibosheth but gave him land, servants, and a permanent place at the royal table. Finally, compassion is born out of love—David's actions flowed from his deep love for Jonathan...
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Find Home
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Jeremy Smith, the college minister at Broadway Church of Christ, shared how Atlas Campus Fellowship has been diligently preparing for returning college students with numerous welcome events planned. He presented Atlas's vision to become "the most welcoming college ministry in Lubbock, Texas through radical hospitality," where every student feels "personally invited and genuinely seen." This vision is summarized in their motto: "find home." Jeremy highlighted the unique challenges college students face: newfound independence, forming identities, competing worldviews, and different pressures...
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The Heart of a King: A Broken Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Karl Ihfe explores the devastating relational brokenness in David's family from 2 Samuel 13, where David's failure to act at critical moments led to catastrophic consequences. Despite David's love for his children, he failed at three crucial crossroads: he wouldn't confront Amnon after raping Tamar, he refused to truly listen to Absalom after years of estrangement, and he didn't speak the necessary words until after Absalom's death when all he could say was "my son, my son." Ihfe challenges us to recognize similar crossroads in our own relationships, emphasizing that love requires more than...
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The Heart of a King: A Contrite Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
In this sermon, Karl Ihfe addresses sin as the most destructive force humanity has ever faced, using David's moral failure with Bathsheba as a powerful case study. Ihfe identifies four crucial crossroads in David's journey: the spiritual drift that led him to remain in Jerusalem "at the time when Kings go off to war" (2 Samuel 11:1), his decision to ignore spiritual warning lights when informed Bathsheba was married, his refusal to repent when consequences began appearing, and finally facing God's judgment through Nathan the prophet. The sermon emphasizes how sin spreads like a disease when...
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The Heart of a King: A Generous Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
In this sermon, Nolan Maples examines David's generous heart as revealed in 1 Chronicles 28-29. Though David's dream of building God's temple was denied because he was "a man of war," he still gave his entire personal treasury—an estimated 225,000 pounds of gold and 525,000 pounds of silver—to ensure his son Solomon could complete the project. Nolan emphasizes that generosity isn't about what we give but where we give from, citing David's words in 2 Samuel 24:24: "I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing." Nolan shares three studies demonstrating how...
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From Disgust to Loving Presence
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Josh Jaynes explores the tension between our understanding of God's holiness and Jesus' willingness to be with sinners. He challenges the common teaching that "God cannot be around sin," noting how Jesus (who is God) was consistently comfortable around sinners - so much so that religious leaders criticized Him for it. Josh introduces the concept of the "psychology of disgust" and "negativity bias" that causes us to create distance from people we view as impure or contaminating. Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, Josh highlights how Jesus deliberately chose a Samaritan - someone Jews...
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The Heart of a King: Hope for a Discouraged Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Karl Ihfe continues the "Heart of a King" series by examining David's heart of hope during his most discouraging season. Using 1 Samuel 21-30, Ihfe traces how David lost everything—his job, security, family, mentor, and friends—and found himself hiding in caves as a fugitive. When David's men threatened to stone him after the raid on Ziklag, Scripture tells us "David strengthened himself in the Lord" (1 Samuel 30:6). Ihfe outlines four spiritual practices David employed to maintain hope: being honest with God through lament (Psalm 142), taking positive action when God directs it, resisting...
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The Heart of a King: A Passionate Heart
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
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The Heart of a King: A Heart for Friendship
Broadway Church of Christ Sermon Series
Karl Ihfe delves into the topic of spiritual friendship, using the Biblical relationship between David and Jonathan as a prime example. He highlights how their covenant friendship became an anchor for David's soul, even amidst difficult circumstances with King Saul. The sermon explores three key questions: What is a spiritual friend? How do we find one? And is it worth the effort? Ihfe defines a spiritual friend as someone who helps us pay attention to God and challenges us to live up to our calling. He suggests that finding such friends requires prayer, putting ourselves in positions to meet...
info_outlineIn this sermon, Karl Ihfe begins a new series called "The Heart of a King," focusing on David's life and what made him "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). He emphasizes that while David was gifted in many ways, it was his heart that drew God to him. Karl highlights three key characteristics of David's heart:
1. Wild abandon to God: David worshipped with unbridled passion, as seen in his dancing before the Ark (2 Samuel 6).
2. Deep reflection: David spent time alone with God, pondering and considering, as evidenced in many Psalms (e.g., Psalm 139:23-24).
3. Stubborn love: David loved persistently, even towards those who wronged him, like Saul and Absalom.
Karl encourages the congregation to cultivate these heart qualities, reminding them that God looks at the heart, not outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7).