Serving Audio and Video Sermons, Bible Studies, and Theological Writings of a United Methodist Pastor and Theologian.

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As an ordained United Methodist minister, one of Dr. Neal's most important responsibilities in the life of the church is preaching and teaching the Scriptures within the context of worship. To accomplish this critical task, he applies advanced linguistic, modern exegetical, and progressive theological principles in his weekly sermon research and study. Each sermon is intended not only to explain what the Bible said in its original context, but also to understand how it has been viewed across the centuries and how it can be understood and applied today.

Dr. Neal usually follows the Revised Common Lectionary in an expository manner. This means that his sermons are grounded in one or more of the Biblical passages appointed for each week of the Church year, and that he has, as his primary focus, the analysis, explanation, and application of each scriptural passage to Christian faith and life. Consistent throughout his sermons are the themes of
Grace, Faith, Sanctification, the Means of Grace, and the abiding Real Presence of Jesus in the Christian life. As a United Methodist, a Wesleyan-Arminian, and a Social/Political Progressive, Dr. Neal believes that preaching is a means of grace, and his sermons are offered here as just such an expression.

As an ordained United Methodist Elder and as a scholar of the sacraments and the Bible, Dr. Neal’s proclamation of scripture has long-focused upon the unlimited grace of God offered to us without price in the incarnation, life, teachings, death, resurrection, ascension, and continued real presence of Jesus. He is uncompromising in his devotion to the message of God's all-inclusive love, the enormity and unlimited scope of God's grace, and the calling that Christians have to make a faith-connection with Christ through partaking of the means of grace. As a gay man, he also views preaching as an opportunity to interpret and apply scripture in ways that counteract the harm done by so many preachers to the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Neal takes the scriptures, and his duty to explain and apply them, very seriously. Where the Bible is obscure, and it often is, grace is required to allow room for "holy ambiguity" in our lives. Where the Bible is clear, and it sometimes is, it is equally important to apply God's grace to our understanding and practice, for it is in the realm of God's grace that we all must find our place in the family of God.