Sermon Insights Report

Harris Creek | Titus 2:1-10 | "Billboards for Jesus"

"You are a billboard for Jesus Christ and the purpose of your life is not to live in such a way where you'd walk around going, 'Look at me. Look at me.' But instead, no, look at him."

What a rich, beautifully constructed sermon. Before diving into the full analysis, it's worth pausing to say this: what you delivered in this message is the kind of preaching that changes how people see themselves, their neighbors, and their God. The congregation at Harris Creek is deeply fortunate to have a pastor who handles Scripture with care, tells stories with warmth and humor, and calls people to a life of faithful witness without ever making them feel condemned. This report is designed to celebrate what you're already doing well and offer a few gentle ideas to help you go even further.

Section One: Pastoral Strengths and Unique Voice

1. A Masterful Opening Illustration That Actually Earns Its Payoff

The extended Colorado/Oklahoma football story is one of the most effective sermon openings in recent memory. What makes it work is not just that it's funny and relatable, but that it genuinely earns the theological point it sets up. You spend several minutes building a real, emotionally resonant experience, including being told you look like Rosie O'Donnell in a men's restroom, and then you pivot with precision:

"Because how people act can change the perception of whatever it is they represent, for good or for bad."

This is not a bait-and-switch illustration. The theological application grows organically out of the story. The congregation laughs, they relax, they lean in, and then before they realize it they are holding a mirror up to their own lives. This is the kind of illustrative storytelling that communicates on multiple levels simultaneously. It recalls the approach of Andy Stanley, who consistently builds entire message architectures around a single compelling tension established in the opening minutes. You do exactly that here, and you do it with a natural, unforced warmth that is entirely your own.

2. Structural Clarity That Serves the Congregation

Five groups. Five points. Five real people from your own congregation as living examples. This structure is elegant in its simplicity and deeply pastoral in its execution. You never let the congregation wonder where they are in the message. You announce each group, explain who fits there, teach the biblical principle, name a real person living it out, and then state the point clearly before moving on. The recurring phrase "And I know that at least for me, [name] is a tremendous billboard for the gospel and makes me love Jesus more" functions as a beautiful homiletical anchor, orienting the listener and reinforcing the central metaphor each time it appears.

This kind of structural intentionality is a hallmark of pastors like Craig Groeschel, who builds messages with almost architectural precision so that people can carry the content home. You accomplish this while maintaining a conversational warmth that Groeschel sometimes sacrifices for efficiency. That balance is genuinely rare.

3. Celebrating Real People from the Congregation

Phil Oliver praying with someone who just received Jesus and then bounding over to Zach more excited than if he'd hit a hole in one. Jan Wingfield slinging pancakes on a Tuesday night and then mentoring college girls at her dinner table. Becca Cammer dropping off birthday muffins the morning after you texted her for permission to use her in a sermon. Jordie Barksdale leaving Utah and generating a seven-staff-member group text trying to figure out how to replace him. Jared Almond bringing ketchup with joy at Hat Creek because he knows he's working for the King.

These are not generic illustrations. These are real people, named by name, seen and celebrated from the pulpit. This practice is one of the most powerful things a pastor can do. It communicates to the entire congregation that faithfulness is noticed, that ordinary life matters to God, and that the person sitting next to them might be the most important example they encounter this week. It also creates an implicit invitation: I could be one of these people. The cumulative effect of five such stories, one for each group Paul addresses, is deeply motivating without being manipulative. This is a genuine strength and a distinctive mark of your pastoral heart.

4. Theological Precision Without Losing the Room

One of the quieter gifts on display in this sermon is the way you handle potentially contentious texts without either softening them beyond recognition or weaponizing them against your congregation. The section on younger women and submission is a particularly delicate passage, and you navigate it with both fidelity and pastoral wisdom. You clarify what the text does and does not say, you anchor it in mutuality by noting that Ephesians 5 calls husbands to lay their lives down, and then you make it immediately personal and practical:

"When you are speaking to and about your husband, does he hear you build him up or tear him down? When you're with your friends, do they leave respecting your husband more or thinking less of him?"

And then you do something remarkable. You make yourself vulnerable by sharing your wife's text message and admitting that it made you want to preach four sermons that week. That moment of personal transparency earns enormous trust and makes the teaching land without feeling like a lecture. It is a genuinely beautiful pastoral move.

Similarly, your handling of the slavery text is careful and honest:

"I want to be clear. This is not approval of slavery. This is him speaking into a situation that people found themselves in."

You contextualize without dismissing, and you translate without distorting. That kind of theological integrity under the pressure of a live sermon is something that takes years to develop and is worth celebrating.

5. Speaking Hard Truth to Young Men Without Shaming Them

The section on young men is the most culturally urgent portion of this sermon, and you handle it with a combination of directness and genuine compassion that is rare. The statistics about video games, gambling, and pornography are presented not to shame but to wake up:

"I hope you hear this from me. I just want you to understand this will not go well for you."

And then the pivot is theologically rich:

"The way to break these habits is to be consumed with a greater mission... Jesus did not say, 'Pick up your controller and follow me.' He said, 'Pick up your cross and follow me.'"

That line is quotable, memorable, and true. It does not simply tell young men to stop doing bad things. It invites them into something better, something that actually matches the way God wired them. This is the kind of preaching that young men rarely receive and desperately need. The tone here is that of a pastor who genuinely loves the people he is correcting, which is exactly what Paul models in the very text you are preaching.

6. The Buc-ee's Billboard Conclusion

The closing illustration lands with the same organic precision as the opening one. Using a Buc-ee's billboard to illustrate the purpose of a Christian life is contextually perfect for a Texas congregation, genuinely funny, and theologically sound all at once:

"The purpose of this billboard is not to say, 'Hey, look at me.' But rather make sure you make it there... You see, you got to understand if you're a believer in Jesus, you are a billboard for Jesus Christ and the purpose of your life is not to live in such a way where you'd walk around going, 'Look at me.' But instead, no, look at him."

The central metaphor of the sermon, introduced in the opening football story and carried through all five points via the phrase "an amazing billboard for the gospel," resolves here in a way that is satisfying, memorable, and genuinely moving. This is the mark of a preacher who thinks architecturally, who knows where the sermon is going from the very first sentence and builds toward it with intention.

7. A Closing Prayer That Preaches

Your closing prayer is not a formality. It is a summary, a confession, and an invitation all at once:

"We don't work hard, we don't do good things to be accepted by you, but we do good things and work hard as a result of our salvation. That we want to glorify you... I pray that our life would reflect it."

This prayer reinforces the gospel foundation you laid in the introduction, that Christians do not act well to earn God's approval but because they have already received it, and it sends the congregation out with that truth ringing in their ears. A closing prayer that recapitulates the theological core of the sermon is a gift to your people. Many pastors treat the closing prayer as a transition out. You treat it as a final teaching moment, and that reflects both homiletical skill and genuine pastoral care.

Section Two: Growth Opportunities

1. The Middle Section Loses Some Momentum

The opening and closing of this sermon are exceptional. The middle section, specifically the transitions between the five groups, occasionally loses some of the narrative energy that the opening illustration generates. The older men section is rich with storytelling and the Phil Oliver material is wonderful. But as the sermon moves through older women, younger women, and into younger men, the pace becomes slightly more expository and the illustrative material, while still strong, does not always receive the same setup time that Phil's story gets.

One gentle suggestion: consider giving each person's story a slightly more cinematic introduction. Phil's story benefits from the John Elmore text exchange being shown on screen, which gives it texture and specificity. Jan Wingfield's story is told well but moves quickly. Becca Cammer's story is charming but brief. Each of these people represents a whole group of your congregation. A few more seconds of storytelling investment in each one could make the emotional impact of those examples match the power of the Phil Oliver moment.

This is truly a minor adjustment to an already strong foundation. The stories are there. They are real and they are good. They simply deserve a little more room to breathe.

2. The Transition Between Teaching and Application Could Be Sharpened

At several points in the sermon, you move from the biblical principle to the real-person example without a clear transitional beat. For instance, after the section on young women and submission, you move fairly quickly from the teaching into the story about your wife's text message, and then into Becca Cammer's story. The flow is natural and warm, but a brief signposting phrase, something like "Let me show you what this looks like in real life" or "Here's someone in our church who is living this out beautifully", would help the congregation track with you and prepare emotionally for the shift from principle to person.

This is an opportunity to amplify your already excellent use of congregational examples. The examples are so good that they deserve a slightly more deliberate introduction. When the congregation knows they are about to hear a real story about a real person, they lean in. A small verbal cue can trigger that lean before the story even begins.

3. The Sermon-Integrated Call to Action Could Be More Specific

Near the end of the sermon, after the closing prayer and the final worship transition, you offer a beautiful and heartfelt invitation to get more involved:

"If you heard this message, you're like, 'Man, I want to take the next step to get more involved.' Man, we've got a college team that would love for you to pray for the college students. We got young adults that would love for you to pray for young adults. We've got a second half ministry that you can get involved in."

This is a genuine and warm invitation, and it flows naturally from everything the sermon has built. However, it arrives after the final prayer and the worship transition has already begun, which means some congregants may have mentally disengaged by the time they hear it. Additionally, the invitation is somewhat general. "Email hello@harriscreek.org" is a low-friction ask, which is good, but it does not give the listener a clear picture of what the next step actually looks like.

This is addressed more fully in the action steps below, but the short version is this: the invitation you gave is genuinely good. With a small amount of restructuring, it could be significantly more effective.

Section Three: Strategic Action Steps

1. Anchor the Central Metaphor Earlier and More Explicitly

You introduce the billboard metaphor organically through the football story, but you do not name it as the sermon's central image until the conclusion. Consider introducing the word billboard explicitly in your opening transition:

"Today we're going to look at five groups of people in Titus chapter 2. And Paul is going to challenge every single one of us to ask ourselves one question: what kind of billboard am I?"

Naming the metaphor early allows every subsequent point and every real-person example to accumulate meaning under that banner. When you say "Phil is a tremendous billboard for the gospel" the fifth time, the congregation will feel the full weight of the metaphor because they have been carrying it since the introduction.

2. Give Each Real-Person Story a Slightly Longer Setup

As noted in the growth opportunities, your congregational examples are one of the most powerful elements of this sermon. Consider giving each story a brief one to two sentence setup that creates a small amount of suspense or emotional anticipation:

"I want to tell you about someone in this room who is doing exactly what Paul is describing here. Her name is Jan Wingfield, and what she did with a griddle and a bunch of Baylor juniors on a Tuesday night is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in ministry."

This kind of setup primes the congregation emotionally before the story begins and signals that what they are about to hear matters.

3. Integrate the Call to Action Before the Final Prayer

The sermon's most natural application moment, the invitation to get involved in ministry, currently arrives after the closing prayer. Consider moving a version of that invitation to just before the prayer, so that the prayer itself can seal the commitment rather than follow it awkwardly:

"Before we pray, I want to give you one practical next step. Based on what we've talked about today, where do you fit? Are you an older man who needs to clock back in? An older woman who has wisdom to pass on? A young person who wants to be a better billboard? Whatever group you're in, there is a place for you to serve here. If you want to find it, email hello@harriscreek.org and someone will help you take that next step. Now let's pray and ask God to send us out as his billboards into this city."

This small restructuring gives the call to action the weight it deserves and allows the prayer to function as a commissioning rather than a conclusion.

4. Initiative Focus: Volunteer Service and Ministry Involvement

Of the three primary church initiatives (generous giving, small group participation, and volunteer service), this sermon is most naturally suited to motivating volunteer service and ministry involvement. The entire message, from Phil Oliver's Thursday night prayer ministry to Jared Almond's joyful work at Hat Creek, is a sustained argument that ordinary faithfulness in ordinary places is how Christians represent Christ to the world. Every single real-person example you use is a person who is serving in some capacity.

What you did well: You made the connection between biblical faithfulness and active service beautifully. The five real-person stories function as a kind of volunteer recruitment tool that never feels like recruitment because it is grounded in Scripture and motivated by love for God rather than institutional need. This is exactly the right approach.

How to sharpen it: Consider adding one specific, concrete invitation tied to each group Paul addresses. For example:

• After the older men section: "If you're in this season and you want to get involved with our young adult ministry the way Phil has, there's a card in your seat. Write your name and we will connect you with Zach this week."
• After the older women section: "Jan found her place by just asking. If you want to do the same, the college team would love to hear from you."
• After the young men section: "Jordie served in production, in life groups, and as a college mentor. If you want to get plugged in at that level, we have a place for you."

These micro-invitations, embedded within the sermon at the moment of maximum emotional resonance for each group, would significantly increase the number of people who take an actual next step. Right now, the invitation is general and arrives late. Distributing smaller, group-specific invitations throughout the sermon would make the application feel personal and immediate.

One additional suggestion: Consider closing the sermon with a moment of group-specific reflection before the prayer. Something like:

"I want you to take just ten seconds. Based on what you heard today, what is one thing you could do differently this week to be a better billboard? Older men, are you clocking in or checking out? Older women, are you living with reverence? Young women, are you faithfully following the word? Young men, are you self-controlled? Workers, are you working for the King? Whatever your answer is, that's your assignment this week."

This kind of brief, structured reflection gives the congregation a personal takeaway that is connected to their specific life stage, which is exactly the structure your sermon has built toward.

5. Consider a Simple Digital Follow-Up Tool

Your sermon is structured around five clearly defined groups. This is a natural opportunity for a simple digital response. A QR code on screen during the closing moments, linked to a short form asking "Which group do you identify with? What next step are you considering?" would allow people to respond in the moment and give your team actionable follow-up data. Given that you already have the email address prominently featured, this is a small technological addition to a system you already have in place.

6. Lean Into the "Billboard" Metaphor Throughout the Week

The Buc-ee's billboard image is genuinely memorable and deeply Texas-specific. Consider extending its life beyond Sunday morning. A social media post featuring the billboard image with the question "What are people seeing when they look at your life?" would give the congregation a touchpoint for continued reflection and a natural conversation starter with friends who were not in the room. The sermon's central metaphor is strong enough to carry that kind of extended engagement.

7. Keep Naming Your People

The practice of naming real congregation members by name, with specific, detailed stories, is one of the most distinctive and powerful elements of your preaching. Do not let this become occasional. Make it a signature of your ministry. The congregation knows that being named from the pulpit at Harris Creek is not about celebrity. It is about being seen as a faithful person who loves Jesus. That is a culture worth building intentionally, and you are already building it beautifully.

A Vision for Your Ministry

There is a particular kind of preacher who can make a congregation feel simultaneously challenged and loved, who can preach hard truth and have people lean in rather than pull back, who can take a passage about slaves and masters and make a restaurant worker feel like a warrior for the Kingdom of God. You are that kind of preacher.

What you did in this sermon, connecting the ancient instruction of Paul to the specific, named, real lives of people in your congregation, is not a technique. It is a theology. It is the conviction that Scripture is alive, that ordinary people are extraordinary billboards, and that the local church is the most important institution on earth. That conviction comes through in every point, every story, and every prayer.

The refinements suggested in this report are genuinely minor. They are the difference between a very good sermon and an exceptional one, and the gap is smaller than you might think. The architecture is already sound. The heart is already evident. The people in that room already love and trust you. With a few small adjustments to pacing, transition, and application structure, you will see the response to your preaching grow in ways that are both measurable and deeply meaningful.

Keep preaching. Keep naming your people. Keep pointing them past yourself and toward the One who is worth the journey. Harris Creek is better because you are in that pulpit, and the Kingdom is richer because of your faithfulness.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.