Week 1 | How do we steward what God has given us? In the first message of this series, Darrell unpacks three principles for generosity that we see Paul express in the letter to the Corinthians. The reality of life with God is that He prospers his people, not so they can have more, but so they can be and give more to the world Christ died for. The only way we experience this promise of God though, is to first experience His grace and then to respond in obedience with generosity. As Darrell summarizes: grace makes grace filled people, and grace grows into generosity.

Week 12 | Darrell begins this message by answering the question: what is the millennium and how does it fit into our understanding of the book of Revelation? It’s important to ask the right question when reading Revelation. Instead of assuming a chronological order, we should ask “what does John see next?” Darrell highlights 8 truths we see in this text about following the Jesus of the Apocalypse: We are following the one 1) who has already overcome the enemies of life, 2) who has already bound the evil one, 3) who is already reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 4) who has already brought us to life, 5) who has already called his followers to reign with him, 6) who holds our destiny in his hands, 7) who takes us beyond the grave, 8) who has built a new city for the human race.

Week 11 | In this chapter, the Apostle John once again sees heaven open and a great revelation of who Jesus is. This time, Jesus is a warrior, coming down on a white horse. Eyes of blazing fire, a sword in his mouth, an unknown name on his body, a robe covered in blood, and multitudes of crowns. What does this all mean? Darrell walks us through the text to reveal what Jesus is revealing about himself: He is the Divine Warrior who has already won.

Week 10 | In this sermon Darrell points our attention to a single verse in the last book of the Bible: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” This verse highlights a profound theme in the Bible, that followers of God are collectively the Bride of Jesus Christ! Living into this marriage reality means we have great dignity - no lowly humanity here, we are the Bride of Christ! We also experience God’s delight in us, the intimacy of God knowing us and us knowing God, and the security in this life that God has chosen us to be with him and that he will go to great lengths to keep his marriage covenant with us. God’s invitation to be the Bride of Jesus Christ is sent out to all people, and right now is the time to say yes and be blessed.

Week 9 | In this message, Darrell shares his heart on how crucial it is to make sure you read the whole entirety of the Bible. We can be tempted to only read the comfortable texts, but instead we should seek to dive into the challenging ones as well as all scripture is divinely inspired. Revelation 17-19 is a terrifying text in many ways, but also inspiring because we’re getting a first-hand look at the future work of Jesus. John is revealing a drama on how when you build a city on weak, human foundations it will always fall to the ground. Babylon fell and now Jesus is revealing to John the unthinkable fall of Rome. Ultimately, we are left with the question, will we trust in human powers or will we worship Jesus?

Week 8 | Darrell outlines the power that songs play in the story of the Revelation of Jesus. The sixteen songs in the letter provide both a summary of what we are learning and a reminder of the key question; whom do we worship? One song in particular, the doubly named Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3-4) tell the story of God’s redemption of His people. This song is a call to worship the God who is King of all kings. It is a reminder of God’s victory over all that stands in his way, overall that keeps his people from entering the fullness of life. These songs summarize the message of Revelation, so Darrell encourages us to live in the songs, to try to memorize them even so that they might penetrate our souls.

Week 7 | Darrell unpacks the symbolism of the dragon, the sea beast, and the earth beast, a counterfeit trinity that seeks to inflict harm and calls us to put our trust in that which will never measure up. Darrell explains how the first readers of the text would have easily understood these “beasts” as the political and religious powers of their day that had moved out from under God’s authority. We hear how the early Church’s pressure to compromise loyalty to Jesus, the true Emperor and true God, still exists in our time. We were created to worship, but the question remains: who will we worship? Through the act of the Lord’s Table, which delivers us from religion and the false hope of politics, we see that Jesus is our only hope.

Week 6 | Darrell walks through what he calls the central discipleship text of the whole book of Revelation: Chapter 12. He highlights the two pastoral purposes of apocalyptic literature which are to see the unseen realities of the future and the present, which gives us great hope in the moment that is and the one that is to come. Darrell reminds us of how we overcome the powers of this world through the blood of the Lamb, our testimony, and being free of the love of this life even unto death.

Week 4 | Darrell walks through the opening scene of the second act in the Book of Revelation. While John was worshipping God on the island of Patmos, God showed John a series of dramatic images of a worship that is already in progress. These images are a door to heaven, a lamb sitting on the throne, and a scroll that is to be opened. From these images, what observations can we make regarding the unseen realities of the present and the future? What are the deeper implications of these images and how we should live our lives today? First, through Christ, it is safe to go through heaven’s door and approach the throne. Second, the secret of history is that God wins through sacrificial love through Jesus. Third, we reign with the ruler who is sitting on the throne when we participate and join in worshipping him.