Week 5 | Darrell unpacks a text full of imagery and symbolism that ultimately leads us to one truth: repentance is the way to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The lampstands, earthquake and violent imagery is showing us how the Church is called to stand as a prophetic witness against the idols of this world, but first we must repent in order to walk clothed in grace and truth. The new kingdom is breaking in, but only to those ready to accept turn from sinful ways and declare Jesus as Lord.

Darrell begins by reminding us of the overarching theme of this book - which is God’s deep love for the city of Nineveh, and Jonah’s struggle to accept that dimension of the God he is called to serve. Jonah flees in chapter one and is quickly reminded in chapter two, in the belly of a saving fish, that He cannot outrun God. For the bulk of this message, Darrell zooms in on the moments in the whale. He focuses on Jonah’s prayer - both what it reveals to us about the nature of God and what it shows us about how we can pray to Him.

We’re moving through all of chapter 3, which covers Jonah’s message to Nineveh and their repentant response. Darrell seeks to answer three questions in this message: First, "Why did the Ninevites repent?", second "What would have happened if they didn’t?" and third, "What is the message for our cities and us today?" All throughout, Darrell provides such an accurate window into God’s great love and grace for the city of Nineveh. And with the repentance of Nineveh on full display in this chapter, Darrell voices the question that we the listeners might be wondering as he’s sharing, which is “Could we ever see something like that in our cities today?” Finally, Darrell concludes this sermon in such a beautifully unique fashion - He simply shares what he would say if he had the attention of his city for just 10 minutes.

This is the final week in this sermon series moving through the book of Jonah with Darrell. At the top of this message, Darrell sharply summarizes the four chapters of Jonah. He describes chapter 1 as Jonah running from God. Chapter 2: Jonah running into God. Chapter 3: Jonah running with God, and Chapter 4: the chapter that Darrell covers in this message, is Jonah trying to run God. In this message, Darrell leans into the main thread of chapter 4 which is Jonah’s deep frustration with the merciful and compassionate dimension of God, and the reality that God isn’t acting how he would. Darrell does just a brilliant job unpacking and clarifying the odd events in this chapter, and applying the good news of Jesus to its abrupt ending.

Darrell unpacks one of the most quoted verses in the bible and explains how to properly understand it, especially in light of challenging circumstances. This recording was done for Alpha Canada early in the covid-19 pandemic (April 2020).

This week, Darrell discusses the parable of the sower, the seed and the soil found in Luke 8:1-15. The parable involves three main subjects: Jesus, represented by the sower, the word of God, represented by the seed, and the hearts of the people, represented by the soil. All three subjects are in dynamic interplay with one another. Jesus rightfully expects that fruit will be a result of the planted seed. There are, however, obstacles in the growth of fruit in human hearts. These obstacles according to Jesus, are the various heart conditions that choke out kingdom life. They are the hardened heart, the shallow heart, and the cluttered heart. However, Jesus, in His grace and by His power, can win in all of the soils. He has proven to win despite our obstructed heart conditions. Jesus calls us to stand under the Word of God with honest and good hearts, and it will bring forth the extravagant fruit of His very spirit.

In response to the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray, he first shares the Lord’s Prayer, but then moves into an often misunderstood parable that further highlights how we should pray. In the parable, a man in need goes to a neighbour to ask for bread to help feed a visitor. Jesus asks his disciples, would not the man get up and help his neighbour? Filled with cultural dynamics, western readers can often understand the text to be about the persistence of the man asking his neighbour and therefore believe Jesus is teaching us to pray with such persistence. Instead, the parable is actually about the shamelessness of the neighbour and how he will help the man asking because we won’t let his name be shamed for not being hospitable. Therefore, Jesus is saying that when we go to God and ask, we can have assurance that He will not shame His name and will respond. As we pray, we are expanding our capacity to receive. And what does the Father give? The Holy Spirit. We are the friend in need in this parable and Jesus’ promise is that God will give us His Spirit if we ask.

How do we stand faithfully before God in the midst of injustice? The parable of the persistent widow has brought Darrell under a deep conviction about the quality of his own faith. In light of God being the perfectly just judge, will He find the faith of the widow--who would not go away or lose heart as she waited for justice to be done--in me? In this message on Luke 18:1-8, Darrell shows us how this widow is the hero of living faith, a faith that stands before the face of God and keeps on asking.

Jesus was criticized for eating with sinners and tax collectors so he told a parable to the Pharisees and Scribes: the parable of the prodigal son. Darrell unpacks the scandal of what Jesus shared because it revealed the heart of the Father in a way that challenged the religiosity of the Jewish leaders. The story of the son is one of shame and disgrace, for him to squander the wealth of his family was an embarrassment to him, his family, and the community. But the greater shame was for the Father to run out and embrace the son upon him returning home and confessing. In doing so, the father brought the shame of the community onto himself. He then clothes the son, gives him his signet ring, and kills the fattened calf for a feast that defies all cultural norms. As Jesus tells this story, he is painting a picture of the father’s heart for those the Pharisees deemed unworthy and his willingness to love them shamelessly. Darrell encourages us that we can never earn back God’s love, but we can come home.