Revelation 16:1-11The First Five Bowls of Wrath This week’s passage is full of gruesome details: harmful and painful sores, water – salt and fresh – turned to blood, fierce and scorching heat from the sun, darkness, people gnawing their tongues in anguish. God’s wrath...
Revelation 15:1-8Wrath and WorshipPastor Dave began his sermon by observing that the unbelieving world calls God’s wrath harsh and unfair. Some unbelievers go further and accuse Him, and us as His people, of being sadistic. I just reread A Tale of Two Cities, a story set during the French...
Special Edition: The Men of TLC If you are new at Calvary (and maybe even if you’re not), you may not know about Calvary’s ministry to men seeking freedom from addiction. This residential program – Transitional Living into Community, or TLC – has been part of Calvary for...
Revelation 5:1-14 Gazing into heaven, the apostle John sees a scroll, sealed with seven seals, in the hand of the One who sits on the throne. While Scripture does not explicitly state what is written in the scroll, Pastor Dave follows many scholars in understanding the scroll to contain...
Revelation 4:1-11 With the letters to the seven churches behind us, we lift our eyes from human struggles and failures to catch a glimpse of the heavenly places, the throne room of God, the true center of the universe. May we set aside time this week to appreciate and praise the wonder of our...
Revelation 3:7-13Philadelphia Pastor Dave began with a statement in this week’s passage that grabs our attention but is not the main topic. When Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world,” is he saying that...
Revelation 3:1-6 Jesus rebukes the church at Sardis for being dead, even though they have the reputation of being alive. What is true of a congregation begins with individuals. Do you feel like a whitewashed tomb? Do you appear to others to be doing well but feel hollow and dead inside? How...
Revelation 2: 18-29 The Lord Jesus commends the church in Thyatira because they were growing spiritually, exhibiting love and faith. But he rebukes them sharply because they were tolerating “that woman Jezebel.” The reference to Jezebel harkens back to Old Testament times, almost...
Revelation 2:12-17 Pastor Dave introduced Pergamum as a city renowned for its pagan worship. In this week’s passage, the Lord Jesus describes it as the dwelling place of Satan. Jesus commends the church in Pergamum for holding fast to his name even in a place where Satan is obviously...
Revelation 2:8-11 Jesus has only words of comfort and encouragement for the embattled church in Smyrna, suffering persecution from the Roman authorities and also from the Jews. Jesus uses a paradox to describe their situation. Persecution has made them poor – perhaps due to loss of...