As we celebrate our new home at Opal Road, this message focuses on the three themes of "Dedication, Consecration, and Anticipation." First, we reflect on when the Temple was first dedicated by Solomon and allow that to inform our approach to our own prayer of dedication. Then, we will turn to 1 Peter and see how he described our consecration (surrendered and set apart) as God's holy people. Lastly, we turn to Acts where Jesus instructed his newly consecrated disciples to wait and anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit when he said, "You will be clothed with fire from on high to be my witnesses..."

This message is the finale of our Babylon: In It, Not of It sermon series in Daniel. Daniel, in one chapter, summarizes what John prophesied in 22 chapters in the Book of Revelation. We learn about the struggle that those who remain faithful to God through faith in Christ will face right up to the end...and then how incredible it will immediately (and eternally) be the moment Jesus enters the scene.

We read and interpret the incredible detailed prophesy from Daniel about the Persian, Greek and Roman Empires—all guaranteed to rise and doomed to fall. We also reflect on the brevity and futility of riches, power and endeavors that are not from Christ and ultimately for the Glory of His Father. May God use this message to convict and convince us to seek first His Kingdom and His purposes for our lives.

Dr. Crouterfield looks at the Parable of the Talents to illustrate 5 truths about stewardship. Through these truths we examine our own hearts, in relation to God's desires for us and recognize that authentic faith leads to good stewardship with produces fruitfulness.

Daniel 10 tells the story of Daniel's encounter with God through his Angel and God's mighty Word. The emphasis in this message is how awesome and haunting this encounter was. We contrast that with the much more gentle encounters (through the Blood of Christ) that we have with God, by the Holy Spirit, and how that has conditioned us to reject revelation that comes in more bold and fearful forms.

Thanh Buswell, our Women's Ministry Director, recently experienced a life-threatening illness when her liver began to fail. She and her husband Randy drew near to God during this difficult time and were rewarded with incredible revelations about His goodness, sufficiency, power, and how God uses suffering to deepen our faith and bring us even closer to Him.