Desert Springs Bible Church Sermons

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The Last Battle Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

In this message, we are reminded that Revelation is ultimately a story of hope for a world that can feel frightening and uncertain. Through the powerful imagery of the dragon and the Lamb, we are given a new lens for seeing the world through Jesus and are challenged to live in the way of the Lamb—with humility, love, faithful witness, and service rather than domination or retaliation. The message points us to the victory of Jesus, who has overcome the power of the dragon and promises to make all things new, wiping away every tear and bringing an end to death, grief, and pain.

Faithful to the End Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Continuing Revelation of Hope, Linda Morris explores some of Revelation’s most difficult imagery: angels announcing judgment, the harvest, and the seven bowls of God’s wrath. She connects these visions to a theme she sees running throughout Scripture: God calls his people to love him, love their neighbors, and remain faithful to their covenant with him rather than being seduced by the systems around them. Revelation’s warnings are therefore not meant simply to frighten Christians or provide an escape plan. They call God’s people to endurance, discernment, repentance, and faithfulness in a world filled with competing voices and deceptive powers.

The message ultimately turns from judgment toward hope and readiness. Linda emphasizes Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24 to watch carefully and refuse deception because no one knows when circumstances will change or when Christ will return. Being ready means more than waiting. It means continuing to live as the light of the world, caring for neighbors, serving people in need, seeking truth, and faithfully doing what God has called us to do. Revelation reminds us that evil and suffering do not have the final word. God is not finished, and his people are called to endure with wisdom, love, and hope until Jesus comes.

The Dragon, the Beasts, and the Lamb Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Continuing Revelation of Hope, this message explores the strange imagery of Revelation 12 and 13 through the Dragon and the two Beasts. Rather than treating Revelation primarily as a script for predicting future events, the sermon presents it as a lens that helps Christians see the powers at work in the world. The Dragon represents the deceptive, disintegrating power of evil. The Beast from the sea embodies that power through empire, domination, and violence, while the Beast from the earth looks like a lamb but speaks like the Dragon, persuading people to give their allegiance to beastly power. Together, these images help Christians recognize both overt domination and the more subtle danger of deception that can even disguise itself in religious language.

But Revelation does not leave God's people facing the Dragon and Beasts alone. In Revelation 5, John hears that the conquering Lion of Judah has arrived, but when he turns, he sees a slaughtered Lamb. This Lion-Lamb reversal becomes the key to understanding how Jesus conquers. The followers of Jesus overcome not by out-dominating or out-deceiving their enemies, but through the blood of the Lamb and their faithful testimony. The Beast can bring death, but only the slain and risen Lamb can bring life out of death. Revelation therefore calls Christians to resist the temptation to become beastly when confronting evil and instead fix their eyes on the way of the Lamb, trusting that his power is greater than the powers of domination, deception, and death.

Jesus Revealed Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

Beginning a series through the book of Revelation, this message asks a question Christians have wrestled with for centuries: What do we do when the world around us seems to offer evidence that Jesus is not actually ruling? Revelation was written for people living amid suffering, violence, corrupt power, and the temptation either to despair or to adopt the methods of empire themselves. Rather than functioning primarily as a roadmap to the end of the world, Revelation is an apocalypse—an unveiling that gives God's people fresh eyes to see what is happening beneath the surface. Its strange and beautiful imagery invites us not to fix our attention on destruction, beasts, or speculation about the future, but to look at Jesus and discover hope in the midst of a world that often seems overwhelmed by death.

Revelation 1 unveils Jesus as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He has freed his people and made them a kingdom of priests—not a kingdom built through domination and violence, but one characterized by faithful, priestly service. John himself writes from Patmos as a partner in "affliction, kingdom, and endurance," needing the same hope he offers the churches. When he turns toward the voice speaking to him, he sees the risen Christ in all his glory. Jesus places his hand upon John and says, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last." Revelation invites Christians in every generation to see their world through that same lens: evil and suffering are real, but they are not ultimate. Jesus is alive, Jesus is King, and Jesus holds the keys.

A Global Faith Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

In this intergenerational service, missionaries Ted and Gracie share about their decades of ministry in Rio Frío, Costa Rica, where relationships with children, families, schools, and the wider community have grown into a local church and opportunities for community development and discipleship. Their story provides a glimpse of the global church and introduces a biblical theme stretching from Genesis to Revelation: God's work has always been intended for all peoples, not merely one culture, country, or local expression of Christianity.

Tracing this theme through Genesis 12, Matthew 28, and Revelation 21, the message follows God's promise to bless all peoples through Abraham, Jesus' commission to make disciples of all nations, and John's vision of the nations walking together in the light of Christ. Christianity can take different cultural forms without losing its shared center in Jesus; the way one congregation worships is a way, not the way. Whether in Phoenix, Costa Rica, or anywhere else in the world, Christians belong to one global family whose future is a beautifully diverse people gathered around Jesus, bringing the unique beauty and splendor of their cultures into God's renewed creation.

Citizens and Strangers Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

Drawing from her experience immigrating from Ethiopia to the United States as a child, guest speaker Deanbo reflects on learning early that much of life lies beyond our control. Yet the uncertainty of entering a new country also helped her discover something far more dependable: Jesus remains the same across circumstances, countries, and cultures. Through Colossians 3:15, she invites Christians to surrender their attempts to control their lives and instead "let the peace of Christ rule," trusting God with their families, finances, futures, and circumstances.

Turning to Colossians 1:15–20, John 17, and 1 Peter 2, the message centers on the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus—the One through whom all things were created and in whom all things hold together. Christian life is ultimately not about controlling outcomes or even simply doing more good things, but abiding in Christ so that others encounter Jesus through us. That identity also transcends nationality and culture: followers of Jesus are ultimately citizens of heaven, joined to a diverse people from every background. The invitation is simple but demanding: surrender what we cannot control, remain in Jesus, and let his life become visible through our words, choices, relationships, and actions.

The Politics of Loving Your Neighbor Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

Continuing The Body Politic series, this message turns to Mark 12:28–34 and Jesus’ answer to a scribe searching for a way through the complexity of Scripture. Jesus brings together the commands to love God and love neighbor, offering a through line for faithful life. The sermon applies that same wisdom to the complexity of politics, arguing that Christians should not escape political life, reduce it to a single issue, or simply surrender their judgment to a party or political leader. Instead, Scripture and the community of the church can form Christians to approach public life with wisdom, humility, and a commitment to neighbor love.

The message explores what neighbor love looks like when Christians exercise political power. A vote and a voice are presented as forms of stewardship, resources entrusted to us that can be used for the good of others rather than simply for ourselves. Particular attention is given to neighbors who can easily be overlooked, including the biblical pattern of concern for the widow, the poor, the immigrant, and the orphan. And political action is expanded beyond the ballot box to include embodied acts of service that seek the flourishing of our communities. Through stories of serving as a poll chaplain and Christian ministry in Mexico, the sermon shows how ordinary acts of faithfulness can transform our common life in ways that political victories alone cannot accomplish.

Ambassadors, Not Culture Warriors Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

Launching The Body Politic series, this message asks how followers of Jesus can engage politics without simply adopting the divisions, fears, and methods of the surrounding culture. Rather than telling Christians which candidates or positions are "most Christian," the sermon invites the church to "show its work" by developing a biblical imagination for public life. Politics is framed broadly as the way we manage our common life together and as one of the places where Christians can practice love of neighbor. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 5:16–21, the message argues that Jesus changes not only what Christians believe, but how they see other people, especially those with whom they deeply disagree.

At the center of the sermon is Paul's description of the church as ambassadors entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. In a culture that profits from turning neighbors into enemies, the church bears witness to another kingdom by becoming a people whose allegiance to Jesus runs deeper than partisan identity and whose life together demonstrates the reconciling power of the gospel. Political engagement, then, is not about domination or withdrawal, but faithfully representing Jesus in public life.

The Politics of Loving the City Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

Building on the themes of Jonah, this message explores Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, asking how the command to love our neighbors shapes Christian engagement in public life. As Jesus responds to the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor?", he refuses to narrow the scope of love and instead tells a story that overturns expectations by making the despised Samaritan the model of faithful discipleship. The sermon highlights how genuine neighbor love moves toward those in need, willingly bearing personal cost and shifting the central question from "What will happen to me?" to "What will happen to them if I do nothing?"

The message also considers how love of neighbor extends beyond immediate acts of compassion to addressing the conditions that leave people wounded along the roadside. Drawing on the witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr., the sermon argues that Christians are called both to care for those harmed by injustice and to seek the transformation of systems that perpetuate suffering. Ultimately, the Good Samaritan points to Jesus himself, who identifies with the wounded, the marginalized, and the outsider, inviting his followers to engage civic life as ambassadors of God's kingdom with mercy, courage, justice, and sacrificial love.

Loving The City Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

Concluding the book of Jonah, this message explores the prophet's surprising anger after Nineveh repents and receives God's mercy. Rather than celebrating revival, Jonah reveals that his deepest struggle is not with Nineveh but with the character of God himself. Set against the backdrop of a polarized political season, the sermon invites listeners to consider how fear, outrage, and resentment can shape the way they see their neighbors. Through God's patient questions to Jonah, the message challenges believers to examine whether their anger is producing the fruit of God's kingdom or drawing them away from the compassion of Christ.

The sermon also emphasizes that Christians are called to love their cities without becoming captive to partisan identities. Just as God pursued Jonah with patience and grace, he continues to pursue his people, inviting them to share his love for communities filled with brokenness, injustice, and people in need of mercy. The open ending of Jonah becomes a question for every generation: Will we love the people God loves? Followers of Jesus are called to engage public life as ambassadors of God's kingdom, praying for their cities and seeking the good of their neighbors with humility, justice, and compassion.

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