The upcoming 40th anniversary of CVC, combined with a recent need to pass a local fire safety examination, brought about some fascinating discoveries in our building.
In many of our third-floor offices, we have deep cubby holes that serve as long-term storage. To prepare for the fire inspection, we had to clear them all out. Hidden away inside, we found tons of media tracking the early years of CVC—cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and even some reel-to-reel content that we are still trying to find a machine to play! It was an incredible visual reminder that God has been profoundly faithful in allowing CVC to invite people into new life in Christ for nearly four decades.
We actually keep a master document that tracks every single sermon series we’ve done as a church. Some of those details from our earliest years have been lost to the archives, meaning we occasionally have to go ask our founding pastor, Rick Duncan, to fill in the blanks. In 40 years, CVC has had over 2,000 weekends to preach the Word of God. But according to our records—and affirmed by Rick himself—we can officially confirm that we have never preached through the entire book of Revelation… until now.
Beginning on September 6th, we will begin our journey into the book of Revelation from start to finish.
Why Revelation? Why Now?
There is already a massive buzz about this series within our church family and even beyond our walls. I’ve received emails from small groups at neighboring churches asking exactly when the series starts so they can use our content for their own fall curriculum. I’ve also had numerous conversations in the hallways at CVC and via email with people wondering exactly how we’re going to handle a text like this.
There are always a lot of unique considerations when you tackle a book like Revelation. However, one core conviction we hold deeply is that Sunday morning is not intended to be turned into a lecture hall.
We are not going to spend each Sunday dryly debating various theological views and charts, only to share the one we think is right, check a box, and call it a day. Instead, even with a book that can feel as intimidating and divisive as Revelation, our ultimate goal is to preach for life-transformation, not merely the transmission of information.
Because we know there are plenty of deep background questions, one of the ways we plan to share additional context and deep dives is through our blog and written updates. We’ll be writing regular articles ourselves, and we will also be posting links to solid resources that we appreciate and commend to you as you study alongside us.
Finding a “Third Way” to Read
Several years ago, I picked up a little book by J. Scott Duvall called The Heart of Revelation: Understanding the Ten Essential Themes of the Bible’s Final Book. For its concise size (under 200 pages), it is easily one of the best books on Revelation I have ever read. This isn’t because it tries to be an exhaustive, verse-by-verse commentary, but because it is laser-focused on a healthy, pastoral approach to the text.
In the introduction, Duvall perfectly frames the cultural problem we face when approaching this text:
“It certainly seems like all of Christendom responds to Revelation in one of these two ways: willful ignorance or fanatical obsession. I think both responses are wrong. I’m convinced there is a third way of reading the book in context that allows us to understand and live out its main message. If we ignore the book, we miss out on the concluding chapter to the entire story of the Bible, a chapter full of hope and encouragement. Who wants to read a whole book and not finish the last chapter? The Church today desperately needs the vision of hope that Revelation provides. On the other hand, great harm comes to the Church when we try to make Revelation all about us—how we must avoid the mark of the beast, or when the rapture will occur, or how we can identify the Antichrist. We have to read Revelation in context, or we will distort its message.”
I agree wholeheartedly with Duvall’s assessment. Our preaching team has prayerfully set a trajectory for CVC this fall to focus on the massive, sweeping themes that run throughout the book.
If you are curious about how we will approach this journey, here are the broad strokes of what we will be focusing on, what we will be intentionally avoiding, and the mantras driving us forward.
Six Key Themes We Will Focus On
- Jesus Reigns as the Lion and the Lamb – Revelation presents Jesus as both the conquering Lion and the slain Lamb. His sacrificial death is the ultimate path of victory, and His eternal reign is never threatened by the temporary chaos of the world.
- Worship is the Central Issue – The central question of the book is not where people will worship, but who or what they will worship. The beast demands worship; the Lamb alone is worthy of it.
- The Church Must Endure – Revelation strengthens local churches under intense pressure by reminding them that Jesus actively preserves His Church. Sometimes He does this through gentle comfort, and sometimes through firm correction.
- Evil Will Be Judged – Revelation does not minimize or dismiss evil. It shows clearly that injustice, idolatry, violence, deception, Satan, and all powers opposed to God will face final, absolute judgment.
- Hope is Embodied and Eternal – The end of the biblical story is a bodily resurrection, the New Creation, and God dwelling intimately with His people. Eternity is an embodied eternity: either in the lake of fire or in the new heavens and the new earth.
- Revelation is for the Present – This book does not merely tell us what will happen later. It teaches us how to live and love now with fierce allegiance, courage, holiness, witness, and hope.
What We’ll Be Avoiding
- End-times speculation and hyper-specific timelines
- Conspiracy-driven interpretations of current events
- Getting bogged down or lost in secondary details
- Political tribalism
Key Mantras for This Series
- The Church does not need to panic; the Church needs to persevere.
- The question is not whether you will suffer, but who you will worship.
- Revelation gives us clarity, warning, and hope in a world that feels unstable.
Recommended Resources for the Journey
If you’d like to read along with us or dive deeper into your own personal study, here are a few of the primary resources our team will be utilizing during our sermon preparation:
- Reading Revelation Responsibly // Michael Gorman
- The Heart of Revelation // J. Scott Duvall
- Revelation: A Shorter Commentary // G.K. Beale
- The Book of Revelation // Robert Mounce (NICNT)
- Revelation // Thomas Schreiner (BECNT)
Live New,
Pastor Joe
