Sermon Snippets with Max Taylor

Revelation 11:8-19   From the perspective of earth, things look pretty bleak in Revelation chapter eleven. Judgments are being poured out on the earth, people are refusing God’s grace, the enemies of God are celebrating the death of the two prophets, and righteousness seems to be losing. But then comes the hopeful line, “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Ch...

Revelation 11:3-7   We read of two witnesses in Revelation 11, who stand up for God and confront the world. We should be striving to represent God in much the same way as these two ministers in our own lives in this world. Just like them, one day our work will come to an end, and after that we have the resurrection to look forward to. Don’t give up, your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Revelation 11:1-2   In these verses, John is told to go measure the future temple of God that will be instrumental in the tribulation. Perhaps the greatest lesson as we think about the temple down through the millennia is that God is always in control, whether we have an unfulfilled good desire, or are given the opportunity to participate in something we don’t deserve. God’s will is going to be ac...

Revelation 10:7-11   I love the fact that just as God paused the chaotic judgments to give John a glimpse of Himself in Revelation chapter 10, we too can spend time beholding Him each day and hearing His private voice to us (not audibly, but through His Word). Whether or not this message was directed to John personally, we can still be comforted by the sweetness of Scripture and challenged by the...

Revelation 10:1-7   In the middle of Revelation, God pauses the story of unfolding judgment that is to be poured out on earth to speak to John personally-to reveal Himself to John when he needed it most. This is one of the most touching and encouraging chapters in Revelation to me. Before we get to the application, we must understand the setting in the timeline of the book as well as the scene, wh...

Revelation 9:12-21   In the midst of these intense judgments, we see the mercy of God extended and the hardness of mens hearts confirmed. The sixth trumpet judgment results in another fraction of the earth’s population dead, and yet mankind at large still refuses to turn to God. How sad.

Revelation 9:1-12   This title is not swearing or vain threats as we hear this expression frequently used today. In Revelation 9, the place of eternal torment called hell literally breaks out upon the earth. We cannot imagine a time when darkness prevails more than the description in this prophecy. It will be a dark time to be alive unless you have God.

Revelation 8:13 with Acts 14 and Psalm 37   We left off right in the midst of the end of the world. This is a time of calamity and catastrophe like the world has never seen, but how should we live in light of this coming reality? What attitudes characterize the lost, and how should the saved view these events? For that we turn to Acts 14 and Psalm 37 to gain perspective on how we should live in th...

Revelation 8:7-13   What does the word apocalypse mean? It comes from the greek word Ἀποκάλυψις which means to uncover. This word carries two ideas (1) revealing Christ, His second coming, making manifest the Sons of God and (2) the final judgment and the destruction of the world. Today we are looking at the point in time when the world falls apart. It is the end of the world in which Christ will...

Revelation 8:1-6   Picking up where we left off in this remarkable scene, we see the effectiveness of the prayers of all the saints in God’s dealings in the world. And second, we see God’s timing, in His mercy, to redeem the world and His people. With each passing second of silence, heaven waits, the angels adjust their trumpets and prepare to give their ear-piercing blast, earth groans under the...

Revelation 8:1-5   There are two remarkable aspects of this passage in Revelation 8 that have the potential to impact our lives in a marvelous way. First, we see the collected prayers of the saints  down through the ages that result in the decisive action of the Lord in the world. And second, we see the timing of God in pouring His concentrated wrath upon the world. Both aspects are incredibly hel...

Revelation 7:9-17   In life, we rarely see the spiritual impact of our daily obedience to God, but in Revelation 7 we are given a glimpse into the results of these 144,000 Jewish evangelists. This reminds us of the invisible impact of our service to God, it shows us that the most important thing is living for Him, and it encourages us that even when we can’t see the effects of our obedience, etern...

Revelation 7:1-8   We switch our focus from the judgments that come upon the earth to God’s protection of a group of 144,000 Jewish evangelists during the time of the tribulation in chapter seven. Here we see God preserving His people from the destruction that would befall the rest of the world in order for them to fulfill a specific role God has for them. This chapter encourages us to keep servin...

Revelation 6:12-17   In the latter part of the tribulation, the earth gets absolutely pummeled by God’s judgment in the form of these catastrophes: (1) a great earthquake, (2) the sun darkened, (3) the moon turned blood-red, (4) stars falling to the earth, (5) the heavens released, and (6) mountains and islands displaced. This judgment precisely mirrors the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 24. As we...

Revelation 6:9-11   Today we come to the fifth seal judgment which reveals the souls of the saved who were martyred in the tribulation. As they plead for God’s justice to cover the earth from under the altar in heaven, God clothes them in white raiments and tells them to rest for a short season. We will see in the coming verses and chapters that God makes good on His promise to these saints.

Revelation 6:1-8   The tribulation starts out with the promise of peace and security, but things quickly take a turn for the worse. This terrifying time involves widespread disease, ravaging war, economic turmoil, and violent death. But Christ offers true peace that never fades away. He is contrasted with the antichrist’s fake peace in Daniel 8:25-26 and John 10:10 (see also Isaiah 9:6-7, Colossia...

Revelation 6:1   It is important to rightly divide doctrine so in this episode we get an overview of the definitions, denominations, and defining times in history when various interpretations of end-times events occur. The real comfort for believers is that we are promised to be kept from the hour of temptation—the tribulation—which will come upon the whole earth. This is not “escapism” or “abando...

Revelation 6:1   As Christ opens the scroll, we start into the tribulation. Today, we are reminded of the living and inviting aspects of God’s Word and we start to look topically at the time of the Tribulation. We will pick up with a defense of a literal 7-year tribulation next week. Looking forward to it!

Revelation 5:9-14   In heaven, as in our passage today, it’s all about Jesus. How central of a place does He have in your life today? I hope this episode both encourages you and challenges you to make Him more preeminent this week.

Revelation 5:5-10   John describes Jesus as the Lamb, humble in His rejection and exalted in His worship. And heaven erupts with praise at Who Jesus is and what He has done. Take some time to reflect on what Jesus has done for you today.

Revelation 5:1-8   The Word of God—representing God’s last will and testament, His title deed to the earth, and His plan for humanity—is in the hand of God, but it is sealed, and there is no man in heaven or on earth with the authority to open it. This leads John to despair and weep until he sees the Lamb of God, who alone is worthy to open the book. We can rejoice that Christ has the power to car...

Revelation 4:6-11   We’ve been introduced to two main groups in the heavenly crowd around the throne of God—the elders and the four beasts. These two parties have distinct roles in the praise of God, but both are important and beautiful. We begin this episode by examining the beasts more closely, and then we will turn our attention to the twenty-four elders as we close out Revelation chapter 4 tod...

Revelation 4:4-7   As we continue to read about this imagery of God’s throne room, we also start to see who else is there and what they are saying and doing. It is important for us to realize we will see this scene someday. That realization should shape and influence the decisions we make throughout our lives, even on a daily basis. We should live like this is our future, because it is.

Revelation 4:1-5   Today we step back into the scene of the throne room of God with all of its magnificence, trying to imagine what it will be like to experience this and be in God’s presence one day. It is important for us to think about eternity and strive to live each day as if it were our last. We see the sights and sounds around the throne of God, with the people and the overall atmosphere. T...

Revelation 4:1   After the letters to the churches, John was called up to the throne of God where he got to see a preview of the glory and presence of the Lord. This transition makes us think about the limited opportunity to serve God we have right now in this life. Our daily decisions have eternal implications. We need to know that (1) we should be motivated to live for the Lord now, and (2) when...