Living as Citizens of the Land Called Gospel | Week 4 | How can we adopt the mind of Christ? As we continue in our series Living As Citizens of the Land Called Gospel,  Darrell teaches on the call to live in unity we find in Philippians 2:5-11. This call to unity is not a call to conformity, but rather an invitation to the very oneness we see in the Trinity. As we work through the text we see that the path to oneness is to follow Jesus into humility as the gospel frees us from competition and...

Living as Citizens of the Land Called Gospel | Week 3 | In this week’s sermon, Darrell examines how Paul suddenly goes from evangelistic success to being falsely accused and awaiting trial for his life in a Roman prison. Frustration, bewilderment and despair would be normal reactions to such a fall from grace, but instead, Paul is able to rejoice even in the face of suffering and death. How is this possible? Darrell unpacks how God used what happened to Paul, through Paul and in Paul to show...

Living as Citizens of the Land Called Gospel | Week 2 | In this sermon, Darrell delves into the underlying reason for Paul’s joy as expressed in the opening chapter of his letter to the church at Philippi. Despite his own imprisonment and news of conflict within the church, Paul is anything but discouraged or fearful. His unwavering confidence in the surety of God finishing the work that God started undergirds his joy and fuels his love and affection for the Philippians. Fully captivated by...

Living as Citizens of the Land Called Gospel | Week 1 | In this first episode of our new series on Paul’s letter to the church in Phillipi, Darrell takes us into what we need to know in order to hear his word. Really hear - so as to join the group gathered in a living room in downtown Phillipi. As we listen to Paul’s message, we hear his chief reason for writing - to exhort us to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ (2:27). We hear a call to live lives which are self-evidently...

A man resurrected from the dead? Really? How is it that we can believe what we read in the Gospels to be true - that Jesus really was raised from the dead? 21st-century skeptics find themselves in good company with people who first heard the Good News. And yet, within months, thousands of people throughout the Roman Empire came to believe that the news was true & their lives were renewed. What happened between skepticism and faith? In this sermon, Darrell teaches from Luke 24:1-11,...

Total darkness in the middle of the day, rocks splitting, graves opening, the curtain in the temple torn in two - what does it all mean? In this Good Friday message, Darrell teaches from Matthew 27 on Jesus’ death. He explains how we can read all of this as a response to Jesus’ cry from the cross: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(46). As we work through this passage, we come to see that Jesus suffers this abandonment in our place. Instead,...

People In Sync | Week 9 | In this sermon, Darrell works through the eighth and final Beatitude of Jesus found in Matthew chapter 5. This beatitude addresses the “persecuted blessed.” To be in sync with Jesus and His kingdom means we can expect to be treated the way Jesus was treated. Followers of Jesus can anticipate opposition, even persecution because they crave right-relatedness with him. Darrell asks, “If the world system, secular or religious, could not handle Jesus doing his gospel -...

People In Sync | Week 8 | In the seventh beatitude — blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, invites us — ordinary, broken people, to become partners in his divine work of making shalom in the city. We are called to make a fresh commitment to our gospel vocation to be peace-makers, not just seekers, lovers, or keepers, but makers. As Darell expressed, Jesus bestowed on us incredible dignity to be peacemakers.  First Baptist Church,...

People In Sync | Week 7 | In this episode, Darrell Johnson focuses on Jesus’ description of his kingdom people in Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Breaking the message into two sections around the text (pure in heart, see God), Darrell helps us understand that being pure in heart is not about perfection, but rather a fruit of the One who is purity coming to dwell in our hearts, enabling us to see Him in everything - the most beautiful sight. First Baptist...

People In Sync | Week 6 | In this episode, Darrell Johnson explores what Jesus means when He says: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7). As Darrell works through the text, he asks why mercy is a mark of those in whom the Kingdom dwells, what exactly is this mercy that Jesus blesses, and does this text suggest that we merit mercy by being merciful? Through this exposition, Darrell unpacks the significance of mercy in the journey of those who have been touched...

People In Sync | Week 5 | In this message, Darrel walks us through the fourth Beatitude in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness for they will be satisfied”. In this beatitude, Jesus enters into all our thirsts and restores in us a hunger for which we were created When we come to Jesus he awakens an even deeper longing for him - all of our longings in the final analysis are longings for God.  First Baptist Church, Vancouver, B.C. | January 31, 2010 |Matthew...

People In Sync | Week 4 | Blessed are the meek for they (and only they) shall inherit the earth… Really? Darrell helps us understand the nature of this seemingly upside-down beatitude and its outrageous promise. Through the words of David in Psalm 37, the life of Moses, and the person of Jesus, we learn that meekness is not weakness or passivity but rather it is the true power that defines the coming Kingdom of God. How can anyone become truly meek? Only through the good news of the Meek...

People In Sync | Week 3 | In part three of People in Sync, Darrell's sermon series on the beatitudes, he clarifies one of the more difficult statements made by Jesus, “Blessed are those who are mourning.” How can those in a state of mourning see themselves as fortunate? Darrell helpfully reframes these mourners as “God’s aching visionaries,” those who look to Christ and see what can be and grieve about what is. Not only does this beatitude permit us to grieve, but it reminds us that as we...

People In Sync | Week 2 |Welcome back to the Darrell Johnson Podcast for Week 2 of our People in Sync series, where we journey through the Beatitudes. Today, we dive deep into Jesus' promise: "Blessed are those who are poor in spirit." Join Darrell as he unravels the essence of being poor in spirit and its profound connection to embracing the gospel. Is there a moment when our spirits can be rich? Let's explore these thought-provoking questions together in this enlightening episode. First...

People In Sync | Week 1 | Welcome to a new series from Darrell, on Matthew 5:1-12 - commonly known as the Beatitudes. In this sermon, Darrell Johnson offers an introduction to the passage. Through five observations, Darrell helps the listener grapple with the seemingly upside-down nature of the eight Beatitude statements and reveals the portrait Jesus is painting of His “kingdom-embracing”, and “blessed-are” people. Warning; you may find that we are the ones living upside-down and Jesus is...

On this special episode of the Darrell Johnson Podcast, we are sharing a recent interview that Darrell had with The Canadian Church Leaders Network (CCLN). In this episode, we join Jason, who leads CCLN, and Darrell as they explore themes like the art of preaching, going the distance in ministry and marriage, and Darrell’s thoughts on the ancient Ten Commandments’ continued relevance in a modern world. Throughout the entire conversation, there is one thread that continually emerges as vital:...

Christmas According to John | Week 3 In the final sermon of this Christmas series, Darrell continues his exposition of John 1 by making the case that our greatest need as humans is to see the glory of God. This deep human desire to behold glory is at the heart of John’s gospel and for John, the whole life of Jesus is one sustained manifestation of the glory of His Father. In this way, the Christmas story is not only filled with great wonder but with the incredible manifestation of the...

Christmas According to John | Week 2 Darrell calls these opening verses of the Gospel of John an “overture,” because it not only sets the stage for what is to come but draws us step by step more deeply into an ever greater sense of wonder. He breaks down words and concepts like logos, bios, zoé, and cosmos to prove that Jesus is in fact the Life and the Light of the world, begotten not made and therefore God.  Darrell expands Jesus’ claim that because we have seen Him, we have seen God: ...

Christmas According to John | Week 1 The month of December can be a busy time of year in our modern world, yet it is during this Christmas season that the cultural spotlight shines on Jesus more than perhaps any other time of the year. This Christmas, Darrell invites you to soak in the opening verses of the Gospel of John, a passage that takes us into the very heart of the Advent Christmas Season. Join Darrell as he takes us back before Bethlehem, to the very beginning. For as we enter...

Listening To Jesus Pray For Us | Week 4 | In this final episode in our series on John 17, Darrell talks about the conversations that take place in sacred spaces. In the New Testament, we see many interactions between Jesus and the Father but the most clear and defining moments are here in John 17 and in Hebrews 1-2 where we witness God finally speaking to us about his Son. Both these scriptures open our eyes to see the deep affection, trust, and union between the Father and Son. And here,...

Listening To Jesus Pray For Us | Week 3 | In part 3 of this 4 part series, Darrell proclaims that our invitation to listen to Jesus pray to His Father is an invitation into the very center of the universe. It is one thing to hear Jesus preach, but it is another thing to hear Jesus pray. And as he prays for us, he prays that we would be unified with Him and the Father. We are being invited to join in the intimate dance at the heart of the Trinity. In this sermon, Darrell helps us go deeper...

Listening To Jesus Pray For Us | Week 2 | In part 2 of the series “Listening to Jesus Pray for Us,” Darrell highlights from John 17 how Jesus' deep desires for his disciples are revealed to us in this prayer. Jesus prays that we may know God, by knowing Him, the one God sent. He wants us to be set apart, by following His way in the world. Then ultimately, in Jesus’ own journey, he wants to be glorified so that the Father is glorified and that we may also be partakers in the glory of this...

Listening To Jesus Pray For Us | Week 1 | In this first episode of Darrell’s sermon series on John 17 called “Listening to Jesus Pray For Us," Darrell invites us to step into John’s gospel with him and listen to Jesus’ prayer to His Father. With the cross on the horizon, Jesus pours out his heart in the presence of his disciples. This passage provides a window for us into what Jesus prays, not just for the disciples, but also for us. This was the central request of the disciples, and here, in...

Perhaps you’ve wondered how to relate to the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, or whether or not these ancient words are even relevant for today. In this sermon Darrell speaks to these wonderings by explaining how the living God frees human beings to flourish by giving the Ten Commandments to protect and enhance our freedom. Darrell proposes that these commandments are a gift of grace, and they are enduring promises to humans from the Creator that tell us how we best function in the...