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Creekside Church, Sunday, February 1, 2026
Lamb Power
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 8:25 AM
Sunday 9:45 AM
Sunday 11:15 AM
THE UNVEILING OF HOPE
Revelation is the unveiling or revealing of Jesus. It is ultimately a revelation of hope. Today we are going to meditate on specific images that lead us to the table of communion.
THE SCROLL AND THE WEEPING PROPHET
REVELATION 4:1-11 John is swept up into the throne room of heaven. He sees God on the throne surrounded by beings worshipping him.
REVELATION 5:1-4 In the right hand of God is a scroll with seven seals. This scroll is the blueprint and purpose for reclaiming the earth from evil, ending suffering, and bringing about the new creation. John weeps because no one in heaven or on earth is found worthy to open it. If the scroll stays closed, evil wins.
THE SHOCKING REVEAL
REVELATION 5:5-6 John is told the Lion of Judah has triumphed and can open the scroll. But when he turns to look, he does not see a Lion. He sees a Lamb standing as if it had been slain.
Jesus did not become a Lion in Revelation; he redefined what a Lion looks like. He is worthy because he bears the scars of sacrifice. In the kingdom of God, power is measured by the depth of sacrifice, not the height of a throne.
THE ARNION: THE LITTLE LAMB
The word used here for Lamb is arnion. It appears 28 times in Revelation. It does not mean a great ram; it means a little lamb or a pet lamb. John uses the weakest word possible to describe the most powerful figure at the center of the universe.
His power is found in sacrificial love, patience, and humility. This is a shocking image that challenges our ideas of strength. We often want a God who wins by beating people up, but we worship a God who wins by being beaten for us.
THE PATTERN OF HISTORY
REVELATION 6:1-17 The middle of the book moves through cycles of seven: Seals, Trumpets, Signs, and Bowls. These are not a timeline of the future; they are lenses for looking at the patterns of history between the ascension and return of Jesus.
THE SEVEN SEALS: THE MIRROR OF HUMAN SIN When the seals open, God gives permission for human history to run its course. Judgment often looks like God handing us over to the consequences of our own choices.
The Four Horsemen represent what human empires naturally do:
Conquest
War
Famine
Death
THE FAITHFUL WITNESS IN THE VIOLENCE
REVELATION 6:9-11 The fifth seal shows the church caught up in this violence. The martyrs cry out, How long, Sovereign Lord? They are told to rest.
REVELATION 6:12-17 The sixth seal shows the Day of the Lord. The world trembles and asks, Who can stand?
REVELATION 7:1-17 Before the final destruction, there is a pause. God’s people are marked with a seal. They are not saved from the tribulation, but they are saved through it.
John hears the number of a military unit: 144,000. But then he sees a multitude that no one can count from every nation and tribe. They wear white robes and stand before the Lamb who is their Shepherd.
THE CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH
In the face of empires that wield war and death, the people of the Lamb stand firm. We will not grasp for power. We will not join the war. We will not fear death.
John writes this to a persecuted church to say: Hold on. Do not collapse into the world’s ways and do not collude with the beast’s power. True power is Lamb Power.
To follow the Lamb means: Choosing humility and peace-making. Siding with the poor and the oppressed. Welcoming the stranger and caring for the sick. Loving even when it costs you everything.
The temptation is to borrow the world's weapons because we are afraid of getting crushed. John says: Keep following the Lamb.
PRAYER AS THE ENGINE OF HISTORY
REVELATION 8:1-5 When the seventh seal opens, there is silence in heaven for half an hour. Heaven stops to listen to the saints.
An angel stands at the altar with a golden censer. The prayers of the saints rise like incense. Then the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth.
Your prayers are the most powerful act you can perform. They are not lost. They are collected, and one day they become the engine that brings about the final redemption of all things.
COMMUNION: JOINING THE ARMY OF THE SLAIN
We end today at the table because Jesus is always the Lamb. Communion is the tangible way we remember his way of winning.
If you are a follower of Jesus, we invite you to the table. If you are not, we are glad you are here, and we simply ask you to observe as we worship.
As we sing, talk to Jesus about where you are tempted to forsake his way. Ask him to strengthen you. Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are under literal persecution.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
1. In your social media interactions or your workplace conflicts, are you using "Beast Power" (mockery, power plays, cancel culture) or "Lamb Power" (truth spoken in love, humility, and patience)?
Identify one "battle" you’ve been trying to win with anger, and try winning it with the Lamb's "vulnerable truth."
2. In the 5th Seal, the martyrs ask "How long?" and are told to rest.
We live in a "fix it now" culture. Lamb Power involves the "patient endurance". It means trusting that God is working in the "silence" and that we don't have to take matters into our own hands through unethical shortcuts.
Where are you trying to "force" a result rather than waiting on the Lamb?
3. Our job is not to "save" Western civilization; it is to "witness" to a different Kingdom. When we act with kindness to those who disagree with us, we are exercising Lamb Power. Find a way this week to serve someone who represents a "threat" to your comfort or your worldview.
4. This week, when you see something in the news that makes you angry, don't just "vent" it to your friends. "Fill the Censer." Turn that anger into a specific prayer for the victims and the perpetrators.
Revelation is the unveiling or revealing of Jesus. It is ultimately a revelation of hope. Today we are going to meditate on specific images that lead us to the table of communion.
THE SCROLL AND THE WEEPING PROPHET
REVELATION 4:1-11 John is swept up into the throne room of heaven. He sees God on the throne surrounded by beings worshipping him.
REVELATION 5:1-4 In the right hand of God is a scroll with seven seals. This scroll is the blueprint and purpose for reclaiming the earth from evil, ending suffering, and bringing about the new creation. John weeps because no one in heaven or on earth is found worthy to open it. If the scroll stays closed, evil wins.
THE SHOCKING REVEAL
REVELATION 5:5-6 John is told the Lion of Judah has triumphed and can open the scroll. But when he turns to look, he does not see a Lion. He sees a Lamb standing as if it had been slain.
Jesus did not become a Lion in Revelation; he redefined what a Lion looks like. He is worthy because he bears the scars of sacrifice. In the kingdom of God, power is measured by the depth of sacrifice, not the height of a throne.
THE ARNION: THE LITTLE LAMB
The word used here for Lamb is arnion. It appears 28 times in Revelation. It does not mean a great ram; it means a little lamb or a pet lamb. John uses the weakest word possible to describe the most powerful figure at the center of the universe.
His power is found in sacrificial love, patience, and humility. This is a shocking image that challenges our ideas of strength. We often want a God who wins by beating people up, but we worship a God who wins by being beaten for us.
THE PATTERN OF HISTORY
REVELATION 6:1-17 The middle of the book moves through cycles of seven: Seals, Trumpets, Signs, and Bowls. These are not a timeline of the future; they are lenses for looking at the patterns of history between the ascension and return of Jesus.
THE SEVEN SEALS: THE MIRROR OF HUMAN SIN When the seals open, God gives permission for human history to run its course. Judgment often looks like God handing us over to the consequences of our own choices.
The Four Horsemen represent what human empires naturally do:
Conquest
War
Famine
Death
THE FAITHFUL WITNESS IN THE VIOLENCE
REVELATION 6:9-11 The fifth seal shows the church caught up in this violence. The martyrs cry out, How long, Sovereign Lord? They are told to rest.
REVELATION 6:12-17 The sixth seal shows the Day of the Lord. The world trembles and asks, Who can stand?
REVELATION 7:1-17 Before the final destruction, there is a pause. God’s people are marked with a seal. They are not saved from the tribulation, but they are saved through it.
John hears the number of a military unit: 144,000. But then he sees a multitude that no one can count from every nation and tribe. They wear white robes and stand before the Lamb who is their Shepherd.
THE CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH
In the face of empires that wield war and death, the people of the Lamb stand firm. We will not grasp for power. We will not join the war. We will not fear death.
John writes this to a persecuted church to say: Hold on. Do not collapse into the world’s ways and do not collude with the beast’s power. True power is Lamb Power.
To follow the Lamb means: Choosing humility and peace-making. Siding with the poor and the oppressed. Welcoming the stranger and caring for the sick. Loving even when it costs you everything.
The temptation is to borrow the world's weapons because we are afraid of getting crushed. John says: Keep following the Lamb.
PRAYER AS THE ENGINE OF HISTORY
REVELATION 8:1-5 When the seventh seal opens, there is silence in heaven for half an hour. Heaven stops to listen to the saints.
An angel stands at the altar with a golden censer. The prayers of the saints rise like incense. Then the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth.
Your prayers are the most powerful act you can perform. They are not lost. They are collected, and one day they become the engine that brings about the final redemption of all things.
COMMUNION: JOINING THE ARMY OF THE SLAIN
We end today at the table because Jesus is always the Lamb. Communion is the tangible way we remember his way of winning.
If you are a follower of Jesus, we invite you to the table. If you are not, we are glad you are here, and we simply ask you to observe as we worship.
As we sing, talk to Jesus about where you are tempted to forsake his way. Ask him to strengthen you. Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are under literal persecution.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
1. In your social media interactions or your workplace conflicts, are you using "Beast Power" (mockery, power plays, cancel culture) or "Lamb Power" (truth spoken in love, humility, and patience)?
Identify one "battle" you’ve been trying to win with anger, and try winning it with the Lamb's "vulnerable truth."
2. In the 5th Seal, the martyrs ask "How long?" and are told to rest.
We live in a "fix it now" culture. Lamb Power involves the "patient endurance". It means trusting that God is working in the "silence" and that we don't have to take matters into our own hands through unethical shortcuts.
Where are you trying to "force" a result rather than waiting on the Lamb?
3. Our job is not to "save" Western civilization; it is to "witness" to a different Kingdom. When we act with kindness to those who disagree with us, we are exercising Lamb Power. Find a way this week to serve someone who represents a "threat" to your comfort or your worldview.
4. This week, when you see something in the news that makes you angry, don't just "vent" it to your friends. "Fill the Censer." Turn that anger into a specific prayer for the victims and the perpetrators.