He preached from Jeremiah 29:10, where God tells His people that although they will remain in exile for 70 years, He will still do all the good He promised—and will bring them home again. That word—home—became the centerpiece of the message. Derek described home not just as a place, but as a promise. It’s where you belong, where you’re known, where you find rest. Like a parent longing for their child to walk back through the front door, God is calling some of us back—out of the chaos, out of the wandering, out of the world—and into the peace of His presence.

He painted the picture of a “home-field advantage.” Just like athletes perform differently when they’re playing in front of their own crowd, something changes when we’re living in alignment with God’s purpose. There’s strength, rest, and even joy when we’re on God’s turf. And that’s exactly what He offers: a place of rest for our soul, a spiritual “home” where we can finally breathe.

Derek shared powerful pieces of his testimony—moments when God showed up in unexpected ways. As a young man, before marriage and ministry, he was working a dead-end job and battling depression. One day during his lunch break, a man who had just gotten out of prison invited him to church. He said yes. That decision led to an encounter at the altar where God touched his heart and started rewriting the story of his life.

He once had dreams of the NFL. He trained, he ran, he pushed himself. But in the middle of a beachside training camp—literally carrying weight on his chest—he heard God say, “Would you do this for Me?” That moment broke him. While others went out to party, he went back to his hotel and wept. God wasn’t calling him to football—He was calling him to faith. Later, Derek would hear God say, “You made it to the NFL—New Found Life.”

Throughout the message, he wove in stories of pain turned to purpose. The loss of his mother. The moments he didn’t understand. The seasons that felt like failure. And yet, all of them shaped the man he is today—a husband, a leader, a mentor to youth and college students, and a follower of Jesus walking out his calling.

Derek reminded us of Proverbs 3:5–6—Trust in the Lord with all your heart… Even when we don’t understand what’s happening, He knows. He knows the plans He has for us. He knows what we need. And even when we don’t get what we want, God still gives us what we need. That’s love. That’s home. That’s hope.

Because in the end—when the pain is deep, the answers are unclear, and the way forward feels impossible—He knows. And that’s enough.

Jeremiah 29:10 (NLT)

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.’”

Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.”

Acts 3:16–17 (NLT)

Verse 16:
“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.”

Verse 17:
“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.”