Pastor Symps leads us into the study of Revelation Chap. 3. Jesus now dictates His letter to His church in Sardis. Attention! Not one word of compliment to this congregation! He called this a "dead" church. A dead church does no ministry, experiences no persecution - it is no threat to the enemy, no glory for our Lord. what the Church is, and what the Church does, can never be hidden from Jesus!

Watch out! Pay attention! We, like them, are called to be authentic. Pray so!

We are at the letter to Thyatira, found in Rev. 2:18-29. Lord Jesus commends them for their love, but not for a love compromised. Not for a love unswerving and undistracted towards His Lordship, but He exhorts them for a love that is accommodating towards the world, towards idols, towards seductive sin. So it was with Thyatira; perhaps, Pastor Ryan asks, also with you?

Jesus' letter to the Church at Pergamum (Rev. 2:12117) gives a commendation for there faithfulness, this in the face of the confusion of many ideologies and religions. But this He has against them (and us) - you cannot serve Jesus and something else! You cannot have two masters! Like our past brethren, we must choose this day whom we serve: the Christ, the Word of God with the two-edged sword of authority, or that which distracts us, our idols, those untruths fabricated "in Satan's throne"?

"He who's an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches!"

We read of Smyrna in Rev. 2:7-11. This is the Church persecuted, poverty-stricken, a lustrous city holding many enemies to our brethren, yet Jesus KNOWS them, and comforts and exhorts them to overcome. Our Jesus blesses them with His character (He who conquered death!) and His hope for their future, an eternal hope hat He has prepared for them, for us. Shall we too overcome, to persevere through tribulation?

Pastor Symps concentrates on the letter our Lord Jesus wrote to Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7).

The stern yet loving letter conveyed a loving call to remember their first love. It is an equally fitting and sober call to repentance for Broadway, and any church, today!

At the heart of Revelation is...Jesus. Every description, stage, appearance is about the center of it all....Jesus!

This should be NO surprise..He has always been, is always now, will always be, the center of it all! Do we believe that now? Is he the center of your heart?

In these times, where we can so easily be distracted, Pastor Ryan uses Ch. 1:9-20 to ask these and other tough questions about us and our Lord.

Pastor ran begins our new series in earnest, presenting to our body Chapter 1: 1-8.

Who was Revelation written for? Past or future? for who was it intended to minister to? Pastor Ryan explains how revelation not only shares of the return of your Lord, but also gives us a lens to see the world as God sees it, to be ministered to NOW. We don the perspective of pastoral care, comfort and hope, both then, now and forever! We see in this Book *now* that evil will end, but Jesus our Lord will never end! He is the Alpha and Omega, amen!

Rev. 1:3 proclaims:

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."

To begin our adventure into the great and fascinating book of Revelation, we read the book in its entirety. Pastor Ryan invites 22 members of our body to share Jesus' precious revealing to the Apostle John. Join us as we travel the vision of Heaven and God's purpose for our world in all its glorious completeness.

Pastor Ryan focuses on Ch. 12 of the Book of Revelation, explaining how it is actually the Christmas Story, in panoramic presentation. The scripture explains why we "would" fear, but also promises why we "need NOT" be afraid! Our Savior will always be victorious over the enemy; do not be afraid!

Pastor Ryan helps us dig deep int the fears and joys introduced into their lives, when their common plans for a stable and fulfilling life were turned upside down by the Lord God's eternal and immortal plans, for them, and for us. How do we, in the face of fear, turn to God's great tidings of Joy for our lives?

Matthew ch. 1 and Luke ch. 1 are our Scriptures for today.