The size of a church doesn’t always correlate to their health as the body of Christ. There are churches that are huge - they’re bringing in thousands of people, they’re putting on exciting services and maybe even making a positive difference in their community, but their hearts aren’t growing closer to Jesus. As Pastor Mark examines this passage, he’ll examine four of the seven churches that Jesus addresses in John’s vision. They were His Churches. He loved them dearly, just as He loves every church today, even those who have allowed false prophecy in. Because of that love, He brings truth to them, even when it hurts.

Our God is a perfect Father. In His wisdom, He knows exactly what His children need. As much as He hates sin, He loves us far more. It’s because of that love that He hates sin with such intensity. He knows it destroys us and wants to restore us back to His original design, free from oppression. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will draw our attention to the gracious way that God reacts to our failures. Sometimes, He allows natural consequences for us to learn from them. Other times –more often than not – He spares us from what we really deserve, demonstrating His grace and love to draw us into Himself.

Do you ever feel that if only things would get easier--if only I was more financially stable or my family life was better or if I had a better boss-- then I could really thrive in my faith and focus on getting to know God and doing great things for Him. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will begin a study of the book of Revelation. Was John on a life-giving, peace-filled retreat on the coast when he wrote this? Was he in the midst of great career success? No! He had been exiled to the isle of Patmos after being boiled alive. Things were bad. But in those circumstances, God gave him one of his most meaningful visions.

Jesus alone can bring the peace and contentment that so many are seeking through wealth and political power. Just like the Israelites before God put King Saul in place, we often desire a king. We want a person to thank for our success or blame for our failures. Many want the government to do what they are ultimately responsible for. As Pastor Mark continues our study of 2nd Thessalonians in this teaching, he’ll remind us of our need to put God at the head of every element of our lives. Don’t look to governments, jobs, wealth, or even relationships for your purpose and life. Look first to Him and let Him rule in those other areas.

The Church has always been good at making up rules as they go. It’s a tendency for all people. We all want to have control, even over others sometimes. Rules about what you can or can’t wear in church or what type of worship is played aren’t necessarily bad, but all too often, we equate manmade rules with the commandments found in Scripture. As Pastor Mark will point out in this message, Paul encountered this in the Church of his day. Many drew from the old, manmade rules of Judaism, while others came up with new ones, but Paul reminded them that God’s Word alone should determine how we live.

There’s a storm coming. For years now, the waves have been increasingly violent as the headwinds warn of what’s to come. Just like modern satellites warn us of coming storms, God gave us the Bible in part as a warning of what’s to come for this world. It’s not meant to bring hopeless fear but to inspire hope and motivate believers and nonbelievers to action. In this teaching, Pastor Mark will challenge us to stand fast in our faith. If you haven’t found that faith, don’t put it off any longer. The storm that’s building on the horizon for mankind is not one you can withstand on your own – you need Jesus to carry you from it.

Do you remember the beginning of COVID? When things started shutting down, stores were selling out of essentials and people were afraid to leave their houses? It felt very much like it could be the beginning of the end. None of us had ever experienced that, and it was a major shock. Fast-forward to now– would you feel the same shock if the same regulations and social behaviors were repeated? As Pastor Mark will point out in this message, whether intentional or not, many of the decisions made during the pandemic have helped prepare the world for the prophecies of Scripture.

Love is much more powerful than fear, but both are effective motivators. As Pastor Mark will point out in this teaching, there are some who will repent and accept Christ largely because they’re afraid of the consequences if they don’t. These people tend to lack the fullness of joy that God desires for them in this life. God’s love is incredible. While all of us should have a fear of Hell, we can have a far greater hope in the love that God freely offers and His promise that we’ll spend eternity with Him.

Our culture has been very effective at desensitizing us to the vile and extreme wickedness of Satan. We have TV shows that humanize or minimize him greatly. They paint him as a misunderstood, harmless myth, not as the raging, scheming, hate-filled beast that he is. As Pastor Mark will illustrate in this message, our enemy is wreaking havoc in our world right now, but what we’ve seen is just a small taste of what he’s capable of. Scripture tells us that Satan is currently being restrained, and when God releases him before casting him into Hell, the world will see his full depravity.

In this teaching, Pastor Mark will continue talking about Hell. It’s not a fun subject, but it’s essential for us to understand as believers. It’s what we’ve been saved from, and it’s our calling to save others from it. Through the years, many have approached this by trying to instill fear, but an even more effective tool for reaching the lost should be the glimpse of Heaven they see in our hearts. The Kingdom of God begins to take hold in our hearts as soon as we accept Christ. And that’s really all it takes. You simply have to accept Him as your Savior - He takes it from there, beginning the transformation that only ends when you stand before Him in eternity.