Crossroads - Weekend Messages

Jesus died and rose again, and poured out His Spirit, so that the church may be salt and light in this world. Both of those images, salt, and light, show something that has a positive and important impact on something else. But the church has always struggled with becoming too identified with its host culture. And when the light is hidden, or the salt loses its flavor, it can’t serve its God-given purpose. The church in Pergamos in Revelation 2 is having this same struggle.

Sometimes life is messy. Unfortunately, there are other times when life is downright brutal. The Church in Smyrna was experiencing brutal persecution. The kind that we read about in books that we cannot even fathom. Jesus, their Lord and Savior, knew everything that this church was going through. And Jesus wanted to encourage and build up this broken church. And there is much that we can learn from His encouragement to them.

As Christians, we love reading the epistles in the New Testament, as the Lord uses His apostles to help guide local churches. Many people do not realize that Jesus Himself inspired seven letters to seven churches in Revelation 2-3. We will be seeing Jesus’ letter to the Church in Ephesus, where Jesus invites them to make sure their love for Him is the priority.

God wants us to live out the story of Jesus. Jesus came on a rescue mission to save us from our sin, but he also came so that we could have an abundant life. In the letter to the church in Philippi the Apostle Paul gives us some practical steps we can take to learn what it means to live out the story of Jesus in our lives to be transformed in Jesus’ name and live the abundant life.

Have you ever seen Jesus? Like with your own eyes? Have you ever wondered how He looks? What He would be like in His glorified state? Well, John sees an extraordinary vision of Jesus. And he does His best to explain what he saw to us. Talk about a revelation of Jesus! You don’t want to miss this!

It is easy to take things for granted. We know that we shouldn’t, but unfortunately, in the busyness of life, it happens. Our families and friends, our present blessings and circumstances, where we are on life’s journey can all be taken for granted. And it is all too easy to take Jesus for granted. And not only the blessings and gifts He brings, but often who Jesus is. As we continue our series through the book of Revelation, we will focus on how Jesus works.

For many years we have been looking forward to this! We are starting a journey through one of the most complicated and controversial books in the Bible: the Revelation of Jesus Christ. There are many, many important lessons to be learned. As we begin this journey, the most important lesson is that the Book of Revelation is not primarily about the end of the world, the AntiChrist, or the Mark of the Beast. It is about the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This entire book is about seeing Jesus clearly.

As we begin a brand new year as a family of faith, we are always looking to what Jesus might be inviting us into. 2021 was a beautiful and challenging year. But it’s in the past! What is Jesus wanting to do in our midst as we move forward? In our annual vision Sunday message, Pastor Daniel will unpack what we understand to be God’s heart for our church family.