If we want to lead people upward, we must make sure God’s Word penetrates our own lives. We must concentrate on our walk with Him more than anything else.

The reason careless worship is so reprehensible is because it fails to recognize the greatness of God. Like the song goes: How Great Is Our God!

Those who know God as Father should honor their majestic Father.

While there are some challenging truths to ponder—at its core, Malachi is really a love letter from God, full of hope & encouragement.

Jesus wants churches to be motivated by love, founded on the truth, strong under pressure & unashamed of His name.

The moderate Christian has a moderate Jesus who makes moderate demands. He keeps Jesus at arm’s length lest this “religion thing” get out of hand. But—that’s exactly what happened at a place called Laodicea.

In some respects, Sardis is the most difficult church to dissect because we don’t really know what was wrong there. When Jesus speaks to the other churches, he spells out the problem so there can be no confusion. But here we are told simply that things looked good on the outside but were dying on the inside.

Let the world do as it will. Left to itself, the world always chooses self-indulgence. But it is the church’s job to shine the pure light of God’s truth in the midst of the darkness. After all—if the church lives like the world, why would the world ever want to be part of the church? Any doctrine that makes it easy to sin or that redefines sin & any doctrine that makes sin less sinful comes straight from hell.

But—writing to the church at Pergamum, He confronts a congregation that had become too open-minded. We need to hear what He says because many churches today find themselves in the same position.

NOTE: I inadvertently said Max Lucado passed away in the message ...NOT TRUE ... he is alive and well! To live in Smyrna meant you were in a hotbed of Caesar-worship & pagan sacrifice. And—as we will see—that put the Christians & this church at a distinct disadvantage.