Jesus has strong words of correction for a church that has grown in love and virtue, but has been tolerant of evil and false teaching. How does a modern virtue like tolerance become grounds of discipline for a church? What sorts of boundaries should a church have around its life and doctrine, to remain faithful to Christ?

Jesus writes to a church that has faithfully endured hardship and persecution, but is drifting into false teaching and immorality. Here are strong words of encouragement and challenge to Christians today to remain steadfastly loyal to Christ and his Word, no matter what pressures we face in this world. Those who persevere will be rewarded with unspeakable blessing in the eternal Kingdom.

Christ's message to the church at Smyrna provides pastoral encouragement for a congregation that treasured Jesus above the material wealth of the Empire. He warns them of increasing persecution to come, but urges them to remain "faithful unto death," promising them eternal life and salvation from God's wrath on the last day.

Christ's personal messages to seven local churches provide a window into the health of the church in the 1st Century, and also offer strong encouragement and exhortation to churches today. In his message to the Ephesian church, we learn of the central importance of love in the life of Christ's people. Doctrinal purity without love is empty, and Jesus has strong words of rebuke and warning for churches characterized by this distortion.

The main activity of these verses is John's commissioning by the Lord Jesus to write in a book the revelation he is about to receive. The main FUNCTION of this commissioning is to highlight the divine authority of Jesus Christ over his people, and over all human history. In this commissioning sequence, we find three important truths about the Kingdom of Christ - realities that will help prepare Christians for the journey they're on in this life, and to provide them with hope and endurance to make it safely home.

John offers a formal greeting to his readers, in which he spotlights the glory of the triune God and the glory of Jesus Christ, in particular. The glorious truths here enumerated about Christ become themes that are expounded throughout the Revelation. These verses provide a compelling glimpse of the person and work of Jesus, and offer a poignant reminder of the beauty of his gospel.

In the first message in this new series on Revelation, Pastor Kyle considers the first three verses of the book, providing principles and guidelines to aid in our approach to Revelation. The star of the story is Jesus Christ, and the people of God are given strong encouragement to keep their hope tethered to his final and decisive victory over evil.

In this ancient song for corporate worship, God's people are warned about the foolishness of trusting in human power for salvation, and exhorted to trust only in Yahweh and his just reign over the world. The psalm is bookended with a call to "praise Yahweh," and his people find ample reason for that praise in his just, eternal kingship.

Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesian churches with a commendation of the letter's courier, and a prayer of blessing upon his hearers. In this message, Pastor Kyle provides an overview of the message of the entire book. If the book of Ephesians were one sermon, it might sound something like this.

Paul concludes his meditation on "the armor of God" by discussing the offensive weapons with which God has equipped his people. Far from cowering in a corner trying to fend off the approaching enemy, the Church of Jesus Christ is advancing against Satan and his kingdom, and Christ has provided his people with the word of God and fervent prayer to launch their offensive strike.