Jeff Stevens

This church had 2 really big problems. One of them was that they were lukewarm. Before we know what Jesus means by this, we need to dig into the history of the city... The second problem is that they were rich! Jesus calls for them to repent, to be zealous and to remind them that one day, they will dine with HIM!

This week's study from Revelation 3 has us looking at 2 more cities. Sardis is a church that is dying and they need to Wake Up! Philadelphia is a faithful church were Jesus finds no fault. There are a couple of very important lessons from this study. We need to Wake Up! And we need to KNOW that we are safe in Christ!

This address to Thyatira stands in contrast to the earlier to Ephesus. Where Ephesus was in order, they had no love. Where Thyatira has love, they are steeped in sin and lack of order. God is loving and He teaches us to love one another. But He is also a just and orderly God, who desires for us to live for Him, not for our own sinful desires.

Although these address of these churches is not directly to us, we can gather a lot of useful information for the contemporary church. One is that we are called to overcome. Another thing we learn is that we are awarded for our perseverance. But most importantly, we learn that we are seen. Christ does not leave us alone in our suffering. This is good news!

The first city Jesus addresses in Revelation is Ephesus; and for good reason. This church is great at protecting herself, but has forgotten how to love. This is a great lesson for the church today, with a reminder to repent, turn to Christ and then we can love each other well, while still protecting the church.

Chad examines how John is receiving the Revelation while in exile on Patmos. As a faithful servant of the Lord, John does not focus on his present situation, only his faithfulness to God. Chad's message helps to keep us focussed on a ver important aspect of Revelation.

Jesus refers to Himself at the Son of Man. The opening of Revelation helps us to understand that the following message is not just about things that will happen. It is about who Jesus is, as the Son of Man! And because of who He is, we need not fear death!

Today we started to dig into this amazing letter. John is given a vision from God to bring to the 7 churches. But this letter is a Revelation of What? It is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. That means it is not intended to compare to the news, to create conspiracies, to fulfill agendas. This is Jesus revealing Himself to John for the churches in Asia. This letter is a Revelation of the glory, power, might and victory of our Almighty God.

This introduction is intended to get us on track before digging into the text. When was the letter written? By whom? And why? This often misunderstood text is much more simple than some people want to portray. It is a picture of the victory of Jesus Christ!

Mark Little walks us through the requirement to be saved. The misconception that we need to come to Christ already perfected keeps many from understanding grace. This is a great message that we all need to hear!