In the final week of our "Seven" series through Jesus' seven messages to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, we are with the church in Laodicea. Jesus' letter to the Laodiceans is the only letter where he has only rebuke for the church. His primary issue with this church? They had established a way of life that was comfortable and complacent, lacking passion and dependence. Jesus described this way of life as "lukewarm". He called them back to a heart of zeal. 

Guest Preacher: Everett Pollard from Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church

Main Point(s):

Self-reliance blinds us to our need for Jesus and keeps us from real relationship with Him. Jesus confronts our self-reliance and restores us to real relationship with Him by...

1. Reminding us of who He is (v. 14).
2. Revealing who we really are (vv. 15-17).
3. Reaching out to us in love (vv. 18-20).
4. Restoring us to share in His life and rule (vv. 21-22). 

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The church in Philadelphia was a small church. They didn't have much influence, power, or resources, but Jesus celebrated them and, because of their faithfulness, presented an open door of opportunity to advance the mission of Jesus in their city. 

I couldn't help but think of our young church as I read, studied, and preached on Revelation 3:7-13. We are young. We don't have much power or influence. We don't have many resources. Yet, I truly believe God has given us an open door of Kingdom opportunity in our city. But we must walk through it together. 

Where is God giving you opportunities to partner with Him today? I pray you see them and walk through them!

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Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6 (The Church in Sardis)

In week 5 of our "Seven" series we're looking at Jesus' words to the church of Sardis. Jesus accuses the church of being dead even though they had a reputation for being alive. This was a church who had a history of doing things in the name of Jesus but had grown complacent. They had settled for having an appearance of life to others but being spiritually dead in the eyes of God. Jesus exposes this reality, not to shame them but to call them back to faithfulness. Jesus' heart is to see us be fully awake and fully alive. If you aren't, then He longs to revive you!

Guest Speaker: Charlie Craige (Georgia State FCA)

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Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29 (The Church in Thyatira)

Jesus' letter to the Thyatiran Church is intriguing. It's the longest letter, but it's to the smallest church in the most insignificant city. Unlike the other churches, Jesus' focus isn't on what's happening in the culture and how it's affecting the church. His focus is actually on what's happening inside the church. There was a self-proclaimed prophetess in the church (referred to in this passage as "Jezebel") who had gained influence and was leading the people astray. Jesus rebuked them for having tolerating false teaching rather than protecting the church by exposing it. 

"Bad theology hurts people." -Ray Ortlund

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Pergamum was one of the most influential cities in the Roman Empire. Home to the seat of Roman power and filled with Greek and Roman pagan temples, Pergamum was a wave of resistance against the Way of Jesus. In this letter to the Church in Pergamum, Jesus commends them for not renouncing their faith in the face of persecution and suffering. However, he rebukes them for compromising and calls them back to a life of faithfulness. 

The reality is: The enemy is wiling to do whatever it takes to get you to stop following Jesus. If he can't get you to renounce your faith, he will try to get you to compromise it. But Jesus promises to sustain and reward those who stay faithful to him and endure to the end. 

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The introduction of this message was cut short during editing. We shared the story of Polycarp, the Lead Pastor of Smyrna, and his martyrdom in 155AD. You can read the totality of Polycarp's story here. 

What is a successful church? What is a successful life? More important, what does success look like to Jesus? The church in Smyrna was known for poverty and persecution not impact and influence; yet Jesus had no rebukes for them. Jesus celebrated them because they were faithful in the face of suffering, persecution, and death. They had opportunity after opportunity to compromise for the sake of an easier life and they resisted in order to be faithful to Jesus. Jesus sees everything we go through in order to be faithful to Him and it will all be worth it in the end. 

Teaching Text: Revelation 2:8-11

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To kick off our new series "Seven: Jesus' Words to the Church Today" we are looking at Jesus' word to the church in Ephesus. Planted by the Apostle Paul (Acts 19), the Ephesian church had a reputation for being a great church. However, Jesus had one thing against them... They had forgotten the love they had at first. In all their ministry efficiency, faithfulness, and productivity, they had forgotten their "why". If it can happen to the Ephesians, it can happen to us. We want to be a first love church filled with first love people. 

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In our final week of "Pursuit: Moving Towards What Matters Most", Pastor Blake calls our church to be people of sacrificial mission for the sake of expanding the Kingdom. Jesus came to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, then gave that same mission to the Church. Throughout history, the Church has wrongly sought to pursue Jesus' mission through human means: war, power, conquests, violence, politics, etc. But how did Jesus teach us to expand His Kingdom? Through sacrificial mission. He served, bled, and died, laying his life down for others, in order to see people saved and the Kingdom advanced. Why would we think He's called us to anything different? In this message, you will hear Pastor Blake discuss what the Kingdom is and how God longs to use our lives to increasingly expand it for His glory and the good of humanity. 

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In Jeremiah 29, God speaks the prophet to the people of Israel who had been exiled to a foreign land and godless city. He calls them to live in it, to love it, and to look forward to God's future rescue as they do. Using this text, Pastor Blake gives us a vision of how to live in our city in this cultural moment. We don't distance ourselves from it. We don't become like it. We live in it and leverage our lives for it as we keep our eyes on Jesus and His Kingdom. 

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*Due to inclement weather, we were unable to gather in-person so this message was recorded during a virtual gathering via zoom.

As we continue in our series "Pursuit: Moving Towards What Matters Most", we are focusing on our church's pursuit of unity. This pursuit requires us to be people who live our lives in faithful community. The calling to be a faithful community responds to the need of this cultural moment and the calling of God on His church. 

Faithful Community is...

1. Incarnational :: Rather than living in isolation or virtual reality, they intentionally choose to live in relational proximity to one another. They show up in-person to practice the ministry of presence.
2. Vulnerable :: Rather than creating a facade to hide behind, they allow themselves to be seen and known. They commit to being trustworthy, creating a safe space so others can be seen and known. 
3. Missional :: Rather than placing their own needs or preferences at the center, they place the mission of Jesus at the center and pursue it together. 
4. Accountable :: Rather than abandoning a brother or sister to go their own way, they commit to "stirring one another up to love and good works". They covenant together and help each other stay faithful to Jesus. 
5. Loyal :: Rather caving to convenience, they commit to being someone who is reliable and cultivating a community that can be counted one. The world is flakey and unreliable, a faithful community is dependable.

"A faithful community is a family of stubbornly loyal relationships formed around the person and mission of Jesus, radically committed to Him, one another, and advancing God’s Kingdom in the world."

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