Sardis was an unconquerable city that got complacent and was conquered on two different occasions. Among the people of the church community of Sardis, there were those who were around the worship practices of the followers of Cybele, the mother goddess. The goddess of procreation and productivity. Part of their worship involved cultic rituals, with people wearing robes in the temple and cutting themselves. Their robes would get soiled with blood and dirt, making them unclean.

So Jesus says, "Wake up! You've fallen asleep! You're not paying attention!" calling attention to the practices that made people unclean. But Jesus goes on, "There are some of you with white robes - robes that are not soiled."

Imagine living in Sardis and Jesus gives you this message. You're about to give up on this whole Jesus thing when you hear that there are those who have remained faithful. In other words, we need each other. This is the place where we bring all our struggles and questions and doubts and failures, because this is the place where we're surrounded by people who are with us, cheering us on, and holding us together.

Speaker: Aaron Vis

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

http://bible.com/events/48896799