In the second and shortest of Jesus’ seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor, we hear Jesus speak to a congregation that has been under severe social pressure. They are about to face intense persecution. The encouragement that Jesus gives them is also a great encouragement to us even in the much smaller pressures we face in the 21st century.

As we begin working through the letters of Jesus to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3), we find Jesus addressing the famous church in Ephesus. Like many of our churches, they have many virtues; but like us, they need to remember their “first love.” We can learn from the history of this church about the difficulties all churches face, and the fact that renewal and repentance are ongoing needs in the life of the church.

As we begin a series on the letters of Jesus to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3), we are introduced to the Lord who sees his churches and sends these letters. Regardless of what’s going on in your life or in the church, we need a vision of Jesus to orient our hearts and minds and lives. We can’t adequately understand ourselves, the world, or the church without knowing Jesus.

What are you seeking? What are you longing for? We all experience longings in this life, whether for happiness, a career, or changed circumstances. Hebrews 11 teaches us how faith redirects our longings to be toward the future city of God, and how this future-oriented faith can change everything about our present reality.

In life, and the church, our relationships are never what they are meant to be. Our expectations are never met and sin corrupts our relationships— they are always complicated and messy. So on this journey we must walk with our Lord and be in a beautiful relationship with Him, as this benediction from 2 Corinthians declares. We can receive all our hearts long for: grace, love, fellowship and intimacy.

Will our faith survive in a world full of temptation and struggle, or false teachers and messages that lead us astray? Jude urges us to keep in God's love, but persevering in his love can be very difficult and often it feels like we are failing. So we need to hear the Good Word- benediction. When it feels like we are unable to keep going or are heading off in the wrong direction, then He is able. God is able to keep us standing not stumbling, and able to present us blameless with great joy.

We often wonder whether God is truly for us and committed to us. So we need to look up and see the face of God, and hear the words of God in order to receive His Good Word which shows He is for us, and committed to us. From Numbers 6:22-27, Bruce Cooke invites us to recognize God’s face turned towards us and shining upon us— to see hear that He will provide for us, protect us, and give us peace.

It was said of the early Church as they were getting established that, ‘they were turning the world upside down.’ [Acts 17:6] Not only was the Gospel under the power of the Spirit changing the world, it drastically changed the lives of Jesus followers, the Church. They went from having a pretty predictable life with others who were just like them to being propelled into the center of changing the world, and they often didn’t know what to expect. From Acts 8, Rashad Clemons talks about how God will change our plans, reroute us, so that His fame will spread.

The story of Jesus walking on water reveals that Jesus is the long awaited Jewish Messiah. But Jesus had been revealing His identity as Messiah long before this. Why are His disciples still ruled by fear? From Mark 6:45-56, Al Abdulla talks about what it means to cross over from a state of fear to a confident kingdom building faith.

God’s gift of the Spirit is the ultimate proof: proof that he is committed to his missionary enterprise; proof that Jesus is Lord; proof that God’s promised New Era has dawned; and proof that he will never leave us or forsake us. Jason Hood unpacks this proof from Acts 2.