Dying Well in Smyrna: Words for a Persecuted Church

Revelation 2:8-11

About the Sermon

In this sermon we will open up Jesus’ second of seven letters to seven churches, His letter to the church at Smyrna found in Revelation 2:8–11. This church was persecuted for her allegiance to Jesus Christ over Caesar, and the heat was about to get turned up further. The comforts of this letter are for all of us as we experience the cost of Christianity in this world, and as we prepare ourselves for what difficulty may lie ahead.

About the Series

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a letter from Jesus Christ to a church like ours? Or, better, because no two churches or contexts are alike, how about seven letters to seven different churches? Then we’d have Jesus’ heart for his church on surround sound. We would know what he wants to change about us, and what he wants to guard. Seven such letters have been discovered, and they are found at the end of the Bible in the often-neglected book of Revelation. We need these letters: letters written to unique churches with unique challenges; letters of commendation and correction; letters concerned with the supernatural, not the superficial; every line reflecting the heart of Jesus for his churches, including ours.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a letter from Jesus Christ to a church like ours? Or, better, because no two churches or contexts are alike, how about seven letters to seven different churches? Then we’d have Jesus’ heart for his church on surround sound. We would know what he wants to change about us, and what he wants to guard. Seven such letters have been discovered, and they are found at the end of the Bible in the often-neglected book of Revelation. We need these letters: letters written to unique churches with unique challenges; letters of commendation and correction; letters concerned with the supernatural, not the superficial; every line reflecting the heart of Jesus for his churches, including ours.

Sermons in the Series