Dying Well in Smyrna: Words for a Persecuted Church
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.
Loving Jesus in Ephesus: Words for a Distracted Church
In this sermon we will open up Jesus’ first of seven letters to seven churches, His letter to the church at Ephesus found in Revelation 2:1–7. This church was embedded in one of the ancient world’s most prominent cities. Under cultural pressure for doctrinal collapse, this church held strong in every important way, except one. Listen in and continue our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation.
A Vision that Sustains the Church
The Book of Revelation is an often avoided part of our Bibles, by readers and by preachers alike. There are good reasons for this, including its obscure ancient history and its extinct apocalyptic genre. But with a little bit of work, this book will yield blessing for the church in this world—strength to endure in difficult times. With this sermon we begin our series, The Seven: Jesus’ Words to His Churches in Revelation. But before we get into the letters Jesus wrote for these first century churches, we need to behold Christ in majestic glory, a vision that sustains the church.
