Let’s get practical. In today’s rush to be relevant and trendy, many preachers have forgotten Who called them and why. Today’s goal is often to build a large “seeker sensitive” church, and to provide practical help in our everyday lives. We are told that we must preach to “transform” and not “inform.” By conscious decision, […]
“…Two or three…gathered…in My name, there am I in the midst” How wonderful to think of the risen Lord, the Christ, the Son of the living God condescending to dwell with men and women! After all, our reputation is nothing to boast of. Rebels from the beginning, we’ve caused the Lord untold grief. But Matthew […]
Do we celebrate each Lord’s Supper “in spirit and in truth”? “This do in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). Such is the Lord’s instruction to us as we meet each week to break bread. And so we might ask ourselves: As we gather around the table, are we truly remembering the Lord? If so, […]
He’ll be seeing you. Two compelling features of the Lord Jesus Christ in His role as the center of any assembly are given to us in the letter to Thyatira. These two great and distinctive characteristics are the focus around which the letter to Thyatira can be understood. “These things saith the Son of God, […]
“I have this against thee…” “Theophany” is a Greek word that means an appearance of God. There are a number of theophanies in the Old Testament as God appeared to His people at various times in history. In particular, these appearances could be described as Christophanies: pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus. Often in these […]
The rich, poor church When John wrote to the assembly at Laodicea, it could not be called a Christ-centered assembly. It had been at one time (Col. 4:15), but now it was the only one of the seven assemblies in Revelation where He was outside the meeting, knocking to get in (Rev. 3:20). Perhaps this […]
City of brotherly love The letter to the church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) is a wonderful letter of encouragement. Philadelphia and Smyrna are the only two of the seven churches in Asia Minor to whom no condemnation is given. But while there is no rebuke needed, we ought not to assume that things were easy […]
The poor, rich church As Christ walked in the midst of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, His fiery eyes beheld the assembly at Smyrna. Among the seven churches described in these two chapters, this gathering of God’s people was clearly outstanding. Along with the church at Philadelphia, Smyrna is noteworthy in that it had […]
The Saviour has a sword! Our world is covered in war. Violence is the ongoing daily pursuit of millions. The Church is also engaged in a fierce conflict, a spiritual war. The Pergamum saints were fighting a vicious battle on the front lines and were engaging the devil, the flesh, and the world from all […]