Dear Church: The Church in Sardis

So far in this series, we’ve looked at the unexpected messages to four churches in modern-day Turkey.

UNEXPECTED MESSAGE:

• It’s better to have no church than an unloving church.

• It’s better to let a church suffer than to prevent it. 

• It’s possible for a church to stand up for Jesus while standing against Jesus.    

• It’s possible for a church to wrongly value staying together over staying faithful.  

• It’s possible for everyone but Jesus to be convinced that a church is alive and well.

Message Scripture Passage:
Revelation 3:1-6

Series Thesis:
KNOWING the truth doesn’t change anything. SUBMITTING to the truth changes everything.

Topics Discussed Today:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 Overview of the church in Sardis: unnoticed, irrelevant.
• 01:45 The church in Sardis started strong but might have become routine.
• 03:37 What does it take to avoid lukewarm faith.
• 05:31 Usage of “woke” in Scripture compared to current cultural usage.
• 11:38 What is Jesus looking for in a healthy church?
• 13:42 What is the heartbeat of believers and the Church?
• 15:17 Adoption, repentance, and the certainty of salvation in Jesus.
• 18:56 Jesus knew us and our future even before we believed in him.
• 21:40 God is gentle and kind to believers, even in discipline and rebuke.
• 25:04 Is the Church for believers or non-believers? Or someone else?
• 28:27 “The gravitational pull to be for ourselves is so strong.” Read 2 Corinthians 5 for the fix.
• 30:30 What are three markers of a healthy church?