Grace Bible Church Columbia, MO

Sardis – 7 Churches - Revelation 3:1-6

Dead or Alive?   Can something look alive but be dead?  Sardis was a Church of contrasts – rich but broke – secure but vulnerable – alive but dead!  This city of disparities was the 5th in Revelation – a city of hypocrisy and worldliness.  This was not a typical barrel of good apples with a few bad – this was mostly bad with just a few being faithful.  This city is the warning not to live on a reputation but showing us it is vital to continue in faith!  What does not grow is dead.  James talks about faith that tries to survive without service – it dies. Jesus calls on Sardis to find those few who are still alive and return to their ways. Jeremiah 6:16:  “The Lord said: My people, when you stood at the crossroads, I told you, “Follow the road your ancestors took, and you will find peace.” Sunday we will all go to that crossroad – we will look down the lanes of time – we will be encouraged to seek the familiar path – the path shown by those who have gone before us.  See you Sunay at the crossroads! Pastor Mike

Thyatira – 7 Churches - Revelation 2:18-29

“Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives.” Jerry Bridges (Respectable Sins) Thyatira: This was a busy Church – lots of good things happening and many opportunities to grow and share the Gospel – sounds like a wonderful place to join! And yet…. Thyatira had a real problem – they were too nice – too kind – too inclusive. They were tolerant. This is the longest letter to the seven Churches and probably least know to us. We first hear of this city when Paul is in Philippi and meets Lydia who becomes a believer. In cities of great prosperity there also seems to be a great temptation to compromise – live and let live! Such tolerance erodes the Christian faith and dissolves the courage of believers. Sunday we will talk about how it is possible to do so many things well but still have a ‘Jezebel’ in the midst. We can never do enough good that God will simply overlook our sin. I have been reading again the book by Jerry Bridges – Respectable Sins where he so very well points out that there are none! No level of sin is acceptable and none will be tolerated by God. Join me Sunday as we visit another of the Seven Churches – maybe the one most like the American Church? Come and see! Pastor Mike

Pergamum – 7 Churches - Revelation 2:12-17

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”  C.S. Lewis – Screwtape Letters The City of Pergamum is a paradox – on one hand they a hero of the faith who gave his life for his faith – Antipas.  This great life of courage was lived in the backdrop of Satan’s throne. In spite of this testimony the Church suffered from being too accommodating – accepting four kinds of tolerance that was not aligned with the heart of God.  Sunday we will look at all four and be reminded of the call to live a holy life in the midst of an unholy world.  I will do my best to help us understand such mysteries as the ‘hidden mana’ and whose name is written on the ‘white stone’ and awarded to us.  What a great look into this Church with strengths in the face of horror and weaknesses like all of us face.  Much to learn and much to apply – see you Sunday! Also, all my quotes will come from Screwtape Letters – one of my favorites by C.S. Lewis. Pastor Mike

Smyrna – 7 Churches - Revelation 2:8-11

The First and Last – Smyrna – The Suffering Church Smyrna is our next stop – a city named for the incense myrrh and known for its great beauty and Greek games.  But in this city was also great persecution for believers – they suffered under the pressure from the Roman world and the Jewish zealots who despised them for their view of Jesus as Messiah.  These faithful followers faced discriminations and poverty and slander and prison and even death!  In all of this the Lord was watching – “Hebrews 6:10: “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” God sees the needs of His people and meets those needs in His way – not always what we think or expect. Myrrh became a great example of suffering even to the point of death.  Myrrh is associated with the Altar of Incense and fittingly speaks to our prayers lifted up to heaven as in 2 Cor 2:15: “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing”. Sunday we will visit Smyrna and listen in to the Angel’s description to John about this Church.  There are things to learn and things to imitate – Come and hear! See you Sunday, Pastor Mike

Ephesus – 7 Churches - Revelation 2:1-7

John moves quickly from the ‘One who was’ as Jesus was with the disciples for 3+ years and on toward ‘the things which are’ and addresses the Seven Churches of Asia Minor.  We start with Ephesus and commendations and condemnations of that Church.  The recurring theme of all Seven is repentance and restoration.  God desires for each Church to return to the passion and faith of their beginning.  Ephesus has ‘lost its first love’ and John explains how to get that back.  Sunday I will take us through the same path – where we began and where we may have drifted toward.  Restoration is more than cleaning up – it is putting things back as they began! This is a great start to the Seven and I hope you will join us –  Pastor Mike