Tune in as Pastor Josh preaches from Revelation 2:12-17, the letter to the Church in Pergamum:

“So we find in Pergamum teachers who are advocating compromise with the culture around them. As a result they are enticing believers in Pergamum to indulge in sexual immorality and idolatry or just compromise with sin in general…We cannot soothe our conscience by pointing out that we have been faithful in other areas when Christ demands obedience in every area. We are to take seriously any compromise among ourselves…”

(Originally preached on February 4, 2018)

Tune in as Pastor Josh preaches from Revelation 2 this morning, the letter to the Church in Smyrna:

“ We might be shocked by the fact that Jesus expected his followers to die for him. Maybe you became a Christian because you were told that ‘Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life.’ He does have a wonderful plan for every one of his followers, but that plan may well involve torture and death. Notice what Jesus is doing with the promise he gives to overcomers in Smyrna. He is reminding them that death is not what they should fear. It is the second death…“

(Originally preached on January 28, 2018)

Pastor Josh teaches from Revelation 2 this morning, Jesus’ message to the church of Ephesus:

“This letter to the Ephesians, I believe, is one that most clearly speaks directly to this church at this time…their passion for what is right is not echoed by a passion to share this with all those who have not yet heard this message…”

(Originally preached on January 21, 2018)

“Most of the biggest mistakes in interpreting and understanding Revelation are a result of failing to read it in its historical context. Reading it as a road map of all of church history…make the book all but worthless for those to whom it was originally sent to…If I need a chart outlining the last 2000 years of church history to understand Revelation, or if I need to have a passing knowledge of modern day munitions and military superpowers, it would be nonsense to those John wrote to…”

Continuing to draw from Dr. Martin Culy’s material for his teaching, Pastor Josh adds to the list of important instructions for reading the book of Revelation:

4. We must read Revelation in light of the particular historical context to which it is addressed.

5. We must recognize that Revelation makes use of symbols and symbolic uses of numbers.

6. We need to recognize that Revelation often communicates using Old Testament language and imagery.

7. We must notice and carefully consider Revelation’s internal connections.

(Originally preached on January 14, 2018)

Pastor Josh begins with a series studying the book of Revelation:

“Are you compromising so that you don’t receive persecution? The benefits that Rome had to offer exerted significant benefits to live like the culture around them - to assimilate, either to avoid persecution or to enjoy the bounty of what society had to offer. This is a great temptation and this is the temptation that is happening to us today. The temptation to live like the culture around us so that we can enjoy the things that the culture around us enjoys - and also to avoid persecution.

We are going to explore this - this is so relevant for our church today - as we continue through the book of Revelation.”

Key themes of Revelation

1. Christians belong to God; they are His bondservants.

2. Jesus is coming soon.

3. Christians are to imitate Jesus, the faithful witness.

4. Death is not the end of the story.

5. Jesus is the supreme ruler of this world, not Caesar.

Reading Instructions for Revelation

1. This message is to God's own people.

2. We must determine what Revelation would have meant to the first audience.

3. We must read Revelation in light of its complex genre.

4. We must read Revelation in light of the particular historical context to which it is addressed.

5. We must recognize that Revelation makes use of symbols and symbolic uses of numbers.

6. We need to recognize that Revelation often communicates using Old Testament symbolism and references.

7.  We must notice and carefully consider Revelation's internal connections.

(Originally preached on January 7, 2018. The first few minutes of the sermon were unfortunately lost. Sermon prepared from Pastor Josh’s mentor and friend, Martin M. Culy, The Book of Revelation: The Rest of the Story (Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2017).)