Dear Church
Jan 21 2024 • Cedrick Baker, Dan Kent, Greg Boyd, Shawna Boren
At the center of Revelation is the cosmic clash between the Lamb of Truth and the Dragon of Deception. But before we meet either, John delivers messages from Jesus to seven churches. Jesus places the utmost importance on the spiritual state of the Church, his bride, and on the role she plays in the Lamb’s battle against the Dragon. To each church Jesus offers words of encouragement and words of rebuke, and this inspires us to ask: “What words of encouragement or rebuke might Jesus be speaking to us, the Church, today?” As we listen, we heed John’s words: “Let those who have ears hear what the Spirit is saying.”
Sermons in this series:
In this sermon, Greg calls the church to pay attention to the reality of spiritual warfare that pervades our world, and then he follows this with direction on the necessity and the ways to resist the powers that war against God’s kingdom.
Topics: Hope,
Kingdom of God,
Spiritual Warfare
In this sermon, Greg shares a second letter to the church of Woodland Hills that follows the form of the seven churches in Revelation. This letter praises the generosity expressed by the church, and it admonishes individuals regarding the need to live hospitably by examining how our time is eaten up by trivial and distracting busyness.
Topics: Community,
Hospitality,
Relationships
This sermon applies the instruction to “hear” what the Spirit said to the seven churches from Revelation by offering a letter to our church today. Specifically, it is a call to revival, to enter into a new space of renewal so that we might wake up to the work of the Spirit in and around us.
Topics: Repentance,
Transformation
In the last letter to the seven churches, Jesus speaks of the endurance of the Philadelphians. They endure in times of trial and Jesus promises to keep them so that they might overcome and remain faithful. In this sermon, Greg challenges us to remain faithful in the midst of trials so that we might live in love, even when we face resistance.
Topics: Faithfulness,
Love,
Temptation
In this sermon, Shawna Boren explores the letter to the church at Sardis. This letter has a direct and somewhat harsh challenge given to a complacent and overly-confident church. These words are a warning to wake up and see reality for what it is so that we might more fully invest our lives in what really matters.
Topics: Calling,
Repentance,
Sin
In this sermon, Jeremy Duncan, author of the book on Revelation entitled Upside Down Apocalypse, introduces Jesus’ words to the church at Thyatira. He unpacks the meaning of the violent and troubling imagery that we read, and he shows us how these words are meant to wake us up to the ways of the culture that undermine real life that only Christ can give us.
Topics: Love,
Non-Violence,
Power
To the church of Laodicea, Jesus spoke harsh words of confrontation because they depended on wealth for their well-being, living under the illusion of self-sufficiency. In our modern world the pursuit of financial gain is a common illusory trap, one that tell us that it will serve as a foundation for our lives, but, in reality, it cannot be trusted. Only God can be the source of true life.
Topics: Generosity,
Money
Sui Generis is Latin for being of its own genre or unlike anything or anyone else. Each of us has a deep desire to feel special in relation to our Creator and this is the kind of relationship that God wants with each of us.
Topics: Identity in Christ,
Prayer,
Presence of God
This sermon addresses how crowds who are formed around evil agendas serve as seedbeds for Satan. This has been seen throughout history where one crowd sets itself up as possessing the solution at the expense of others. It is based on an “us” vs. “them” mentality. The modern malaise of polarization continues this tactic of the enemy, and as Kingdom people, we must recognize it for what it is and rise above it.
Topics: Conflict,
Politics,
Spiritual Warfare
There is a cosmic war transpiring, one where Satan is in rebellion against God. We are caught up in a battle zone, and we, as parts of the church, have roles to play. This sermon explores how we influence the heavenly realms by being faithful witnesses to God’s character. Through the church, the wisdom of God is made known in mysterious ways that we cannot fully understand.
Topics: Faithfulness,
Non-Violence,
Spiritual Warfare
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