Podcasts about Sardis

In Revelation 3, the church in Sardis is given a stark warning: you can have the appearance of life and still be spiritually dead. This message calls the Church to wake up, repent, and place our salvation in Christ alone. 

Is American Christianity truly alive—or just playing the part?In Part 2 of this powerful conversation on Jesus' words to the church at Sardis, John and Arden Bevere confront the sobering truth: outward success doesn't always mean spiritual life. Together they expose the danger of having “a reputation for being alive” while drifting into spiritual deadness—and share what it takes to wake up, return to obedience, and see real transformation.______________________________________FREE Show Notes Here: https://page.church.tech/05c526db______________________________________Order premium meat now through Good Ranchers—use code “BEVERE" at checkout: https://go.goodranchers.com/john______________________________________Click here to start your free extended trial with LOGOS today: Logos.com/Bevere______________________________________Support this podcast by becoming a Patron here (tax-deductible): https://3szn.short.gy/JBgive 

What are you know for? What is your reputation to others? In Revelation Chapter 3 Pastor Chad explains how Jesus says to the church of Sardis "You have a reputation for being Alive, but in reality you're dead! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1388/29

What are you know for? What is your reputation to others? In Revelation Chapter 3 Pastor Chad explains how Jesus says to the church of Sardis "You have a reputation for being Alive, but in reality you're dead! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1388/29

Dear Church: SARDIS | Revelation 3:1-6 | Benji Horning

Revelation 3:1-6 Rev. Dr. Marc Shefelton

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptGood morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So we, as I said last week, we are taking a break. We just finished up First Samuel and we are not going to jump straight into Second Samuel. We're going to do that in the new year. We're going to do a series called re member series called Remember. We'll do that through the fall and then we'll do give series and we'll come back to Second Samuel. We're excited about this series. This is an opportunity for us to revisit and remember what it means to be a member of this church. See how clever we are with titles, you guys. There you go. One clap. It's an opportunity for us to revisit what it means to be a member of this church. So we're going to over the next few months walk through our membership commitments and revisit the things that bind us together as beliefs and practices. And then if you are a member of this church, we'll have the opportunity this fall to actually recommit to membership. We're excited about that and we're going to have more information about that at our upcoming family meeting. So make sure that you are there if you're a committed member of our church, to be at family meeting. But we're thankful that we get to walk through this over the next couple months. These 14 different membership commitments that we have before we jump into those commitments today, I want to look at the why and the what of membership. We need to look at the why and the what of membership before we jump into what we actually commit to as a church. Because some folks will pose the question, why membership in the first place? Why do you have membership? Why belong to a church? Some people ask, is church membership even biblical? Like, where do you get this idea? So we're going to examine that idea while also being clear about what it means to be a member of this church. Like what is our membership commitment all about? And there's some language that we use that is going to sound very familiar, that if you ask what does it mean to be a member of of Mill City Church of Cayce, There's a phrase that will show up as we walk through this today. I know it's going to blow your mind like you've never heard it before. But we are a gospel centered community on mission. It's the language we use over and over again. I'm pretty sure it's on the wall somewhere in the lobby. But there's a reason we are that and there is a Reason why that really defines who we are as a church. And we're going to see that as we walk through why membership, but also what it means to be a member of this church. So I want to pray for us and then we will walk through this together.Heavenly Father, I pray that you might help us have ears to hear this morning. I pray that you might help us see why it is good to belong, why it is good to commit to following you, to delighting in you, to loving one another, to being obedient, to take the gospel to our city. God, I pray you'd help us be present and we'd be not just hearers of the Word, but we would be doers of the Word. As we trust you, we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.All right, so why do we practice church membership? Someone will ask, where in the Bible do you find the command to be a member of a local church? Now, this may come as a shock to some of you, but you're not going to find any one verse in the Bible that commands for you to be a part of a church through church membership. There's no Third Corinthians that shows up and says, and be a member of a local church and submit to the elders of that local church. There's not any one verse that really makes this crystal clear, which is if there was, it might make the conversation about membership a little bit easier over the years as we've had it. But what you will see is as you look through the Scriptures, you'll see that God is doing something in setting up his church. And that's what I want to do. For the first part in answering why membership? I want to do what's I want to do a biblical theology of church membership, which is going from the Old Testament to the New Testament to see how God is developing this people that is going to belong to him, with him at the center to declare His Excellencies to a lost world. So that's what I want to do, starting off in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis. So God chooses in the Book of Genesis, Abraham that he's going to form a people through. He promises Abraham he's going to have a great nation that's made through him. And in this selection of Abraham, we see that God is going to have a unique, special relationship with him and his people, unlike the rest of humanity. And there's this promise of this great nation, this great people that he's going to bless the nations through. And then when you get to the next Book of The Bible, the second book, the book of Exodus. You see that God takes his descendants, the twelve tribes of Israel who have been slaves in Egypt. He brings them out of Egypt. And when they're wandering in the wilderness in Exodus 19, you see really the formation and the formal covenant relationship that God establishes with his people. And in Exodus 19 he tells his people in verse 5,> Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.These are the words he shall speak to the people of Israel. Then he tells them that you are my treasured possession. And as this is going to play out, he's going to take this people, his treasured possession to the promised land. He's going to set himself up in the center of his people to be a God centered people that are uniquely his, unlike any other aspect of creation, unlike any other people. And that this people is going to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This people was meant to be separate from the nations that look different, that proclaim the excellencies of God as a light to the surrounding nations. And then this is Exodus 19, right before Moses goes up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. When he gets the Ten Commandments, you see the first four commandments and the Ten Commandments are God centered commandments. This is how to have right relationship with God and worshiping God alone. And then the next six are how to live in good community with one another, how to love one another, how to trust one another, don't lie, don't murder, don't steal. And then the rest of the Old Testament law is really expounding upon those 10 Commandments. It's helping them see in their context, in their time, this is what it means to be a people who has God at the center, who loves one another fiercely in a community that takes care of one another, that looks separate from the nations, that declares how good our God is. And when you read the rest of the Old Testament, you see a people that most of the time falls on their face in trying to live that out, that over and over again. They don't put God at the center, they worship other gods, they don't love each other, they don't serve each other, they take advantage of one another. And instead of looking separate than the nations in order to show how good their God is, they look just like the nations. And that is the reason that they need a Savior and there's this hope from the prophets proclaiming this Savior is going to come. And then Jesus comes.Flip to the New Testament. When Jesus comes, he begins to develop this with new and better language. You see, if you just take the Gospel of Matthew, just start there. When you start reading the Gospel of Matthew, you're going to see what God is doing. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus begins His ministry by preaching the gospel, proclaiming the gospel of his kingdom that is coming, and declaring the good news. And then he also chooses a people. He chooses the 12 disciples, these disciples whom he's going to build his church through. He begins teaching them. You keep flipping. Go to Matthew chapter five through Matthew chapter seven. You read the Sermon on the Mount. This is a retelling of the law and new and really better language, showing the heart of God all along for his people. What it looks like to put God at the center, what it looks like to take sin seriously, to live in community. We see some of this and more teaching, more of his ministry. When you get to Matthew chapter 11, you see that he commissions out his disciples. He puts them on a mission trip to begin to declare the good news of the Gospel to the people in the surrounding areas. You keep reading the Gospel of Matthew, you see more teaching, you see more of his work and his ministry. And then you get to Matthew chapter 18. And then Jesus begins to use a word to describe what this people is going to be, that he's making this new covenant people, and that is the church. The Greek word for that is ekklesia. It means church or assembly. And it shows up in Matthew 18. And Jesus begins to describe what this church is going to look like. It's going to be a people who take sin seriously, who hold each other accountable, who practice radical forgiveness. That is unlike the rest of the world. Jesus continues to teach. He continues to form his people. He continues to disciple his disciples. And then it is time for him to do the work that no one can do. He does the work of salvation. He takes his perfect record of righteousness with him to the cross. He dies on the cross for our sins because we were unable to to obey the law. He dies on the cross, taking judgment upon himself. He conquers death at the resurrection, removing the power of death over his people. And then he looks at his disciples at the end of Matthew and he tells them,> Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.He tells them, you're going to take everything that you've learned from me over the last three years. This message of the gospel that I came to redeem you and save you. This message of what it looks like to be a people that are committed to having God at the center and loving one another. Well, you're going to take that to the nations where they're going to hear the gospel and believe and you can read Mark and Luke and John and you're going to see this story over and over again. Then you get the book of Acts where Jesus ascends to the right hand of God the Father being king over all creation. And then the Holy Spirit descends upon his people and the church begins in Acts 2. You read that Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit stands up, preaches the first sermon at Pentecost and 3,000 people, people place plus people place their faith in Jesus and are baptized. And then we see some of the very first acts of this church and responding to Christ in faith and baptism. It says in verse 42. We'll have more time to study this exact passage in community group this week. I just want to hit some of the highlights to help us see what God is doing here. In verse 42 he says,> And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.That's the teachings of Christ. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. They were a gospel centered people. And it continues into the fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. You go to verse 44.> And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.That they were a people that believed the gospel, devoted themselves to that teaching, but they devoted themselves to one another. They fellowshiped together, they broke bread together, they took care of each other's needs. They saw their brothers and sisters in Christ as more important than money and material things. And they're selling their stuff so that they can take care of one another. And then it goes in verse 47 and finishes.> And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.That this message continues to be introduced to people who hear and believe and are brought into the church to continue to be a gospel centered community on mission to take the gospel to the world that desperately needed it. The church in Jerusalem continues to expand as you follow the story. Keep flipping through Acts. All of a sudden God has a plan to see scatter his people and involves the death of one of his servants, Stephen. He ordains the death of Stephen who's proclaiming the Good news of Jesus Christ and he's murdered for it. And in Acts chapter eight, after he's martyred, it says, and Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And now we see that the plan is spreading, that it's not just a church in Jerusalem now, it's in Judea and it's in Samaria. And the church is going global. One of the ways this has been described is that the church globally is the big sea church in creeds. That's called the Catholic Church. It's not referring to the Catholic denomination, but the Catholic meaning universal. That there's this global, universal church bound together by Christ. But it's not just in Jerusalem, it's in Judea, it's in Samaria. It's scattered in communities across the world in local churches. That's usually called the little C church. But there are little C churches who are forming together with Christ at the center, seeking to be what God has called them. Now the church is spreading past Jerusalem. And then that man who was involved in the killing of Stephen Saul in Acts chapter nine is on his way to persecute more Christians. And then Jesus blinds him, converts him. And then we know him mostly as Paul. And then Paul is set apart to take this even further. And he plants churches all over Asia Minor, all over Europe. And the church begins to spread and expand. As you continue to read the Book of Acts, you see the gospel spreading all over that region. But as these churches are getting established and they're seeking to be a gospel centered people that are taking the gospel to the nations as they're seeking to be this, they start to run into problems. They start to run into different things, different sins, different struggles. There's a bunch of people who the thing that the. The central binding idea that holds them together is Christ. But they're very, very different. Different ethnicities, different cultures, different classes. And as you continue to read the rest of the New Testament, you see that God had a plan for this, that he starts to write letters, inspired scripture through servants like Paul to these churches to help them see what it means to be a gospel centered people. How to fight for what is good, how to repent of sin, how to live in community, how to still have some missional hustle to take the gospel to the nations. But when you read the beginnings of these letters, you see very clearly that these are individual churches. I'll run through a Bunch of them. Really quickly. The letter to the Corinthians, in First Corinthians, Chapter one, it says, to the church of God that is in Corinth, that is that church in that city with their unique issues. This is a letter to that church. Not all the churches, though all the churches, will eventually benefit from this, helping us see now it's not just one global church. There's individual churches where these people belong to one another and have their own leaders and their own issues they're facing. It continues to the churches of Galatia, that's a whole region of different churches that Paul planted in his first missionary journey. To the saints who are in Ephesus, that's the book of Ephesians. To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, that's the book of Philippians. To the church of Thessalonians and God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, that's the church in Thessalonica. You start to see that there is one global church made up of individuals, communities of Christians who are seeking to be centered in Christ, loving one another fiercely and taking the Gospel to their friends and their neighbors. And you follow that thread all the way through the letters and you'll get to the end. The Book of Revelation, which we did last year. And as we saw the Book of Revelation, it's not just apocalyptic literature. It's not just proclaiming what's going to happen. It is also a letter written to seven churches. Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and as we saw last year, all churches with different problems, with different sins, some needing encouragement, all of them mostly needing a smack across the face from Jesus. But those are all individual churches where those people belong to Christ and. And one another seeking to be obedient in following him and taking the Gospel to those who needed it. So that's Genesis to Revelation. While you're not going to find one specific verse that makes this so clear, what you can see from start to finish is that God had a plan to form a people. And that plan was to be localized in churches where there were people that were so deeply committed to following Christ and having a zeal and a desire to worship and delight in him over all things, to be a people, a community that so deeply loved one another and cared for one another, that looked radically different than the rest of the world. So much so that historians at the time were looking at these Christians and saying there's something different about them. And to be a people who are not so self focused that they were going to use their energy and their effort and their time and their money and their lives lives to proclaim the good news to those who didn't know. That is God's plan for redemption. One global church working through individual local churches all around the world. That is God's plan for the church. So when someone says I don't see membership in the Bible, I just want to say it's, you got to read the whole story. You need to see what God is doing. You need to see God's plan for redemption that is through the local church.I was talking to a pastor a few weeks back and he was telling me a story about a guy who had been coming to their church and he said, did this guy come? And he was kind of coming for weeks and they started to introduce the idea, maybe you should think about committing here. And he said, oh no, I don't believe membership is biblical. He's like, I'm a part of the big C church, we're all a part of the same church, but I'm not going to commit to membership here. And he was kind of taken aback and he engaged with the conversation. He said, okay, take what you're saying, so you're a member of the big sea, the, the big church universal. He said, yeah. He said, okay, well am I like a pastor in this big old church in the world? And he said, yeah. He said okay, so does it make me like your pastor? He said, yeah. He said, alright, let me share with you Hebrews chapter 13. He said,> Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.He said, do you believe that's true? He said, yeah. He said, okay, so if I'm your pastor and you're gonna submit to me, you should go through the membership process at our church. He just laid it out for him and the guy said no and he left and he never came back. And I thought that was quite the clever way to be able to explain and poke holes in the guy's argument. But that passage is incredibly helpful. You read the New Testament letters and you see that God has structured for these local communities that he has pastors, elders that are overseeing the church. So when I look at that passage, obey your leaders and submit to them. It's helpful for me when I'm talking to people about membership. It's like, I belong to this church, I'M one of the pastors of this church. I belong to them, they belong to me. My people aren't down the road. They're the brothers and sisters. They're not across town, they're not across the world. I don't pastor them, I don't oversee their souls. I don't answer for their souls. No, it's this people. And you see that God has a plan and even the oversight of his church. And I think this is important, especially in Southern culture. And here's why. In Southern culture, pretty much still everyone, if you ask them, are you a Christian? They're gonna say, yeah. The overwhelming majority of people in the south are still gonna say, yeah, I'm a Christian. And if you begin to press into that, a lot of times it's, well, I'm Methodist or I'm Presbyterian or Episcopalian, or I'm Baptist or I'm Catholic. And it's like, what does that mean? I was just born Christian, I was born a Methodist. And as you look at the scriptures, you're not born a Christian. And if you continue to press into this, what you also see is there are a lot of people that claim the name of Christ that don't really belong anywhere. They don't commit to any people, don't commit to the Lord locally anywhere. They're just free floating in a way that is so foreign to the scriptures. And then what you'll also see is you'll see people that go, yeah, I mean, I don't really, not really. I don't really, I'm not a member anywhere. I, I like this church for the worship. I like this church for the teaching. I like this church for their Bible studies, like this church for their small groups. I like this church for their outreach. And I kind of just, you know, take everywhere like it's a buffet. And it's like, man, to make the church of Jesus Christ for your own benefit is so foreign to what the scriptures teach about the church that is not the church that Jesus bled and died for. You should be committed to God and his people somewhere. And my hope is that as you look at the grand story, you'll see, yes, you should belong. You should be a member of a church somewhere. Christians are not designed to be outside of the church or just not. And over the next couple months, I hope we continue to see that over and over again as we walk through this.Now that's the why of why we should belong to a church. Now I just want to, as we end look at the what, what does it mean to belong to this church? And it's gonna sound like a broken record, but it's a good one. It's a record we spend every Sunday. It's what Chet Phillips calls the bee's knees of belonging, which I don't know why he calls it that, but it's really important to us. And that is being a gospel centered community on mission. And that's what you're going to see over the next two months. Walking through this, you're going to see 14 different commitments that highlight that. So let's start with that first part. What does it mean to be gospel centered? It means that we are a church that is bound together by. By one shared story. And that story is the message of the gospel. We are bound together by this one shared story in a way that not just defines us at the beginning in belief, but defines us in belief and practice the rest of our lives. If you look at the American story, okay, if you look at the American story at the beginning, you see that it's a group of people that are anti tyranny. Okay? No taxation without representation. No king's going to tell us what to do. You'll see that it's a people that love freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom of speech. Don't step on my freedoms. You'll see that it's a people that have some hustle, some dogged determination to exist. That's how America began. But that's also the story that permeates through its people throughout time, that even today, Americans don't like kings. Don't tell me what I can and cannot do. We like freedom and there's still some dogged determination to exist. That's the American spirit and it still flows through its people. And we as Christians have a much better story. We as Christians have a much better story. That's not just our origin story, but it permeates through us in our lives. It is the story of Jesus Christ. It is the story of a God who looked on humanity, that rejected him, that spit upon his goodwill, that decided that they wanted to worship what they wanted to worship and find what they thought fulfilling and rejected him over and over again. And God and His mercy does not give us judgment. He sends His Son that Christ comes and he dies on the cross for sinners. And he conquers death at the resurrection. And he gives us grace that we don't deserve to be in relationship with Him. And he forms us more into his image through his work, through his will and desire and good pleasure and that story continues to work within his people. It is the story that saves us, but it's the story that sustains us. In the same way that as foreigners come to America and they become American citizens and in a lot of ways embody the American spirit in beautiful ways, they start loving freedom. They start. They have this dogged determination within them. We do not belong to this world as Christians. Scriptures say that we have. Our citizenship is in heaven. From we have with a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are part of the world that is to come. And as citizens of that kingdom here on this earth, as sojourners and strangers and foreigners, that we embody what it means to belong to him more than anything else. So what we'll see over the next coming weeks as we walk through these commitments, we'll see what it means to be a gospel centered people bound together by that story. But we will also see what it means to be a community. What it means to be a gospel centered community. One of the metaphors that we see in the New Testament for the church, for the this community is the body. So Romans 12, we'll talk about one body, many members. So one body, different body parts, different members of the body in a way that each person is doing their gift to be able to serve one another well. And man, when you see that actually in practice, when you experience what it means to belong to the church of Jesus Christ and have different members of the body who, who love and serve you, it is a glorious story. I mean, if you ever see someone who loses their job, which is a massive loss, and they're crushed, and then someone in their group finds out, and all of a sudden their whole group is messaging them saying, hey, we love you, like we're praying for you. You need to know that your identity is not in the work that you do. Your identity is in the God who loves you, who sustains you. God's going to provide for you. He's going to take care of you, we're going to take care of you. But you need to remember the gospel. And then all of a sudden, they're behind the scenes organizing things. By the time he gets home, there's already been a meal delivered and there's meals to be delivered the next few days. All of a sudden someone else in the church hears about this and they put $1,000 in an envelope and drop it on the doorstep. And all of a sudden he's being provided for, his family's being loved. And then more people in the church find out all of A sudden they ask, can we be praying about this? That you would find a new job that ends up in our prayer message that goes out to our members. Now the whole church is praying and then someone else in the church hears about that and says, wait a second, I know what he does for a living. I got a friend who's hiring for that position right now. They reach out and say, hey, hey, can you talk to this, Talk to my friend. He's hiring. And then within a week, he's already got a job lined up. When you see the church respond like that over and over and over and over again, it makes me so thankful for the church of Jesus Christ and how his church responds over and over again. We've seen this over and over again in our church and it's wonderful. And I wish in some ways more of those stories were told. I know why we don't. Because we don't let the left hand know what the right is doing. I get that. But the stories that go viral are the church hurt stories. And yes, those stories exist. They're real stories with real pain. I'm not denying the existence of them. But boy, oh boy, the amount of church help stories where people rally around one another, it's like 100 to 1 to 1 compared to that. The church is a wonderful people to belong to, to see them in action over and over and over again because they're centered in Christ in a way that helps us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, see something beyond our own interest. And when you see it in action, it's beautiful. It's a family. And that's the language of the New Testament. Often when it talks about the church and is family. When you start learning New Testament Greek, one of the first, you start with the vocabulary words that are the most, most used in the New Testament. And one of the first words you learn in Greek is adelphoi, it's the word for brothers and sisters. Because it shows up over and over and over again in the scriptures to talk about God's people, that we are a family, that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul, when he's making converts, talks about his converts like spiritual children. That we are a family, that we love one another, that we belong to one another. And when you study the Book of Acts, you see this. The church functions like a family. I was trying to explain this to someone recently. I was trying to explain this concept and I was just saying, listen, I'm close with my earthly family. I'm close with my parents, my brothers, and my sisters, like we are, we're close, but boy, oh boy, there's some eternal depth that I have with brothers and sisters in this church that when crap hits the fan in my life, the first few messages are not to family. And that's not to lower my earthly family. I'm real close with them. It's to elevate what the importance of church family is here. And when it hits the fan, I'm messaging people in this church and I got people in this church who rally around in wonderful ways. To belong to a family that fiercely loves God and one another is beautiful, it's compelling, it's wonderful. It is so good to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. And as you walk through the membership commitment with us over the next couple of months, you're going to see this. You're going to see how we fight for this, how this is so unbelievably important to us. We want to be a gospel centered people. We want to be a community that's like a family, but we also want to take this thing that we hold dear to those who don't believe. We're a gospel centered community on mission. And that's what we're also going to see in our membership commitment. We do not exist to be a holy huddle. We do not exist to be inwardly focused. We exist to take this wonderful news that brought us from death to life, to people, to friends, to neighbors, to co workers so that they might taste and see that the Lord is good and be brought into the family of God. We care deeply about this.Now, one of the downsides to you using the word membership is because sometimes the word membership in our culture has a consumeristic bent. I mean, you could be a member of Costco. It's a pretty low commitment. You pay, what is it, 80 bucks a year? You know, and then you get to go and buy all sorts of bulk goods that certainly will, certainly some of it will spoil in your cabinets because it's just hard to use up all that stuff before it goes bad. Maybe your family's better than ours. We couldn't do it. Or Walmart. Plus, that's not important. There's a consumeristic nature sometimes to the word membership that makes it about self, that makes it about our interest. And I still think the word membership is worth fighting for. I still think it's worth reclaiming from our culture to help us see that it is not about self, that membership is about something bigger than us. It's about a people who leverage their time and their Talents and their energy and their money and their efforts and their lives so that others who do not know Christ, others who are sprinting towards an eternity apart from God under his wrath, who desperately need to know the love of a savior who bled and died for them, that it's worth our energy and our hustle and our grit to take that. To those who don't believe. It's not a country club. It's more like a military outpost. The membership we have here, we don't want to be a country club. Country club is low commitment. You pay your fee, you get to go play golf, get to enjoy the pool, but you don't keep the greens and you don't scrub the pool. We don't want to be that. We want to be more like a military outpost. Our country has military outposts all over the world. And the members of the US Military who are at those outposts, they are there to serve the interest of America. They. They're there to serve the interests of their commander in chief. They are there bound together, laser focused, whether it's promoting the values of America in that area of the world or at times, whether it's fighting a war, but they are laser focused, committed to the mission of America. And we have something so much better than that. We are citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world. And we serve a king who. Who reigns for eternity. And we get to serve him in a land that we do not belong to, that is foreign to us. And we get to serve his interests taking the gospel to people who do not know him, making enemies, friends, making the lost found, making the dead alive in Christ. That's what we want to be. The church is supposed to be. And I'll be honest, we've had folks in the past who came to our church looking for a country club and they just didn't stick. And we're not perfect. We got our flaws. You've been here long enough, you go learn them. But that's not what we want to be. But we've also had folks who've been there and done some of the Southern consumeristic Christianity. And they see the things that we're fighting for and they love it and they jump on and they see I do. I want to be a people that loves one another fiercely, that chases after Jesus together. That is taking the gospel to those who don't believe. I want to be a part of that. And they jump in and we hustle and we fight to be the church of the New Testament and the scriptures that we see that hustled and fought and was missional and had some dog in it. Like we want to be that type of church to missionaries, be everyday missionaries here in this city, in Columbia. So we want to be. And as we walk through the membership commitment over the next few months, this is something that is going to show up. And at times it's hard. I'm not going to lie. At times living out the ideals and the practices and the beliefs of our commitments is difficult. And what's helpful for my soul, maybe it'll be helpful for you, is I like to take the 10,000 year perspective when I think about all this stuff. 10,000 years from now, are you going to regret when you look back at this life not picking up more hobbies, not being the best pickleball player in the world, not using all your money to level up to the next part of society, to the next class, Are you going to regret not fulfilling the American dream and all of its trappings? Or are you going to be so insanely thankful that the work of the Spirit went to work in your heart in a way that helped you leverage your time and your energy and your heart's desire to be a people so deeply centered on the gospel, so deeply, fiercely loving one another and so outwardly focused that you took the gospel to some of your co workers who currently right now are walking as enemies of the cross of Christ because you love them, because you served them, because you stood in the way between them and hell and said Jesus is better than everything else. And they placed their faith in Jesus and they got baptized and they joined a group and they kept fighting to believe all the way to 10,000 years from now. They are standing in the presence of their Savior, worshiping him with you because you gave your life away to something that matters. That is what our commitment is all about. And that's what we're gonna look at the next couple of months. My hope is that for the members of this church, you'd be so deeply excited that you be so thankful for the work of Christ in our lives that we get to do this together. But if you're not new and you're checking us out, I hope you stick around. I hope my yelling didn't run you off. It's just, I'm just excited, you guys.

Revelation 1: 10-11 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”Many people, myself included  are intrigued by the Book of Revelation however, this book, more than any other, is one that has caused many to be led into speculation, misguided doctrine, cult like practices, divisiveness, strife and all sorts of wrong beliefs, therefore, I purposely avoid indulging in interpreting passages relating to the end times by assigning their meaning to specific current events. Jesus said, He's coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle, in other words, His focus is on The Church, His church, the Body of Christ. not a denomination, not a mega church or a church that considers itself the best....but His Church!In this message Pastor Art takes a closer look at what many believe is the most important aspect of The Book of Revelation which is The Letters to the 7 Churches.    Support the showGrowing our inner man as we connect with God's Word

Send us a textThe church in this city, at the time John wrote this, appeared alive.  But from Jesus' perspective the church was dead.  There is nothing good said about this church and there were only a few faithful among the congregation.  Their instruction was to remember what they had received and heard and then keep it.  Then repent.  

Pastor Adam Schwenk

Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:1-6 The letter to the church at Sardis is the fourth letter of seven letters Christ spoke to these select churches.  The problem in the church at Sardis was spiritual deadness, even though they appeared to the observer to be a church brimming with vitality.  ". . . you have a name that you are alive, and you are dead" (Rev 3:1). This passage cuts to the very nature of spiritual life in a church.  It is possible to have an external appearance of life through forms of worship and programs, while at the same time lack spiritual passion in the heart.  God's evaluation of a church (or a person) is not based on any external forms.  It issues from the status of the heart.  It is possible to sing songs without any earnest reality in the soul.  It is possible to pray without any heartfelt humility or awe or longing.  It is possible to go to church without any deep hunger to know God better.  True worship is not something we can turn on once per week, like a light switch.  Whatever our hearts are like during the week, that is what they are like on Sunday.  If there is no thirsting after God on Tuesday, there will be no thirsting for Him on Sunday morning when the forms of worship are employed.  Genuine worship is an overall perspective and passion of the soul.  Sunday simply gives this passion corporate expression in a church service, but the longing after God is there quite independently of Sunday worship forms.  If such spiritual yearning is not present within each of us, our church can look like it is alive, while all the time being dead. 

Date: 31 August 2025Series: Letters from the Lord of Life - Summer 2025Speaker: Ji Pattison-Smith

Welcome to the Novachurch Podcast. Join us this week as Senior Pastor Sam Long brings a message of our new series, "Lethal Letters," "Sardis - The Sleeping Church."________// LINKSNova Church https://novachurch.comNew To Faith https://www.novachurch.com/new-to-faithWatch Live https://novachurch.com/liveGive https://novachurch.com/giveJoin a Family https://novachurch.com/families________// CONNECT ON SOCIALSInstagram http://instagram.com/novachurchadlFacebook http://www.facebook.com/novachurchadlSupport the show

God's discipline is proof of His love. This week, John and Arden Bevere continue their series on the seven churches of Revelation, focusing on Sardis and the call to wake up spiritually. How will we respond to God's correction? What's the difference between His correction and punishment? They show how leaning into His discipline can shape us to be more like Christ and lead to lasting growth.______________________________________FREE Show Notes Here: https://page.church.tech/cc1f568c______________________________________Click here to grab your copy of John's new book, "You Are Called": youarecalled.com______________________________________Support this podcast by becoming a Patron here (tax-deductible): https://3szn.short.gy/JBgive

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 08/29/2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include: Matt Discusses Some of The Technology Surrounding The Upcoming New CARM Website/ Councils of Trent and Nicea/ Should Jesus Suffer For Eternity?/ The Lake of Fire in Relation to Hell/Is God a "Consuming Fire?"/ Email Question—Significance of Sardis?/Spritual Gifts-Prophecy/Differences in Gospel Accounts/ What if Adam Had Not Eaten of The Fruit?/ How is The Canon of Scripture Determined?/What About Suing another Person?/ August 29, 2025

Jesus speaks to the church at Sardis unveiling that they are a dead church. They look alive and check a lot of boxes, but they are a largely spiritually dead and unregenerate group of people. However, even in this dead body, there are living saints. Jesus speaks some of the greatest words of comfort to those who hadn't defiled themselves.

Summary: The Church of Sardis seemed to have it all going on, thus that means the people who made up the church as well, but God said they were spiritually dead. How could that be, and could that be us and like them not even know it. Join us as God gives diagnosis, and then remedy to make sure they we remain alive and strong in the Spirit.

Revelation chapters 2–3 contain seven distinct messages from Christ to churches in Asia Minor, each revealing the spiritual condition of the community and calling them to greater faithfulness. Ephesus is praised for doctrinal vigilance but rebuked for losing its first love. Smyrna is commended for enduring persecution and encouraged to remain faithful unto death. Pergamum holds fast to Christ's name yet compromises with false teachings. Thyatira shows love and perseverance but tolerates corrupt influence. Sardis has a reputation for life but is spiritually dead, needing to wake up and strengthen what remains. Philadelphia, though weak, is faithful and receives no rebuke—only encouragement and promise. Laodicea is lukewarm and self-sufficient, blind to its need for repentance and renewal. Across all letters, Christ offers both warning and hope, urging each church to overcome and promising eternal rewards to those who do. These messages speak not only to ancient congregations but to every community seeking to remain faithful amid pressure, compromise, and spiritual fatigue.

When Heaven Is Silent, Hell Is Unbothered - Part 1Some churches seem to shine with spiritual light, but the glow is only a reflection of a vibrant past. In Revelation 3, Jesus confronts the church in Sardis—a congregation with a strong reputation but a dead reality. This episode explores how overconfidence, comfort, and cultural compromise can silently drain a church's spiritual life. Using the powerful image of the star Betelgeuse, we uncover the dangers of living on yesterday's light and the warning signs that a church might be dying.8.17.25 - Message 10

Sunday Service: Revelation 3:1–6 highlights Jesus' sharp rebuke of the church in Sardis, exposing their false reputation as a vibrant, godly community while in reality they were spiritually dead. Though outwardly active in good works, social causes, and community service, their efforts were not rooted in a heart transformed by Christ. Jesus makes it clear that good deeds without genuine faith are worthless, reminding them that many “good people” will miss salvation. Unlike churches with obvious sins, Sardis' hypocrisy was hidden beneath religious activity, making it harder to discern. Jesus calls them to repent and truly believe in Him, warning that without salvation they will be left behind at His sudden return, like in the days of Noah and Lot. Yet, even in this lifeless church, a few true believers remain faithful, showing that God can still use flawed ministries to bring people to salvation. Jesus closes with hope and encouragement: those who stay with Him will be clothed in white, their sins washed away, their names secure in the Book of Life, and they will overcome by holding fast to Him. Partner with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/partner Connect with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com                  

August 17, 2025. Week 6 in our series, "The Seven Letters." In the book of Revelation.

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ps Luke de Jong (Senior Leader) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ps Luke reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

The church of Sardis gave the impression of godliness but they had no power or impact on their city. This week, Ps Ashari continues our series ‘Letters to the Church' as we study the rebuke written to Sardis. It not about keeping up appearances but about inward to outward change.

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ps Tashinga Chanyau (LIFE South Campus Pastor) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ps Luke reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ben Mays (Teaching Specialist) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ben reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ben Mays (Teaching Specialist) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ben reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

Esta carta de parte de Cristo a Sardis donde Jesús exhorta a la congregación a arrepentirse y así o borraría su nombre del libro de la vida. Contáctanos: Lamparaatuspies3@gmail.com

When Heaven Is Silent, Hell Is Unbothered - Part 1Some churches seem to shine with spiritual light, but the glow is only a reflection of a vibrant past. In Revelation 3, Jesus confronts the church in Sardis—a congregation with a strong reputation but a dead reality. This episode explores how overconfidence, comfort, and cultural compromise can silently drain a church's spiritual life. Using the powerful image of the star Betelgeuse, we uncover the dangers of living on yesterday's light and the warning signs that a church might be dying.8.10.25 - Message 9

What can a superhero teach us about being awake? Join us for the message “Apocalypse (Right) Now: Sardis.”

This sermon examines the letter to the church in Sardis from Revelation 3:1-6. Pastor Isaac explains how this church had a reputation for being alive but was actually spiritually dead. The message focuses on the disconnect between outward appearance and inward reality, comparing it to modern 'branding' where people project an image that doesn't match their true spiritual condition. The Lord calls this church to wake up, strengthen what remains, remember what they've received, and repent before it's too late.

Allan Wilks, Revelation Letters - Sardis by Terrill Road Bible Chapel

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ps Luke de Jong (Senior Leader) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ps Luke reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

Listen to a powerful message of hope from Ben Mays (Teaching Specialist) as we explore the letter to the church of Sardis, as seen in Revelation 3. Ben reminds us that God is calling us to live a life of being spiritually alive - not just looking the part._To find out more about LIFE, visit us at lifenz.org

Revelation 3:1-6CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH | LITTLE ROCKA community transformed by grace sent to transform the world for the glory of God.WEBSITE: https://c3lr.orgFACEBOOK: facebook.com/C3.LittleRockINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/c3.littlerockSERMON PODCAST:  https://c3littlerock.buzzsprout.com

Do you look spiritually alive and yet you really are spiritually dead? Join us today as we see what words Jesus has for the Church of Sardis who He says “looks alive” but in reality is “dead”! If this church looks like us – what does Jesus say we can do about it?

Do you look spiritually alive and yet you really are spiritually dead? Join us today as we see what words Jesus has for the Church of Sardis who He says “looks alive” but in reality is “dead”! If this church looks like us – what does Jesus say we can do about it?

Today we look at the church of Sardis in the beginning of Revelation 3 and how Jesus calls them a dead church. He tells them to wake up and then He instructs them in three things they must do.  For more information on The Gathering, check out our website thegathering.online  

Pastor Phil Sparling - A Church Like That! - Weekend Sermon Podcast - www.auburngrace.com

Jesus tells the church of Sardis that they were spiritually dead, even though they had a good reputation with others, and that they needed to change! Those who are genuinely living for Christ are totally accepted by him!

SE7EN CHURCHES OF REVELATION - Revelation 2-3 DOWNLOAD the Prodigal Church app for more! FIND US ONLINE: prodigalchurchfresno.com If you're new, we would love to meet you! Fill the online connect card on our website and we will reach out to you. prodigalchurchfresno.com/connect INSTAGRAM: @prodigalchurchfresno FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/prodigalchurchfresno If you would like to Give to Prodigal Church, you can do so through our website, or through this link. Thank you so much for your generosity to Prodigal Church! prodigal.givingfire.com

Sardis is the Church Jesus called Dead on Arrival.  Pastor Chris takes us through Revelation 3:1-6 and breaks down many take aways for us in our journey with the Lord in modern times.

The Lord of the Church evaluates the church at Thyatira and at Sardis.

This sermon dives into Jesus' message to the church in Sardis—a group that looked alive on the outside but was spiritually running on empty. It's a real and honest challenge for anyone who's ever felt stuck in routine faith or tempted to coast on a good reputation while drifting on the inside.The message calls us to wake up, get real about where we stand with God, and return to the kind of faith that's alive, active, and centered on obedience. It's not about guilt—it's about grace and the chance to start fresh. If you've been feeling spiritually tired, distracted, or just going through the motions, this is the reminder you didn't know you needed.

“Lukewarm” isn't really a desirable trait in, well, just about anything. After all, is there anyone who actually looks forward to a lukewarm cup of coffee in the morning? But when Jesus uses this word, what he has in mind is something far worse. In this week's message from Revelation 3, Pastor J.D. takes us through John's last three letters to the churches. Though Jesus doesn't have anything negative to say to the church at Philadelphia, he has plenty to say to the congregation of Laodicea, and it begins with his visceral reaction to their halfhearted Christianity. We, of course, have to be careful not to fall into the same trap: claiming the name of Jesus with our lips but living lives that are in no way distinct from the world.