Red Letter Days8

We review episodes 1 & 2 of Things That Make You Go Mmmm where we looked at Rewards & Riches and Insightful Imagery, and then look at a group and an individual who are Named & Shamed by Jesus Himself! As we look at these themes in the letters to the churches we can learn about what God wants for us and how we can live fully for Him.

We’ve seen in the letters to the churches the opportunity for great eternal rewards for those who conquer and are faithful to the end. The question is how do we conquer? As we explore this we’ll see the scriptures have great insights for us in what it means to conquer and be victorious in Christ

In this second episode, we look at how we can interpret the rich imagery that we find in the first 3 chapters of John’s Revelation.

The continual refrain of Christ in His letters to the churches, is “I know”. He knew each church and its members intimately. Not as one who had simply left them behind as He returned to the Father. The letters of Revelation are personal and passionate correspondence from Jesus to those whom He loved dearly. As we consider what He knows of each church, much of what Jesus says will resonate with each of us in different ways. This is because He knows us intimately as well – our passions, desires, plans, struggles and weaknesses. He came not only to understand us, but to fill us with His very own fulness and empower us. He knows the beautiful design God has for each of us, and has sent His Spirit to repair and restore, shape and to set us back on track.

Roger is is based at All Nations Church in Cardiff and his teaching ministry equips churches in the UK and overseas. He is the author of several books including The Elijah People, Discovering God and The Masterplan. Roger is married to Dianne and they have two grown-up children.

When Jesus sends his letters to the churches in revelation he is challenging them, encouraging them but in it all wants them to be all that he has created them to be. To represent him well and for them to experience the life he has for them. The question is at the moment what letter is Jesus writing to us? What is God saying to you in this next season to encourage and challenge you but ultimately to lead you to Him and the life He has for you.

Jesus’s letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) demonstrate just how much He loves His Church, and how deeply concerned He is to ensure that each one represents Him faithfully. And in the very first letter – to Ephesus – we discover how Jesus evaluates or ‘measures’ things! To our great shock we find that this famous church had “abandoned its first love”, with terrible consequences. What is the Spirit saying to us, in our own time and context, two thousand years later?…

As we start a new teaching series called Red Letter Days, from Jesus’ letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, we begin with a whistle-stop tour of each church to see the defining characteristic Jesus requires of them and how this matches an aspect of His own nature.