Having celebrated the resurrection on Easter, we move into the era of the church. Our spring series on the seven churches of Revelation begins with Ephesus, a church that did a lot of things right but had lost their love. As with all the churches, a risk is highlighted, as is a command by Jesus.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Revelation 2: 1-7

Complementary  Reading: Hosea 6: 3-6

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

Risk: Loveless Duty

Command: Love More!

• Good News: Jesus Cares Deeply About His Churches
  • Jesus is deeply involved with the church (verse 1)
  • Jesus died to establish the church
  • Jesus will extinguish a church that fails Him (verse 5b)
• Good News: Jesus Appreciates Hard Work, Discernment, and Endurance
  • Jesus appreciates hard work (verse 2a)
  • Jesus appreciates discernment (verses 2b, 6)
  • Jesus appreciates long endurance (verse 3)
  • There’s a risk to these qualities – we can become cold and unloving
• Bad News: Jesus Condemns Loveless Obedience
  • It’s a sin to go through the motions of Christianity without love (verses 4-5)
  • Fall in love with Christ all over again (verse 5)
  • Then show the love of Christ to others – Matthew 5: 16, Be the Lighthouse

Overcome the temptation to loveless duty and enjoy the fruit of the tree of life (verse 7)!