The Distracted Church (Pergamum)
Notes
Transcript
Bookmarks & Needs:
Bookmarks & Needs:
B: Rev 2:12-17
N: Laser pointer
Welcome
Welcome
Good morning! I’m pastor Bill Connors, and it’s such a joy to be together this morning to worship the Lord, to sing His praises, celebrate believer’s baptism, and to meditate on His Word together as a church family. Thanks for making this time a priority, whether you’re here in the room or online today.
If you’re a guest of the Eastern Hills family this morning, I’d like to welcome you to our Family Worship service, and I’d also like to invite you to text the word “welcome” to 505-339-2004 at some point during the service. You’ll get a text back that has a link to our digital communication card, and we’d appreciate it you’d fill that out so we can drop you a note thanking you for being here today. If you’d rather fill out something more physical, you’ll find our physical communication card in the back of the pew in front of you. You can just drop that in the offering boxes by the doors as we leave the service later on, or you can bring it down to me afterward, because I’d really like to meet you and introduce myself personally, as well as give you small gift to thank you for being with Eastern Hills this morning.
I have a couple of quick announcements before we get into our study in the book of Revelation today.
Announcements
Announcements
Next Sunday following morning service we need to hold a special called business meeting for the purpose of voting on authorizing the Trustees and the Properties Management Ministry to enter into the construction contract from Ric Rutherford Construction for the electrical, mechanical, and roofing portion of Endeavor Phase 1. Copies of the proposed contract are available in the foyer. We will only meet for that specific purpose.
Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast hosted by Women’s Ministry 6/18 8:30 am.
VBS Prayer Walking following service today, meet Liana at children’s check-in area.
Opening
Opening
We’re in our third week of a seven-week series through chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, also called the Apocalypse of John (this is what Greek manuscripts refer to it as). The word “apocalypse” is actually the first word of the book in Greek, which is where it gets its name. In English, this word has kind of come to mean the end of the world, which I suppose is fitting given that God’s wrapping up of this plane of existence. However, the word “apocalypse” as a verb actually means “to reveal, disclose, or make known.” John’s Revelation was a letter which contained within it messages to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor. I have been using this MAP to help us visualize the path of the messenger of the apocalypse.
The book would have been taken to each of these churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. We’ve considered the first two: Ephesus—The Loveless Church, and Smyrna—The Persecuted Church. In each of these two messages, I covered issues that are common to all of the messages, so I’d recommend going back and watching them on YouTube, Facebook, or on the Sermons page on our website or in the app to catch up if you missed them.
This morning, we look at the letter to the church at Pergamum—The Distracted Church. The message to the Pergamenes in found in Revelation 2:12-17:
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword: 13 I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
PRAYER (Promise Community Church, Pastor Todd Patton) pray for Karen Cullen
Distraction. It can be a dangerous thing. A moment of distraction in a sport could mean the difference between winning and losing. Last week there was a viral video that made the internet rounds of the ending of a baseball game between two high school teams in their division’s state championship game. Did anyone see this video?
I won’t play it for the sake of time, but in the bottom of the last inning, visiting Hornell High School was up 5-4 against Palmyra-Macedon with two outs, two strikes on the batter, and runners on second and third. A third strike was thrown, but the catcher dropped it. As is the rule, the batter can run on a dropped third strike, which he did. The catcher picked up the ball and took a quick swipe at the runner as he ran down the first base line, but missed him. He then proceeded to join the pitcher in celebrating what they thought was their state championship victory. However, the umpire had called the runner safe since he wasn’t tagged. But the catcher continued to celebrate, dropping his glove (along with the ball) on the ground. While the Hornell players rejoiced, the Pal-Mac runners continued running.
Sadly, you can see on the video that the Hornell second baseman knew what was happening, but everyone was so distracted with their celebration that they didn’t hear or see him. Palmyra-Macedon won the game 6-5 when the second baserunner crossed home plate safely. A moment of distraction cost Hornell the championship.
While I’m sure that this was a pretty big deal to those players, coaches, fans, and schools, ultimately it’s small potatoes in the overall scheme of life. Distraction can cost much more than a victory or a championship. Students: a moment of moral distraction can cost you dearly in the future if you fail to avoid unwise choices like drinking, drugs, or premarital sex. A moment of distraction can cost you a job if you fail at a critical task. A moment of distraction can cost you your marriage if you fail to diligently guard your eyes or your heart from looking to another for what you should only look to your spouse for. A moment of distraction can cost you or someone else their life if you are distracted while driving at the wrong moment. Distraction can literally mean life or death.
I’m calling the church at Pergamum the distracted church. I’ll explain why during the message. The city of Pergamum had been around for a long time, and was the first provincial capital of Asia Minor when Rome annexed it, because its last king, Attalus III, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome upon his death in 133 BC. After Pergamum joined Mithridates VI in a war against Rome in 89 BC, it went into nearly a century of decline, with Ephesus supplanting it as preeminent city of the province, until the reign of Augustus.
Pergamum erected temples to all kinds of Greek gods during the early part of Augustus’ reign: to Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, Hera, Asklepius, Demeter, Hermes, and Heracles, becoming the religious center of the province. They also created a library that held perhaps 200,000 scrolls, which would have made it third in size to the libraries of Alexandria and Athens. But in 29 AD, Pergamum petitioned Augustus to allow them to be the first city to build a temple for the honor and worship of the emperor as a deity, a request which he granted. Pergamum would thus regain its prominence and renown, and it became the center of the Imperial cult in Asia Minor. Much archaeological remains have been recovered, and there is a museum in Berlin, Germany, dedicated entirely to Pergamum.
The city of Pergamum was constantly looking for the approval of Rome, and took a great deal of pride in their position as the center of emperor worship. Thus, persecution of the Christians there flowed out of a perceived lack of civic loyalty or patriotism, rather than for purely religious reasons. This is partially why Jesus identifies Himself the way that He does in this message:
1: Christ (v 12)
1: Christ (v 12)
As we have already seen, Jesus is the One who is dictating these messages to John for delivery to the seven churches. In each, He identifies Himself using other Scripture that has meaning for the church to which He is writing. His self-identification is found in verse 12:
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword:
This identification comes from chapter 1 of Revelation, where Jesus is described as not just having a sharp double-edged sword, but that it came from His mouth:
16 He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.
A sharp sword was obviously a weapon. It could be used to do great damage to an enemy, and could also be used for defense as needed. So why does this say that the sword came out of Jesus’ mouth?
The initial imagery has an Old Testament Messianic reference:
1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears, 4 but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips.
While Isaiah 11:4 references a “scepter,” the picture is very similar to what we see here in the apocalypse. The item in the mouth of Messiah—the weapon that Messiah will use to slay the wicked, to strike the land—is His Word.
The Word of the Lord is always true. It is always right. It is always trustworthy. Through the mediation of the Spirit, the Word of God reveals who we are deep down and what our true motivations are. The author of Hebrews wrote:
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Word is sharp enough to cut to the heart of things. The Word of the God is also powerful. By the Word of the Lord all the heavens, the stars, and the world came into being, according to Psalm 33. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, He countered the devil’s attacks with the Word of God (Matthew 4). And with the Word of truth, Jesus at His return will strike the nations and rule them with an iron rod:
15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
All around the church of Pergamum, the city worshiped who they said was the ultimate “savior and god,” the emperor (yes, that is what they called him). And the proconsul of Pergamum, as the capital city of the province, held the power of the sword for Rome by the authority of the emperor. But the true power of the sword is in the Word of Christ, because His Word is true. Christ is the ultimate King. He will have the final say, and He is the King that the world should fear:
28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Church, we are called to a pure devotion to Christ. The church in Pergamum faced persecution because they refused to show political loyalty to the emperor, and thus to the Roman empire. Jesus here identified Himself as more powerful, and so more worthy of the loyalty of the church. If we are more excited about the words of a business magnate, a celebrity, a politician, or even a preacher or pastor than we are the words of Christ, it may be that we are allowing ourselves to be distracted from where our focus should lie. If the words of those people don’t line up with the Word of God as revealed in Scripture, then those words are not true, and should be rejected.
The church at Pergamum had done this well, to a certain extent. This is why they receive the commendation they are given.
2: Commendation (v. 13)
2: Commendation (v. 13)
The positive attribute that Jesus affirms in the church at Pergamum has to do with His understanding of their situation and how they have handled it to this point.
13 I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.
Jesus says that He knows where the Pergamene church lives. He knows their particular cultural context. And that context is bookended with the identity of who’s really in back of what is happening in Pergamum: Satan.
The city of Pergamum is where “Satan’s throne is,” and is also “where Satan lives.” Given the references to the throne and the residence, the most likely candidate for this would be the Imperial cult. Satan holds the emperor, the emperor holds the throne, and the whole city is wrapped up in living for the emperor and for the renown that came from being the center of emperor worship in the province. To be fair, given how many temples there were in Pergamum to other gods, it is possible that Jesus’ reference here could just be to the general paganism of the culture. But ultimately, what matters to Jesus is how the church has responded to their civic and religious climate, and He knows that as well.
Jesus commends the church first for continuing to hold on to His name. The church as a whole saw their relationship with Jesus as central: they identified with His name. They were striving to live out the wisdom of Proverbs 18:10:
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.
Not only this, but they had not denied their faith in Him when put under what must have been immense pressure to do so. We know nothing else about this Antipas than that he was put to death as a “faithful witness.” The word for “witness” here is the word from which we get our term “martyr,” a person who dies for what they believe in. It didn’t start meaning that until the third century, but people like Antipas and Stephen in Acts paved the way for that change.
Antipas was actually called the Lord’s “faithful witness,” a reference to his being Christ-like in his life. This same designation is used for Jesus Himself in chapter 1 of Revelation:
Revelation 1:5a (CSB)
5a and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
Jesus was a faithful witness to the truth of God, and Antipas was a faithful witness to the truth of Jesus.
Interestingly enough, we could apply a verse from last week to Antipas:
Revelation 2:10b (CSB)
10b Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He was faithful to the point of death, and the church had seen it. But they hadn’t denied their faith in Christ.
With each point of commendation and condemnation in these messages, we are called to ask ourselves the question: “Could this be said of us?” This question will become a little clearer when we look at the condemnation in a moment, but we have to ask if we are holding on to Jesus’s name, taking His identity as our own, clinging to our faith in Him and refusing to deny Him, or if instead we are distracted.
Our culture is in the throes of becoming more and more pagan, as we are called to worship at the false shrines of money, power, race, politics, and gender identity. As one example: Look around during what has somehow has been designated as “pride month:” the culture is pressing in on nearly every side, telling us that we either get on board with homosexuality and transgenderism as natural and normal, good even, or else we are hateful, closed-minded, evil bigots. And who wants to be called a bigot? Or hateful? Or closed-minded? Or evil? I don’t. But those things are not good. They’re sin. And we must stand on the Word of God and declare what is true.
So the problem is that we can’t have it both ways. We can’t go with the flow of the culture, affirming what the Word of God rejects, and be true to the name of Christ at the same time. The two are mutually exclusive. Jesus even said so in Luke 12:
8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, 9 but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
There will likely come a day when what I just said will be labeled as “hate speech,” and will get me in trouble. We’re called to preach the truth, not to peddle lies. We must hold on to the name of Jesus, and we must not deny our faith in Him.
Even in the midst of the pressure they were facing, even when Antipas was martyred, the Pergamenes didn’t deny Jesus. Well, most of them anyway. This brings us to their condemnation:
3: Condemnation (v. 14-15)
3: Condemnation (v. 14-15)
We will need to take a look back into the book of Numbers in order to understand the condemnation that Jesus brings to the church at Pergamum. The fact is that the church had become somewhat distracted:
14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
What is Jesus saying when He says that there are some who hold to the teaching of Balaam here?
We read Balaam’s part in the narrative of Scripture in our Bible reading plan this week. That wasn’t planned, by the way… at least not by me.
Balaam was a Gentile prophet who seems to, in fact, have a special anointing to be able to speak the words of God. When the Moabite leader Balak saw that wandering Israel had defeated the neighboring Amorites, he was afraid. He sent for Balaam and offered to pay him if he would prophesy a curse on Israel. Balaam went and could not curse Israel, only bless them. He honestly comes out of Numbers 22-24 looking pretty good, other than the donkey part.
But then, immediately following the Balaam narrative, we see many of the men of the nation of Israel make terrible choices, just as Revelation 2:14 says: they committed sexual immorality and practiced idolatry:
1 While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. 2 The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. 3 So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
Somehow, Balak got what he wanted. But what did Balaam have to do with that? Moses ascribes this failure to the fact that Balaam instructed Balak on how to get the Israelites to bring a curse onto themselves:
16 “Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.
Apparently, Moses knew that Balaam had instructed Balak to send in the Moabite women so that the men of Israel would be distracted, give in to their lust, and then follow the women in worshiping false gods (which often included sexual acts as a part of “worship”). These two things—idolatry and sexual immorality—are things that can distract a heart, shipwreck a faith, and destroy a life. These things are so serious that at the beginning of the church, when the question of what instructions Gentile converts to Christianity should be given, these were the first two on the list:
20 but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.
So then comes the question of the relationship between the “teaching of Balaam” and the “Nicolaitans.” The Nicolaitans came up in our first message in this series, Ephesus. That church was actually commended for how they had handled the Nicolaitan situation. Pergamum is the opposite.
15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Several commentators see a connection between the meanings of the Hebrew name Balaam and the Greek term Nicolaitans. A valid meaning of Balaam is “master of the people.” Nicolaitans means “conqueror of the people.” We have very little extrabiblical evidence as to what the Nicolaitans taught, and all of it is speculative. However, I believe that this passage gives us insight into what this sect practiced.
There’s a connection here. Jesus says, “in the same way.” I don’t believe that the text demands that these two movements—the teaching of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans—be separate things. I think that the teaching of the Nicolaitans was the modern (at the time) equivalent of the teaching of Balaam, and that Jesus was saying, “In the same way as the people of Israel went astray after Balaam’s teaching of Balak, so the Nicolaitans have led some in the church astray into the same things: idolatry and sexual immorality.”
These things didn’t happen in Numbers as a pursuit of sin, but due to distraction, which led to sin, which then led to accommodation. The Israelite men wanted it both ways: to have their Moabite mistresses and their worship of idols, while at the same time being the chosen people of God. So in the church at Pergamum, some of the people were distracted, and so went off into idolatry and sexual immorality in the name of accommodation, likely saying that since emperors weren’t really “gods,” going along with the worship of them wasn’t really idolatry, and so it wasn’t sinful to just play the part. After all, when in Rome…?
And then to make matters worse, the church was distracted, in that they didn’t notice the false teaching creeping in. So those among them were worshiping false gods and committing sexual immorality in the process, and somehow, they hadn’t noticed.
This is why I chose the example earlier of homosexuality and transgenderism. There are believers who refuse to take a firm stand on these issues, and in fact are affirming of them, refusing to call them sin. The accommodation of homosexuality has led to the necessity of accepting transgenderism, because if you claim that homosexuality is natural and normal and good, you have eroded out any foundation you might have had for standing against transgenderism.
We must be intentional, church, about engaging in each other’s lives, so we can see where the creep of culture starts to sneak in. We cannot be distracted, thinking that it will never happen here. Not that we all need to be running around as spiritual police, but everyone in the church needs to be known, we need to be engaged in spiritual life together if we are going to see what’s really going on in each other’s lives, and we need to speak the truth of God’s Word into each other’s hearts.
There is a cure for Pergamum, and of course, a warning if the cure is not applied.
4: Cure (v. 16)
4: Cure (v. 16)
The cure for the sins of the church in Pergamum is not complicated. In fact, it’s just two words:
16 So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Repent. This is the first step in correction: Repent. Turn from going the wrong way, and go the right way instead. This command to repent actually appears to be given to both the church as a whole, and not just to those who have gone astray with the false teachings. The church is being called to wake up, pay attention, and bring correction to the false teachers and idol worshipers in her midst. We are not fond of this idea.
In his commentary on the first half of Revelation, John MacArthur wrote this:
“Sinning believers should be made to feel miserable in the fellowship and worship of the church by being confronted powerfully with the Word of God. Neither is the goal of the church to provide an environment where unbelievers feel comfortable; it is to be a place where they can hear the truth and be convicted of their sins so as to be saved (Rom. 10:13–17). Gently (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24–26), lovingly, graciously, yet firmly, unbelievers need to be confronted with the reality of their sin and God’s gracious provision through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Error will never be suppressed by compromising with it. Today’s nonconfrontive church is largely repeating the error of the Pergamum church on a grand scale, and faces the judgment of the Lord of the church.”
—John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11
These are strong words. But it is a sad state of affairs in the church when the Lord has to threaten to come and fight against her. To be fair, He does say in verse 16 that if the cure is not applied that He will come and fight against “them” with the sword of His mouth (the true and powerful Word of God). But He also says that He will come to “you quickly.” He will visit the church, and not in a happy way, and suddenly, in order to judge the church by punishing the apostates.
We must be clear this morning about the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that we can measure our lives according to that truth, and evaluate whether we are truly saved. According to the true and powerful Word of God, we are forever separated from our loving Creator God because of our sinful rebellion against Him. We deserve eternal punishment because He is perfect and we are not, so we do not live up to His standard. We could never do well enough to earn our salvation because we are flawed. So in order to provide a way for us to be saved, God sent is very Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life so that He didn’t deserve that eternal punishment. And then, He took that punishment in our place by dying on a cross so that we could be made right with God—He paid our sin debt. If we surrender to Him in repentance and faith, turning from our rebellion and trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord, then we are forgiven because the debt has been paid. And Jesus, by His authority as Son of God, took His life back up and overcame the grave, and He will never die again. Because of this, those who belong to Him by faith have the assurance that we will live forever with Him in heaven.
Have you never trusted in Jesus? I call on you right now to repent, believe, surrender, and trust Christ. Are you a believer who is trapped in their sin? I call on you right now to repent, believe, surrender, and trust. This is the cure for our rebellion: repentance and trust in Jesus. It is only in trusting Jesus that we can overcome—the challenge He gives to the church at Pergamum.
5: Challenge (v. 17)
5: Challenge (v. 17)
There are three aspects to the challenge that Jesus gives to the church at Pergamum: the hidden manna, the white stone, and the new name.
17 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Remember that the one who conquers is the one who is identified with Jesus’ victory through the cross. So the one who conquers in this case is the one who repents of their sin because of their trust in truth of Christ.
The imagery in this verse is difficult for us to understand, but we will do our best. We will take each aspect in turn quickly this morning:
Manna was miraculous food that God provided the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. The “hidden manna” was a special provision that Moses had been given so that the people of Israel would have verifiable evidence of the miraculous thing that God did in providing manna. In Exodus 16, Moses was instructed to store two quarts of manna with the Ark of the Covenant.
This “hidden manna” was meant as a remembrance and a reminder to Israel of God’s provision for them in the desert. We no longer have the Ark of the Covenant, but we no longer need it. Jesus would later compare Himself as the Bread of Life with manna, the bread from heaven:
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The manna has been replaced by the bread of life. He is now the manna. The one who identifies with His victory will be given this bread, which had been hidden for ages and now has been revealed, and the one who receives Him will live forever.
The best reference we can find in antiquity to the white stone was that in criminal trials with juries in ancient Rome, the jurors would cast their votes for conviction or acquittal by using small stones: white for innocent and black for guilty. Many commentators see this white stone for the conqueror as Jesus’ declaration of innocence through faith.
The importance of the new name is that in ancient thought, the name wasn’t just a marker the way we use it today. Your name meant something. It meant… YOU. To know someone’s name was to have a certain amount of relationship with and power over them.
When Jesus comes back as the conquering King, He Himself will come in a new way, and with a new name.
12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.
To have your named changed by God was to redefine who you were. And Jesus says that the conquerors will be redefined by Him, given a new name that only the one who receives it knows. And the fact that this name is being written on the white stone shows that the new name being given goes along with a clean slate from the past: the one who conquers through Jesus is declared innocent, and is given a new name that gives a new identity that can never be condemned. He also gives the conqueror the bread of life, His very self, imparting eternal life.
Closing
Closing
What a declaration of hope this challenge is, if we belong to Jesus!
Church, we cannot be like the distracted church at Pergamum, where we take our eyes off of the truth and begin to buy the lies of the culture. We are called to speak the truth in love, and to call the lost out of darkness and into the light of Christ. It is only in Him that we overcome.
Call to repent of our distraction. What have we allowed to creep in and distract us from God’s purposes for us?
Call to repent of our self-sufficiency for salvation. You cannot save yourself. You need Jesus. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted in this moment. Trust Christ.
Call to church membership.
Call to prayer.
Call to give.
PRAYER
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks
Bible reading (new calendar online, Num 28 today, finishing Numbers on June 12, followed by Petrine correspondence, and then Job)
Pastor’s Study tonight
Prayer Meeting this Wednesday
Instructions for guests
There is a table in the foyer with some referendum information regarding some bills about abortion, so-called gender affirming care, and parents’ rights that the ERLM has available for you this morning. Please make time to swing by.
VBS Prayer Walking right after benediction
Benediction
Benediction
7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.