The Love of Christ Keeps Our Lamp Lit

The Summer slump is upon us.

How many excuses can we have for not making Sunday morning worship a weekly priority?

Why is attendance so inconsistence?

Our summers are so busy that we have grown custom to sporadic Sunday attendance. We have accepted the attitude “Who are we to judge; judge not, less you be judged. Right?”

Sure you have! We all have asked these questions.

But do we ask ourselves about worship attendance, before we roll into parking lot, on Sunday mornings.

The real question is when do we ask ourselves about our worship services. Do we even think about church worship attendance, before Sunday morning? when we pull into the parking lot?

The real question is when do we ask ourselves about our worship services.

Do we even think about church worship attendance, before Sunday morning?

Do we wait until we see empty seat before we wonder who will show up?

We are so busy in the summer and we have grown custom to sporadic Sunday attendance. We have accepted the attitude “Who are we to judge; judge not, less you be judged. Right?”

We pull into the parking lot, and ask ourselves who will show up today?

We come in, sit down, and look around, wondering why we have empty seats?

The expectation of sporadic summer attendance has become the normal. The summer slump, causes Christian Publishers to plan their yearly profits around “Back to Church Sunday” materials.

Have you asked questions like:

Why so many excuses for not making Sunday worship a weekly priority?

Why are there empty pews?

The question we must ask is when do we ask questions about worship attendance?

Do we wonder where everyone is, as we pull into the parking lot?

Do we wait until we see empty seats, before we ask about people’s whereabouts?

Friends, 6:50 tonight or 10:50 am. next Sunday is a too late to worry about worship attendance.

Friends, if we want to get christians back in the Church, we need to get worship of Christ back in the church.

The cause of shrinking Sunday worship services

Renewed worship strengthens our witness. If you watched a race or ball game on Sunday afternoon and you team wins, you do not wait until next week to tell others about your victory. You immediately tell others the good news. IN the morning you can’t wait to talk about the activities of this weekend.

When was the last time you run to the water cooler to talk about Sunday’s worship service?

Friends, if we want to get christians back in the Church, we need to get worship of Christ back in the church.

We need a revival. Church revival is simply worship renewed.

Revival begins with renewed worship

Renewed Worship strengthens our witness.

A strengthened witness brings in more worshippers.

More worshippers revives church attendance.

Therefore; church revival begins with Renewed worship strengthening our church witness.

Culture constantly completes with God for our Worship.

Weak worship practices make weak witnesses. This is not a new problem. The churches in Asia Minor experienced the same problems at the end of the first century.

Culture constantly completes with God for our Worship.

Christ writes to seven churches in Asia Minor, who face the same problems we face.

John’s vision of Christ prepares the church for worship.

In , Christ sends seven messages to correct worship weakness that every church will eventually face. Christ lays out a pattern in these messages that guarantees to renew worship, which strengthens our witness to our community.

Christ gives us 4 expectations for renewed worship.

Culture cannot compete with a fresh vision of Christ. Gregory the great wrote Our Vision of God is our minds true refreshment.

Worship begins with our vision of Christ.

Expect a fresh image of Christ to focus our Worship.

Revival is simply a strengthened witness about our Sunday Worship service. Worship begins with a renewed vision of Christ, During worship, Christ gives us honest evaluation his vision of us. Christ provides us wi then accepting Jesus’ plan for correction any worship weaknesses, and then we share what we witnessed in Sunday Worship.

A fresh vision of Christ is important in Ephesus, because Ephesus had so many things competing for worship.

The image of Christ sets the stage for worship.

Christ’s vision of us determines the strengths and weakness of our worship.

More worship centers existed, in Ephesus, than there were days in the week.

God’s image of us determines the strengths and witness of our worship.

Christ’s plan for correcting our worship determines our witness

It was the wall street of Asia minor. The temple of Diana housed the bank of international trade.

The temple also was the Metropolitan of the art world.

Emperor worship constantly decided economic stability and social status.

Manufacturing of idolatry posted high gains year after year.

In the midst of all these promises, Jesus commands John to give the church a fresh vision to refocus their worship.

John Calvin wrote, “man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating [Christ] to scrutinize himself” (Institutes, TTT, Duvall, 35). When we a fresh vision of God, we begin to better understand ourselves. Worship opens our eyes to the wonder and majesty of the God we serve. A new vision of God can motivate to tell of his glory.

Selwyn Hughes writes, “We are restless in our littleness, until we rest in God’s bigness.”

Augustine wrote “Our hearts are restless until they rest in the worship of the true God.”

Eugene Patterson defines worship as an act of attention to the living God who rules, speaks and reveals, creates and redeems, orders and blesses” (Duvall, Revelation, 36).

The Bible puts it this way: Read and Let the Holy Spirit paraphrase.

Christ hold the church in His hand. He controls the message and the messenger. The message will provide a fresh vision of Christ. Pray for the messenger.

The church Is compared to lampstand—that reflects the presence of God in the temple.

Our vision of Christ keeps our lamp lit. He loved us and redeemed us with His shed blood.

1 John 3:16 NASB95

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Expect Christ to honestly evaluation of His image of us.

Christ knows who we are, what we are doing, and why we do the things we do.

Christ’s compliments our efforts.

He says He knows completely the work of the church. He knows how hard we work. He the extent of our devotion to defending the doctrine of the faith.

Christ criticizes our efforts not motivates by His love.

1 John 4:9–11 NASB95

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9–11 NASB95

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9

Work not motivated by Christ love is not rewarded.

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 NASB95

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:10–15

1 john 4:

HE compliments

Christ praises the Church for their hard work in keeping the faith.

Expect Christ to provide a correction plan for our worship.

Christ provides a threefold plan of action

Remember: Where you leave you first love. There is a landmark in you life where you traded devotion for duty. Remember where love faded and

Repent—change of heart and mind. A new attitude toward worship. It is not about what I do. I cannot wait to see what Jesus is going to do.

Return to doing what you first did. Let the love of Christ motivate our ministry and mission.

Christ warns us to obey.

Christ criticizes the Church for giving up their witness of His love

Expect Christ to fulfill His promise to renew worship.

Spirit-Led worship transforms us, strengthening our witness.

Genesis 3:22–23 NASB95

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 3:22

God’s love doesn’t allow us to remain in sin. Death entered the world so we could be redeemed for our misplaced worship.

Christ promises to give us continued Life of Worship in the garden of God’s presence.