One of the top news items this past week has been a story concerning some of our nation’s top banks—banks that the government is putting through what has been referred to as: a “financial stress test.” When I first heard that story I got this mental image of bankers in three piece suits jogging on treadmills—but of course that’s not what has been going on. No—the “stress test” they are referring to is of course a test to see how strong these banks are and if they are about to fail like so many others have in the past few months. More specifically…Uncle Sam wants to know if these banks are going to need any of the remaining bailout funds to stay in business—so I guess you could say this stress test is preventative medicine—financially speaking.
I thought of all this during the past week as I studied the letter Jesus wrote to the third church in the book of Revelation—because our Lord had put this church through a similar examination—sort of a “church stress test.” I mean, Jesus studied this local congregation as he walked in their midst and then, based on His “look at their books” so to speak, He issued a report—a report in the form of a letter in which He gives the bottom line. He told them what their assets and liabilities were—and the kinds of actions and attitudes they had to “invest” in if they were to become strong and productive again. He even told them how they would profit if they changed their behavior. Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 2. The letter we are studying is in verses 12-17. It’s written to the church in Pergamum. Follow along as I read—and see if you don’t think it sounds like the results of a church stress test.
12 – “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him Who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13 – I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 – Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
15 – Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 – Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Before we go any further in our study—let me give you a little background about Pergamum—a city in modern-day Turkey that is now known as BERGAMA. As you can see from our map, it’s located about 50 miles north of the last church we studied in Smyrna—and it would have been the THIRD stop that a first century postman would have made in delivering mail to these seven churches of Asia—starting in Patmos going by ship to Ephesus…then Ephesus to Smyrna…and from Smyrna, on to Pergamum.
In the 1st century Pergamum had a population of about a quarter million people—and if you were to pick one word to describe them I think it would have to be “PROUD.” They were PROUD of their city for many reasons but the first was the fact that Pergamum was the ROMAN CAPITOL of the entire province of Asia. PLUS—Pergamum had been a capital city long before the Romans made it one—going back 400 years to when it became the capitol of the Selucid empire. So these citizens and their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, and great, great grandparents…etc. Well, let’s just say they were used to being “where the action was.” They were accustomed to having a lot of important things going on in their city. I imagine they felt much like we do living here on the outskirts of D.C.—minus the beltway of course!
A second thing that would have added to their civic pride was the fact that Pergamum was a very BEAUTIFUL city. It was built on a rocky hill about 15 miles from the coast—and this elevation was high enough that you could actually see the Mediterranean on a clear day. Pliny the Elder must have walked those streets and seen those breathtaking ocean views because he once wrote that, “Pergamos is the most illustrious—the most beautiful—city in all of Asia.”
Now—Pergamum was different from the other two cities we have studied thus far—Ephesus and Smyrna—in that, since it was not a port—it was not a major trade city. But it more than made up for that deficiency because it was known all over the world as a center of CULTURE—and this was a third source of pride for its population. You see, Pergamum had beautiful official buildings. It had a theater that could seat 3500 people. But its greatest cultural asset was its LIBRARY. They had one that contained over 200,000 scrolls. The only bigger library in the world at that time was the one in Alexandria.
By the way, the name “Pergamum” literally means “parchment” and there is a very interesting story related to this fact. You see, for many centuries if you wanted to write something down—well, you used PAPYRUS—and papyrus was made from bulrushes that grow on the banks of the Nile. So—for a LONG TIME one of Egypt’s main exports was papyrus. It was in great demand all over the world, because if you lived back then, this is what you would use to write your grocery list on and your term papers. I suppose even sermons were written on papyrus!
Well, in the 3rd century B.C. the king of Pergamum was a guy named Eumenes and like his fellow “Pergamumites” Eumenes was very proud of his city—especially its library. But like all sinners—Eumenes wanted more. And what he wanted most was for his library to move from being the number two library in the world up to the number one slot. So he persuaded…or more accurately BRIBED…the man in charge of the library in Alexandria, a skilled librarian named Aristophanes, to agree to leave and come to work for him in Pergamum. Well, the ruler in Egypt at that time was Ptolemy and when he got word of what was going on it really ticked him off so he put Aristophanes under lock and key. On top of that—to punish Eumenes for attempting to steal his librarian, Ptolemy put an embargo in place on the export of papyrus to Pergamum—sort of a “no more bulrushes for you, Eumenes” kind of deal. Well—necessity is the mother of invention—so when this embargo was put in place the scholars in Pergamum put their heads together to find a substitute for papyrus. And the result of their labors was parchment or vellum, which is made from the skins of animals. Parchment proved to be a far superior writing material and it eventually wiped out the papyrus market—which of course made Ptolemy poorer and the residents of Pergamum prouder! In any case this story showed that Pergamum was indeed a cultural center in that it was filled with some of the greatest academic minds of that day and age.
But—here’s another thing you need to know. Pergamum was also the center of PAGAN IDOL WORSHIP. In fact its people seemed to have had a fetish for worshiping man-made gods. I say this because their city proudly boasted of having at least four great temples—one for each of the greatest gods of the Greeks. They had a temple dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and drama; they had one for Athena, the goddess of wisdom in art and war; They had one for Aesculapius the god of healing, and the biggest temple in town was dedicated to numero uno in the pantheon of Greek gods—Zeus. Zeus’ massive temple was built on a hill overlooking the city and it was referred to as Zeus’ throne. It was four stories high or about four times the size of the seat Lincoln sits in down at our Lincoln Memorial. By the way in 1878 an archeologist from the Berlin Museum dug up Zeus’ temple in Pergamum and took it back to Berlin where it has been ever since.
Well, many people think Zeus’ throne is what Jesus was referring to in verse 13. And—that could be true—but here’s another possibility and it’s the one that I lean toward. You see, I think Jesus was alluding to the fact that 1st century Pergamum was the CENTER of EMPEROR WORSHIP in that part of the world. In fact, in all the empire it was the first city to build a temple dedicated to the worship of a LIVING emperor—Caesar Augustus. Now—to make sure you understand what I’m saying—in other cities—like Smyrna—you could burn your pinch of incense once a year and say, “Caesar is Lord” and then you could do as you pleased on other days. That’s how OTHER Roman cities interpreted the law that made emperor worship compulsory. But in Pergamum worshiping the emperors of Rome was a 365 day deal—so the main issue facing the believers in this city was a constant, daily pressure to deny Christ and worship the emperor as god. More than anything then, I think this contributed to making these believers FEEL as if they were living in a place where satan called the shots.
Well, let me just stop and ask—do you ever feel like that as you live in THIS capitol city? When you watch the news and hear the headlines—does it make it seem as if satan’s having his way more often than not? Here’s a few headlines from just this past week:
Seven-Year-Old Boy Shot And Killed by a Couple Who Claim He Was Trespassing On Their Property.
Five U.S. Soldiers In Iraq Killed by a Fellow Soldier
Three-Year-Old Boy Kidnaped From His Home in San Bernadino
Ex-cop Arrested For Murder of His Third Wife
Well, if news clips like these make you FEEL as if satan is indeed alive and well on the planet earth—it’s because he IS. The devil is not in Hell—not yet. He is not locked up in the bottomless pit as he will be someday. No—he is the prince of this fallen world…the god of this temporary age…and he walks up and down this planet directing the sources of evil and immorality. He is especially focused on trying to drag men away from faith in Jesus. Yes…satan is defeated. Jesus did that when He walked out of His tomb on Easter Sunday—but in the same way a mortally wounded bear is something to steer clear of—satan is still very dangerous.
Now—you may think—man, what a tough place to plant a church—Temples to pagan Gods—the center of emperor worship—and a city full of people too proud to think they need Jesus—why wouldn’t God put those believers somewhere else? Surely there was an Asian city that would have been a little more open to the gospel message!
Well, to answer my own question I’ll say the reason God put a church here is because God loves ALL people—even the people of Pergamum who were worshiping all those false gods. Our Heavenly Father’s heart broke for them. He longed for them to know Him—so He put His church in that dangerously difficult city to reach out to its lost residents. That was His assigned mission field for those particular Christians. That is the part of the world those believers were gifted by God’s Spirit to serve—so that’s where they needed to be. In 1865 Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “Mulholland’s Contract.” I don’t know if you’ve ever read it but the poem is about a man named Mulholland who was a cattleman on a cattle boat. His assigned work station was in the hold—down where the cattle were carried. Well, in the poem there came a terrific storm at sea and the cattle broke loose. In their terror they were stampeding and trampling everywhere; and it seemed certain that Mulholland would be killed beneath their flailing hooves. So Mulholland made a contract with God. As Kipling put it in his poem, Mulholland said,
“And by the terms of the contract, as I have read the same,
If [God] got me to port alive I would exalt His Name,
And praise His Holy Majesty till further orders came.”
Well, miraculously Mulholland made it through the storm and when he reached the shore alive, he was prepared to fulfill his part of the contract. His idea was to quit the cattle boats and preach the Gospel out in the world—but in the poem God said to him:
“I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear.
So back you go to the cattle-boats an’ preach My gospel there.”
In other words, it was Mulholland’s duty, not to seek an easier place to be a Christian, but to be a Christian exactly where God had put him. And that’s the way it was with the believers in Pergamum. They were called by God to share His love in that capitol city full of proud, emperor-worshiping, Christian-persecuting people. God still does that kind of thing. I mean, He still puts us where He needs us. He gifts us and talents us so that we are able to share His love in specific places. Now—let that fact sink in for a moment—God has placed you where He needs you—next to neighbors who need to hear of His love—and co-workers who need to see you live out your faith. The next time you start to complain about your place in life—stop and think—Almighty God has put you there as His representative! That kind of changes things doesn’t it!!! Well—let’s take it a bit further because this principle means our CHURCH is right where God wants it to be. Derwood is Redland’s assigned part of the front lines of God’s kingdom. It may seem tough at times—but this is where God has placed us. This is where God has equipped us to minister. He has given—and will continue to give—us all we need to do His will. He’ll give us the insights and resources to share His love—right here in Derwood!
Okay—with that background in mind, let’s look now at this letter—the report of this particular “church stress test.”
(1) First Jesus cites their ASSETS as a church.
Look again at verse 13 where He says, “I know where you live yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city…where satan lives.” Now—we don’t know much about Antipas because he’s not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture but tradition tells us that he was a member of this church in Pergamum—and he was seared to death inside a huge hollow brass bull because he refused to renounce his faith in Jesus. He was martyred like this because he would not worship the emperor.
Well—Antipas was apparently representative of the kind of Christian that made up this congregation. It was full of brave believers who would not give up their faith in Jesus—even though it meant enduring severe persecution and even death. In fact, the Greek phrase here that we translate, “did not renounce” — well it carries the idea of holding on to your faith in Jesus with a FIRM GRIP that won’t let go. So—according to this “stress test,” one asset this church had was the fact that they refused to budge when it came to their faith that Jesus is Who He says He is. They held firmly to that truth. Even when they suffered and died for doing so—they held tightly to their belief that Jesus is the only Son of God, the Savior of the World—the way, the truth, and the life. Now—why would they do this? Why cling to their faith when it was so costly to do so? Well, I’m sure you’d agree that only a fool, only someone who does not have both oars in the water, would suffer and die for a lie. No one would suffer for something they know to be untrue. So, the only reason these people would cling to their faith in those circumstances is because they believed it was the TRUTH—TRUTH that was WORTH clinging to—and convictions that you cling to like that are born of EXPERIENCE. So—these Christians were willing to face difficult days in that Christian-persecuting city because they had experienced the presence of the living Jesus in their day to day lives—a presence through which He had given them the courage and the strength to stand fast. These believers were willing to face DEATH—because they each had experienced a personal relationship with the Living Lord—the only One Who defeated death and was therefore qualified to promise them eternal LIFE.
I’m reminded of a time in Jesus’ earthly ministry when He had been teaching the throngs that were following Him that He was about to die on the cross for their sins and that only by putting their faith in Him would they receive eternal life. Jesus had been saying that the law would not save them…that their forefathers who ate the manna in the wilderness died—but that those who come to Him as the Bread of life would live forever. Well—this was too hard of a teaching for many of them to swallow…so as John 6 says, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” When this happened Jesus turned to the twelve and said, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” and Peter said, “Lord, where else shall we go—only You have the words of eternal life. We believe—we cling to you—because we know that You are the Holy One of God.”
We understand what Peter meant that day don’t we? I mean, our conviction is that Jesus is Who He says He is—our belief is that Jesus really did what no one else can do. He conquered our greatest enemy, death—well WE cling to this belief for dear life—because we know it TRUMPS everything life can throw at us. Nothing else can touch us—not really—because Jesus is indeed the risen Son of God—our Lord and Savior. Before Jesus came—we had a LOT to fear—but because of our faith in Him all that has changed.
I’ve been thinking about medical stuff a lot this week—and it hit me that not too many years ago—diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy, pneumonia—even a cut that got infected—these were all terrifying things that usually meant a death sentence. Back then so many illnesses and ailments and injuries towered above us. But today—thanks to medical advances and new drugs doctors say, “It’s just leprosy. We can take care of that.” or “It’s just pneumonia—take these pills. You’ll be fine.” When children get that rash we say, “It’s just the measles.” When we a cut gets infected we think nothing of it and just reach for the Neosporin. To us it’s “…just a cut.” Well—because of Who Jesus is and what Jesus did—no matter what satan throws our way we can use those same two words, “It’s just…” Because of Jesus—Who died for our sins and rose again—we can say, “It’s just financial hardship!”or “It’s just persecution!” or “It’s just cancer.” Because of Jesus we can even say, “It’s just death.” You see, our conviction is the same as that of the Apostle Paul who said, “For me—to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
So—like the believers in Pergamum—mature Christ followers are unafraid. They get strength and courage from Jesus that enables them to face ANYTHING…so they cling to their faith in Him with a FIRM grip that will not let go. What a wonderful ASSET to have as a church—to be full of believers who are fearless and BOLD in the face of whatever life throws their way!
Now—if you’re here this morning—and you’re not a Christian—then consider this. The Christians in the first century would not let go of their faith in Jesus—no matter what.
And—persecution like they endured continues to this day. In fact, during the 20th century more people suffered and died for their faith in Jesus than in all 19 prior centuries combined. Well—if all those millions of people down through the years were willing to suffer and die for their faith in Jesus—then Jesus must be worth knowing and following—wouldn’t you agree? If people cling to Him at such a cost—then He must be worth clinging to!
(2) Okay—let’s move to the other column of this church’s “spiritual spread sheet.”
What did Jesus warn them concerning their LIABILITIES?
Look at verses 14 and 15. “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
So—according to this report these bold believers were doing a great job of withstanding attacks that came from outside—but they were weak when it came to threats that came from within. They tolerated in their midst people who taught falsehood—people who embraced the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.
Now—what exactly are we talking about here? What did Balaam and the Nicolaitans teach? Well—Balaam should be familiar because a couple years ago our children’s choirs did a great little musical about him but in case you missed it, I’ll tell you that according to the book of Numbers when Balak, a Moabite king, heard about the victories of the Hebrew people as they journeyed from Egypt on the way to the promised land when Balak heard the Hebrews were headed his way, he hired Balaam, a well-known prophet—to curse them. Balaam accepted the job, hopped on his donkey, and was on the way to do exactly that when he met an angel of the Lord—and as a result of that meeting he confessed his sin and offered to go home. The angel told him not to do that and to go with the Moabites but to only speak the words that God gave him to say. So instead of CURSING the Israelites Balaam BLESSED them four times. But Balaam was greedy and to keep from losing his pay he told Balak to send his women to seduce the men of Israel. In essence he said, “Balak, if you can’t curse them, corrupt them.” Ever since then Balaamism had been known as a teaching that attacked the separation and sanctification that God expects His people to maintain. So, in short, the doctrine of Balaam was the teaching that Christ-followers could embrace the world’s teachings while maintaining their Christian distinctiveness.
Alexander MacLaren says,“Balaamism is the attempt to make the best of both worlds, the earthly world and the spiritual world. It’s like trying to run with the hare AND hunt with the hounds.” And the Nicolaitans taught the same basic thing. They believed that sinning was actually a good thing because it gave God another chance to forgive you. This led them to happily participate in the immorality of that city. They went to church on Sunday—and then attended lavish banquets in the temple to Zeus on Monday banquets that were a form of worshiping Zeus as they ate the meat of animals that were sacrificed to him—and became involved in the sexual immorality that served as dessert.
Perhaps the followers of Balaamism and the Nicolaitans said things like this to the to the members of this church—things like, “Look, we’re not against religion or anything, but you don’t want to look like some kind of weirdo, do you? Keep that up and you’re not going to get invited to this Friday’s orgy. People aren’t going to hire you if you take this Christian thing too far.” And some of the people in this church succumbed to that kind of internal pressure. They worshiped Jesus—and they also lived like the devil. I mean, the main liability of this church was the fact that some of its members had compromised their faith. They were trying to play both sides and as a result this church in Pergamum was becoming like the world. Instead of transforming their culture as salt and light, they were letting the culture transform them.
Unfortunately this kind of thing still happens. There are churches today with believers who tend toward this same kind of compromise. Now—please understand. The church must be IN the world—that’s our mission field—our part of the front lines. We have to be IN the world—but we must not be OF it. Let me put it this way. It is fine for the boat to be in the water—but it’s bad for the water to be in the boat.
In 1871 an American named Heinrich Schliemann began excavating an ancient city in Turkey. To the amazement of many, this retired businessman discovered the fabled lost city of Troy. Today you can see the ruins of its towers and its walls, which were 16 feet thick. And—I’m sure you know the story. You’ve either read Homer’s Illiad and Virgil’s Aeneid or seen the movie that was loosely based on these stories that starred Brad Pitt. So you know that the Greeks besieged Troy for ten years without success and that after the death of the warrior Achilles, many wanted to give up the fight. But, remember? The King of Ithaca, Odysseus, came up with a plan to get the Greek army into Troy. He built an immense wooden horse and he and his warriors hid inside.
After leaving the horse at the gates of Tory, the Greek army sailed away. The Trojans thought the Greeks had given up and left the horse as a gift, and so they did a very foolish thing. They brought it inside their gates. That night, while the Trojans were sleeping, the Greek ships quietly returned. The soldiers in the horse slipped out and opened the city gates. Then the entire Greek army entered Troy and destroyed the city from within. Well, this well-known story has come to represent the SUBVERSION of anything from within.
And, we must be careful NOT to make their mistake. We have to realize that following Jesus will mean living differently than people who don’t follow Him. It will make us stand out—but that’s okay. We are to be a PECULIAR people—a DISTINCT people—a SEPARATE people. Philippians 2 says that we are to strive to be, “…blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which we shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life…”
AND—I would remind you that our faith really is the WORD OF LIFE—living according to God’s laws—standing out—really is the best way—the only way to live. Bill Hybels writes:“The Lord tells us specifically that His commands are never burdensome. On the contrary, every guideline, every law, every imperative in the Bible was crafted in infinite wisdom. They were given not only to honor God, but to benefit us as well.” Remember? In Jeremiah 29:11 God says to you and me, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And later in chapter 32 God says that His desire is,“…that people will always fear Him—for their own good and for the good of their children after them.”So God’s law is not negative in nature. It’s purpose is not to BURDEN us but to PROTECT us.
Josh McDowell tells of a young man named Greg. Greg lived down the block from a family who had an in-ground swimming pool in their back yard. He had never gone swimming in their pool however; he barely knew the people, and a high wooden fence enclosed the pool. One dark evening when Greg knew his neighbors were away, .he and his girlfriend snuck behind the house, scaled the fence, and entered the pool area to go for a swim. Greg threw off his shoes, climbed the ladder and, while his girlfriend was still taking her shoes and socks off, leaped off the end of the diving board. He heard his girlfriend scream just before he lost consciousness. You see, the pool held only a few feet of water. In the dark Greg apparently didn’t notice this. His dive ended with a shallow splat of water and a sickening crunch of bones. Greg’s late-night dive paralyzed him from the neck down for the rest of his life. Greg ignored the fence that his neighbors had erected around the pool. He probably assumed it was there only to keep him and his girlfriend from having fun. In reality it was meant for his own protection, and his disregard of that boundary cost him dearly. Similarly, God’s laws are given to protect us…and when we ignore His moral boundaries the cost can be just as devastating.
So—it’s foolish indeed to go along with the world—if it means ignoring God’s loving laws. That kind of worldly compromise is a serious liability for any Christian—for any church.
(3) Okay—what was Jesus’ solution? What did He say the believers in Pergamum should do to CORRECT this problem?
Well, His solution is one word. Look at verse 16. Jesus says, “REPENT therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” This statement is in the aorist imperative tense which means it is a command to repent immediately. Jesus says, “Don’t linger—don’t take a few days to think bout it—no—right now, change your mind and your actions and your attitude…because if you don’t I’ll come to you residents of Pergamum—you who are so proud of your library with all its WORDS…and I will condemn you with the WORD of TRUTH…the ‘two-edged sword’ that comes from My mouth…” And remember—Jesus’ WORD was a powerful opponent! With it He calmed storms, healed the sick, drove out demons, and raised the dead.
God’s WORD—His admonitions are never mere suggestions. They are to be taken seriously and acted on with determination and speed. So, if you are living a compromised life, Jesus would say, repent, quickly!
(4) Okay—there’s one more part of the stress test report to look at. Jesus described the PROFIT they could expect if they followed His guidance.
Look once more at the last part of verse 17 where Jesus says, “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. Now—when Jesus promises manna here—He is referring to much more than physical food. He’s reminding them that He is the Bread of Life. The manna in the wilderness sustained those people physically but Jesus came to give us abundant life—He came to satisfy the hunger for God that we all have. Second, Jesus promised a new name—a special name that indicates our closeness and intimacy with God. I’m sure many of you have given your spouses nicknames—pet names known only to you—and whenever you call them by that name they know how special your love for them really is. Well, God does that as well. Think of the powerful nicknames He has given people in Scripture. “Peter, the fearful” became “Cephas—the ROCK.” “Saul the persecutor” became “Paul, the missionary.” “Abram the childless” became “Abraham, the father of many nations.” These special—God-given names—well, they communicated the fact that these individuals were special to God. And so, Jesus is saying that the person who rejects the friendship of the world will enjoy a unique friendship with God—a special closeness. When we walk close to Jesus—living according to His loving laws—even though it means standing out—we’ll develop a close intimate relationship with God. We’ll be like this (crossed fingers).
Now—if you were to apply this “spiritual stress test” to your own life—how would you do?
Are you clinging to your faith in Jesus as stubbornly as the Pergamum Christians did?
Are you guilty of trying to live a compromised life—you know—one foot in each camp?
Do you know God personally, intimately? Are you a Christ follower?
To quote Jesus’ letter once more, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”
Let us pray.
Father God,
I ask that right now You would walk in our midst and look closely at each person present in this room. Put each of us through the same kind of test You put the members of the church in Pergamum through. See if there is any offensiveness in us…and lead us in the everlasting way. In short—convict us of any thoughts and attitudes and actions that keep us from living in ways that please You—and then tell us what we need to do to change. I ask this in JESUS’ name. AMEN
Bobby and Kevin and I will be standing here at the front as we sing. We invite you to come forward and share any decision God’s testing has placed on your heart. Come—and ask to join this church. Come—and profess your faith that Jesus is Who He says He is—come and pray—but come as God leads.
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.