Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

John provides readers with information about when and how he received this divine revelation. He received when he was in exile for following Jesus. Perhaps John, because he was a prominent leader of the church, had been separated from fellow believers, although his description of himself is one that indicates that he cannot be separated from them because they belong to the same family, serve in the same kingdom, endure the same opposition and have the same determination to continue. John received the revelation through the Spirit. While it is difficult to grasp what John means by being in the Spirit, the outcome is obvious. Such will receive deeper understandings into who Jesus is and what he is doing. In John’s case, it probably means a special experience connected to him undergoing divine inspiration as he receives from Jesus a book that will be included in the Bible.  John provides a description of Jesus and then records the demands of the Saviour. The description of Jesu...

Pergamos at that time was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. It was a cultural centre, possessing a very large library of 200,000 volumes, and in order to help the development of this library the city rulers encouraged the use of a new form of writing material.  It was also known as a place of medical cures (the famous Galen lived there), although even they were connected to pagan forms of idolatry, with the god of healing depicted in the form of a serpent. Sadly, it had the dubious record of being the first city in the province to build a temple for emperor worship. Unlike the church in Smyrna, whose persecutions involved the Jewish synagogue, the church in Pergamos faced trouble from Gentile sources. As we think of such a place, it is a wonder that there was a Christian church in such a city. But that is a reminder that the gospel of Christ succeeds in most unlikely situations. It is possible that Jesus alludes to a local feature when he describes himself as the o...

Paul was in the process of gathering a church gift to help struggling believers in Jerusalem. The time was drawing near when he would take it to Jerusalem and so he writes to the church in Corinth to complete what they had promised to give. And to help them do so, he mentions the example of Jesus and what he gave. This is not the only time that the example of Jesus is used as a motivator in Christian living. Paul in Philippians 2 provides a beautiful description of the descent and exaltation of Jesus, but the reason why the apostle included it was to encourage humility in the lives of the Philippian believers. The author of Hebrews in chapter 12 tells his readers to consider how Jesus ran his race because his example would encourage them. Peter makes a general comment when he mentions that Jesus left us an example that we should follow in his steps. Our first response to this example might be one of surprise because, after all, Jesus is perfect and we are imperfect. Yet we know th...