For My Two Ears...Part 1

Currently, my Sunday evening class is studying the seven churches in Revelation.  Using the study materials from Beth Moore's The Beloved Disciple (via the Masterwork curriculum and her own books) and Sam Storms To the One Who Conquers, we are focusing on what the message to each church is saying to us, individually, today.

So far, we have studied the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna.  So very interesting.

• Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7):  From this church, the Lord reminded me...do not leave your first love.  Do not love "doing" more than than praising, worshiping, and spending time with just the Lord, for when you read the message to the Ephesian church, they most certainly sound like the most diligent of churches.  As our pastor first noted, "This is a church our would want to be like...except..."  Right.  Except.  Except they had left their first love.
  HOW DOES ONE NOT LEAVE the FIRST LOVE?  Stay in The Word.  Quiet time with the Lord.  Stay in The Word.  Yes, remain in The Word.
• Smyrna (Revelation 2: 8-11):  The Suffering Church.  Suffering for Him.  He who did not rescue them from the suffering but further prepared them for the suffering.  This He does for us, for not always are we spared the suffering, but He never leaves us, never abandons us.

This study is so interesting.  Just have to be honest...as I always am...I have never slowed down and read the words to the churches this slowly, identifying the five parts of the message to each church:

1. Identification
2. Commendation
3. Rebuke - only two of the seven had reason for NO rebuke.
4. Exhortation
5. Encouragement

As I mentioned above, to assist in studying in this manner, I encourage the use of the following two books...AND, of course, a good study Bible:

1. Sam Storms' To the One Who Conquers:  very in depth, with much history and expounding on the words within each verse, as this is a 50-day meditation on these churches.  VERY good resource.
2. Beth Moore's The Beloved Disciple:  Her chapters shorter, Moore's book reiterates, while at the same time, approaching the topics with different insights.  Maybe having a male and female perspective is a powerful way to approach a subject?

I very much look forward to what this ear needs to hear from the remaining messages to the churches.  So very interesting and timely and needed.