Do you know about the time when Jesus sent a word to a church that informed them that He appreciated all that they were doing for Him, but that He was about to completely shut them down? This really happened. King Jesus really did send that message to a church and it is recorded in the Bible for everyone to read and learn from. These Christians were loyal in service, doctrinally sound, willing to oppose evil, refusing to quit on the mission…but Jesus stacked all that against the one thing they were missing, and then sent word to them that He couldn’t let them continue the way they were living. He exposed the fatal flaw in their midst and instructed them what to do about it. This message to the ancient church at Ephesus holds so much important revelation for Christians today. What was the fatal flaw that the Ephesian Church needed to fix? It wasn’t their zeal and commitment to a mission. The thing which threatened their future as a church had to do with their lack of prioritizing love.
Fixing The Fatal Flaw
Revelation 2:1-7
July 16, 2023 • Jeff Lyle • Revelation 2:1–7
Fixing Your Focus
November 26, 2023 • Jeff Lyle • John 21:15–22
It might sound somewhat simplistic to some, but it really is true that each Christian's life can be summed up with the headline of, "I am a Jesus-follower." As we enter into relationship with Jesus Christ by faith, Heaven's expectation is that we live all our days following Him in trusting obedience. As we all commit to keep our eyes on Jesus, many potential distractions come along that can result in us getting off track. One of the most common and lethal distractions to those who are to follow Jesus is our tendency to fixate upon what is happening with other people. The life of a Jesus-follower requires intense focus on the Lord as He leads us. When we become distracted by how He is leading others, or the degree to which we believe they are faithfully following Him, we become sidetracked as we take our eyes off of Him. No clearer example of this danger is found in Scripture than that of the Apostle Peter. From this pivotal moment in his life, we see how easy it is to get distracted from following Jesus, and how intense Jesus is in His command for us to keep our eyes on Him.
Dangerous Elevations
November 19, 2023 • Jeff Lyle • Mark 9:30–35
We should not glamorize or romanticize the early Church - they had major issues just like we do today. If we go back 2,000 years in Church history, you will find there a problem that is still around today. One of these problems is our tendency to divide and fragment the unity of the Body of Christ based on what particular leader (or what type of leader) we think is the best suited to lead us. Jesus first followers had a major problem with envy for positions, leader-worshipping, and faulty awareness of inferior motivations for Kingdom ministry. What is the cure for these types of ills? Remaining centered on the person of Christ, and remaining tenaciously committed to the big-picture of the Kingdom no matter what others might be doing around you. In the end, the words of Jesus and the Apostle Paul empower us today to miss the landmines that the early Church repeatedly stepped on.
We Need A Move
November 12, 2023 • Jeff Lyle • Isaiah 64:1–9
If we are walking in the Spirit, then we are always hungry for more from God. We long for more of His presence to manifest. We see the great need for His power to change our own lives and the world around us. We pant after a greater experience of His ways becoming our ways. Yet, we also sense the struggles. We hit the bumps in the discipleship-road. Our flesh (and the flesh of others) hasn’t laid down and fully died. We live in the tension of knowing what God can and will do, versus the sometimes overwhelming reality that we are only experiencing a fraction of what we know is available to us from Him. In the end, we discover like the Prophet Isaiah long ago that we stand in need of a move from Heaven. This message reveals how we can position ourselves to receive and steward a move of God.