Morrow Church of the Nazarene

01/19/2024

Episode 3 The Seven Churches of Revelation

The Church at Smyrna.
Smyrna means "myrrh" which is a substance used in perfumes and ointment for burial. Exodus 3:25, John 12:3-5

Jesus is doing HIs exam on this church as the First and the Last. Alpha and Omega, Rev. 1:8, 1:11. 21:6
He is the beginning and the ending.

This city was known as the crown of Asia Minor because of its beauty.
Jesus knows their tribulation and poverty and still they are rich in the truth of knowing and following the teachings of Christ, They stood against false teachers of the Jews and pagans. Emperor worship was very important to the citizens of Smyrna. this worship involved each person entering the pagan temple to take a portion of incense and burn it as they said " The Emperor is God." The Jews of this time, although claiming to be believers, jothink ning that joined in this pagan ritual thinking it would not affect their hinder their christianity. The true Christian believers would not participate and thus found it hard to gain employment. This caused their poverty, and many of them were martyred for their beliefs.
Early in the second century a man named Polycarp had become the Bishop of Smyrna and was brought before the magistrate and given the opportunity to renounce his faith in Christ. He refused and was burned to death,
Lessons we learn from this church:
1 We share in Christ's suffering.
2 Persecution is inevitable.
3 God uses persecution for HIs purposes.
4 God promises treasures to the persecuted.
5 To die in Christ is to die triumphantly.
Oh that we would be like the Church at Smyrna, prepared for tribulation and gracefully stand for the Truth of The Gospel of Christ.

Ken

01/12/2024

Installment 2 "Seven Churches of Revelations"
In the first installment we were introduced to Jesus the high Priest.
The Priest established in Leviticus was compelled to do checkups of the people, to determine their health. Lev.13-14.
Jesus is now doing the examination of the health of the Churches, to determine the strengths or weaknesses. He will determine the steps necessary to correct any lack of health.
We look first at the church in Ephesus. Read Rev. 2:1-7.
Jesus recognizes the deeds, toil, perseverance, and the lack of tolerance for evil men.
The church was in the heart of a major trade route that connected all of the known world. It was a place of great pagan worship. The worship of Caesar and especially the worship of Diana the protector of Rome. The largest employment came form the manufacturing of idols.
The Christians stood against the false teachers, false apostles, and even the jewish leaders who continued to claim that salvation was not only by grace,but also by works of the Law.
Jesus, after looking at their good points, says I have this against you. "You have left your first love." due to the area that they lived in , they had become weak in the faith. Other things had become just as important as Jesus.
Jesus then says "repent" Put the first One first, or I will come and remove your lampstand. The lampstand represents the church as the light to the world, but if the light is hidden is not effective in reaching the lost. Matt. sermon on the mount "you are the light of the world no one puts the lamp under a basket.
they also hated the things that God hates, the Nicolaitans. A false convert Nicolas had seduced many into a false theology.
AS the HIgh Priest, Jesus did the math and something did not add up. So repentance was needed. Jesus has a standard He expects us to follow. I Peter 1:15-16, be holy, because I am holy.
To find the right church there are three things that should be the standard.
1. God's Son is magnified.
2. God's people are consecrated.
3. God's Word prevails.

Do we magnify Christ in our worship and the life of our congregation? Are we consecrated or dedicated to do the things that Jesus called us to do? Do we look at the Word, scripture as the utmost authority of our beliefs? Does it take a prevalent role in our time with God and His Anointed One?
Think about these things and Put Jesus back in His place , Number One.

01/04/2024

Revelation of Jesus Christ
Welcome to the first instalment of this study on the seven churches of Revelation.
Start by reading the first chapter.
This is not a book of doom for the believer, but rather a book of hope in the coming events.
The message is from God through His messenger to John, about the revelation of Christ as He stands in heaven now.
In this chapter we are introduced to the High Priest of Glory, in HIs whaite robe and golden sash. We see that He is the highest authority of all. to see the garment of the priest look at Exodus 28.
His eyes are like fire .Fire throughout scripture represents Gods presence and judgment. Duet. 4:23-24 and Hebrews 12:29 as examples.
Jesus stands in the church , represented by seven golden candlesticks and He holds the seven stars that are the messengers of the churches.
His feet are like burnished brass meaning He has stood in the place of the sacrifice for sin. The sacrifice for sin in the Old Testament was done on the brass altar that would glow from the heat of the burning.
The Voice of authority is heard saying to John "write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches." Out of HIs mouth comes a two edged sword this is His cleansing of the church by dividing truth from error, He is sending the message to the churches of what He sees and what He expects from them.
I Peter 4:17, "judgement begins at the house of God."
I pray that this short introduction will guide you as we look into the churches for the next few weeks.
May God bless all who join in this study.

Ken

07/10/2023

03/29/2023

Your truth will be completely based on your foundation. Either the word of man or the Word of God.

03/11/2023

Since I became admin of this page. I'm told views are up. Yet no one comments.

01/30/2023

We will be having Bible study and fellowship at the church Wednesday at 6:30pm

01/20/2023

Church family.
Have you been deceived by false teachers? Remember from the beginning, Satan has been subtle about his deception. He made Eve fall for the lie that she could be like God.
He still comes at you with pretty ribbons and false claims that look appealing.
Don't be deceived, READ YOUR BIBLE and know the Truth!