How do you know if a church is alive?
What you need to know about Sardis: Once a major city that had a strong defense, but was twice overrun – once by Cyrus the Persian. However, they were not the noble city they once were. Now they were pretty ordinary – with an extraordinary reputation they were living off of. (Like the Yankees of today, if you’re a baseball fan.)
What do the seven spirits represent?
How do you think they get a reputation of being alive?
How do these texts illuminate the nature of hypocrisy? (Mt. 11.20; Mt. 6.1-6; 16-18; 2 Tim. 3.5)
What does it mean to “Wake up” (“keep watch”) in practical terms for our spiritual lives? (Ps. 139.23-24.)
How do you “strengthen what remains” in the life of the Sardisans and our lives?
What is the significance of remembering in Scripture? (Dt. 8.1-20; Ps. 77; Rev. 2.5)
What do you think they have received and heard?
How are we supposed to relate and function “in the Spirit” as believers? (Gal. 5.22-23; 2 Cor. 3.18; 1 Cor. 3.16; Jude 20; Jn. 4.24; Phil. 3.3; Gal. 5.25)
What would an authentic Christian life look like?
How do you think most Sardisians may have “soiled their clothes”?
What are the consequences if they don’t “wake up”?
What happens if they obey?
Application
How would you say you are most prone to hypocrisy in your life?
What do you do to actually “keep watch”/“wake up” in your life?
What are your strengths? How will you build on them to strengthen the church?
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