Blessings to you, loved ones.  My prayer for you this week is that you find new strength in your first love, holding on to that which is good and restoring the things which have been broken.  Read on to find out what’s coming up.

We had a wonderful time last week with our homecoming celebration.  We saw some old friends and made some new ones.  Special thanks to everyone who pitched in to make it a success.  Because of Cindy’s efforts and those who brought additional desserts and sides we had plenty of food with some to spare for the 5th Sunday fellowship.  We are also grateful to Still Blessed for providing the music.

My dad, Larry Thacker Sr., brought the message.  That was a special moment for both of us.  I asked him to speak on the Biblical foundations and purpose for the form of corporate worship often seen in nondenominational churches.  Having grown up listening to him, sometimes more than others, I had some idea what he was going to say, but I really appreciated the way he did it this time.  He not only described the purpose and symbolism, but the reason why we are able to experience the presence of the holy Spirit in this special way.  The next time we have a service like that, we’ll all understand what we’re doing and why.  We have the entire service on Facebook and in the podcast.

Can you imagine getting a letter straight from God?  Yes, we do have lots of them in the form of our Bible, but what if he wrote a letter directly to you? What do you think it would say?  What about our church?  What would a letter from Jesus look like if it were written to us?  That’s exactly what happened to the seven churches named in the book of Revelation.

This Sunday I plan to begin a short series of messages from Revelation, Chapters 2-3.  Here John writes down messages to seven churches, delivered from the mouth of Jesus Himself!  Most contain both praise and warnings.  Others contain only praise.  Each ends with a promise “to him who overcomes.”  In order to understand these promises, we must understand the context provided by each message.  They will guide us as a church and as individuals.

We begin with the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7.)  Jesus has many good things to say of this church, but one big problem.  He says, But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”  The people are given a choice, “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”  In other words, if they did not repent, they would no longer be allowed to exist as a church.  The Lord would personally see to it.  These other things are good, but good things are not enough.  If they returned to doing the works they did at first, but without love or repentance, it would still not be enough.  It is relationship that He seeks, and the works come out of that relationship.

Then we have the promise.  For those who overcome, for those who stay true, there is the promise of eternal life.  You might remember the tree of life from the book of Genesis.  It was in the garden of Eden and was denied to man once he fell (Gen 3:22-23).  Jesus promises here restoration, back to the way it was supposed to be from the beginning.  He is the one who made it possible.

I hope you’ll join us as we learn and grow together.  Keep praying for each other.  See you Sunday.

Love y’all!

Larry