The message to the church at Smyrna challenges the concept of faith so often taught and loosely practiced in the West. To these Christians suffering for their faith, Jesus promised eternal glory but commanded them to be faithful, even if it resulted in death.

Outline:

· The Speaking Sovereign Lord

· The Church and the City

· The Persecuted Church

· The Command and the Promise

If your love of Jesus, his church, or fellow believers has grown cold, Jesus provides a strong warning and a loving remedy in the message given to the church at Ephesus. The letter to the church reminds us that while we must strive for holiness, stand for truth, and be uncompromising when it comes to biblical fidelity, we must never forget our first love and blessed hope, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Outline:

· The Church and the City

· Meeting the Challenge

· The Primacy of Love

· The Promise

As Jesus closed his High Priestly Prayer, his words are a cause for every believer's hope and the great assurance of Christ's never-ending love for those who belong to him by faith.

Outline:

• The Glorious Reunion
• The Grand Invitation
• The Mark of His People

When Jesus prayed for all people, past, present, and future, who are and will be saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, he did not pray for health, wealth, and prosperity. Jesus prayed for unity. Unity initiated by the Holy Spirit. Unity in truth and unity that witnesses the power and love of God and his redeeming work to the world.

Outline:

· Foundations of Christian Faith

· Christian Unity Understood

· Christian Unity Essential

Jesus prayed that those who follow him savingly be sanctified by the truth, which is all of Scripture. As he sends us into the world with the amazing message of God’s saving grace, we are to do so always living for the glory of Christ in accordance with his perfect word.

Outline:

· The Danger

· The Mission

· The Source of Strength

How comforting it should be that no matter what comes our way in life, the risen Son intercedes always for his people! As we return to John 17, we read how the Lord Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest for those who belong to him by faith, giving all believers great assurance of being kept and united by the Father. With this comes inexplicable joy that is not a result of circumstances. Instead, it is divine joy that rests in Christ alone.

Outline:

· The Marks of Disciples

· Kept and United

· Divine Joy

For the glory of God, he displayed his amazing attributes to all humanity in the outworking of the eternal plan to redeem sinners through faith in Jesus Christ. As Jesus begins to pray on the evening of his arrest, we are reminded of the love of God and the outworking of salvation for his glory.

· Redemption Planned

· Redemption Power

· Redeemed Relationship

· Redemptive Reverence

Jesus concludes his teaching on the night of his arrest with words of great encouragement that point to the finished work on the cross and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He reminds us that no matter what we may face in the world for holding fast to the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints, we must take heart. Our life is in Christ, and Jesus has overcome the world. Our joy and peace is founded upon the very love of the Father for all who follow Jesus as Lord.

Outline:

· Just a Little While

· The Fountainhead of Joy

· A Loving Father

· More Than Conquerors