‘Email from Jesus’ Sermon Series Part 7 of 7
The Cure For Complacency – Revelation 3:14-22 the letter to the church in Laodicea
Pastor Mark October 23, 2016
Starter: Ask each participant to finish the sentence:
“ If I were as rich as Donald Trump, one thing I would do is…”
Today we will read a letter from Jesus to a wealthy church.
Read Revelations 3:14, Revelation 22:12 -13 and Colossians 1:15-17
1. How would you use these verses to respond to someone who claims that Jesus
is just a created being? Since He is over all creation then He can’t be part of
creation.
Read Revelations 3:15-17
2. Imagine that Jesus wrote this letter to our connect group. How would you react
to our letter from Jesus?
a. Surprise
b. Shame
c. Anger
d. Discouragement
e. Repentance
f. Assume the letter was sent to us by mistake
g. Blame everybody for being lukewarm
3. Laodicea was known as a banking center, a fashion center and a medical center.
This letter was intended to alert the Christians in that city to their complacent
attitude.
a. What is complacency? Definition: “a feeling of smug or uncritical
satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.”
b. What are indications that the North American church has become
complacent? Try to steer the discussion away from finger pointing and
towards self-examination.
(Optional) Read Isaiah 20
4. Why did God command Isaiah to go naked for 3 years? See verse 5.
Read Revelations 3:18
5. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t leave us in our state of desperate need. He meets our
needs by providing three things. What do these represent?
a. Refined gold
b. White clothes
c. Eye salve
Read Revelations 3:19, Proverbs 3:12, I Corinthians 11:32 and Hebrews 12:6
6. What do these verses tell us about Jesus’ motivation behind sending such a
harsh letter? It is important to understand that Jesus never condemns us. He
provides correction because he loves us.
Read Revelations 3:20-22
7. We see the motivation of love behind each of the letters to the 7 churches in
Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Ask: Of the 7 letters, which one impacted you the
most?
a. When you are too busy: Ephesus
b. When life goes bad: Smyrna
c. When you feel confused: Pergamum
d. When you feel weak: Philadelphia
e. When you feel you are at a dead end: Sardis
f. The truth about tolerance: Thyatira
g. The Cure For Complacency: Laodicea
Diving Deeper:
8. What does Jesus mean when He says “ If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door?”
9. Does the letter we just read apply to our connect group?
Yes? We need to let Jesus in, how can we “ open the door if it is currently
closed?”
No? If our door is open, how can we avoid complacency and keep it open?