Publisher's Synopsis
Synopsis: "Letters from Jesus" is an exhilarating and informative journey through the geography, history and spiritual life of the cities and churches Jesus writes to in Revelation 2-3. Well organized, conversationally written and easy to understand for all levels of Christian maturity, this book invites to reader to walk with the letter carrier of the Roman Road and experience the cities as he visits them for the first time. Follow along as Pastor Allan carefully and passionately teaches through each letter, helping the reader to discover Jesus' special love for the church and people in each location. Although these letters were delivered to specific churches almost two thousand years ago Pastor Allan draws very specific and helpful applications for today. Each church struggles with a different aspect of faith and obedience which are pertinent to every generation of believers. Like many Christians today, Ephesus, though appearing to be a healthy, busy and spiritually vibrant church, were lacking something at their core. They became distracted by many good, spiritual things, but had lost their love-connection to Jesus. How can Christians today keep from making the same mistake? Smyrna faced intense persecution and pressure to leave the faith from forces outside the church. How does our faith in Jesus give us a new perspective on suffering, and how can we endure it faithfully? Pergamum was under attack as well, but their problem wasn't as much from outside as it was from within. They handled external pressures well but were cracking internally as they began following the habits of their corrupt culture and accepting false teaching. In what ways have Christians today succumbed to the temptation to compromise their faith and obedience to Jesus and what must be done? Thyatira's problem was simple and straightforward -- compromised morality. They had a false teacher in their midst who was promoting the toleration and indulgence of false idols and sexual sin. There are a lot of believers who struggle with being too tolerant of sin in their own lives and churches. What does Jesus have to say about how we are to deal with immorality? Sardis' issue was more insidious than Thyatira's and they receive the harshest of the letters from Jesus. His issue: hypocrisy. They had a reputation for being a faithful church but were, in reality, spiritually dead. What is Jesus' prescription for a person or church who has convinced others of their fidelity to Christ, but has no relationship with Him? Philadelphia was a small, faithful church, weak in stature but strong in faith. They were nothing special to look at and were tired from the spiritual battles they'd been fighting (and winning!). What is Jesus' message to a faithful believer (or group of believers) who is weary of the daily struggle of the faith? Laodicea was too sophisticated and self-sufficient for their own good. They accepted salvation, but didn't feel they really needed Jesus to take care of the rest of their lives and were half-hearted in their worship and relationship with Him. How can a worldly wealthy Christian stay desperate in their need for the presence of Jesus? How can a believer stay on fire for Jesus in a culture where standing out gets you labelled as an extremist? Christians and congregations around the world struggle with these issues every day. They can learn a lot from the letters Jesus sends to these churches. Each chapter is full of scripture, illustrations and applications that will help Christians grow stronger in their faith, no matter what level of maturity they are at - there's something in this book for everyone. At the end of the book is a final, interactive chapter called "Jesus' Letter to Me" where the reader is invited to take all they have learned and experienced and make a deeper commitment to Jesus.
