Sermon Notes:
1. Thyatira struggled with a lack of discernment and tolerating false teaching.
2. If someone says they have a new teaching from God it is not true!
a. If it is true, it is not new.
3. Jesus expects His churches to know the truth and live the truth.
4. To the early church father Ignatius, the struggle against false teachers within the church posed a greater threat then pagan society without.
5. In order to have a healthy successful relationship it has to be built on truth.
Follow-up Questions from Sunday:
Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?
Digging Deeper:
1. When you read Revelation 2:18-29 what is your impression of this church?
2. In Revelation 2:20-21, we read that the church in Thyatira was struggling with discerning and allowing bad teaching to happen in the church. Why do you think this is wrong in the mind of Jesus? What do you think is the worse that could happen?
3. In vs. 25 we read that the false teaching was packaged as “mysterious deep secrets of God given to her as special revelation”. Jesus identifies the root of this teaching as not from God but from Satan. When you look at church and world history, how many times have someone spoke up and said that they had a “new” revelation about God? Who comes to your mind? What was their teaching?
4. Many believe that the root of all the bad teaching that was happening in the early church was the idea of letting more culture in (compromise) and in the process push out the clear teaching and authority of Scripture. How do you think this is happening in the church today?
5. As you read 2 Timothy 4:1-5, what do you see is the job description of pastors in the church and what do you see will be their biggest challenges? With this knowledge, in what ways do you think we should be praying for our pastors and our church?
6. How do you think Jesus would rate your spiritual discernment as His follower? How do you think people get better at this?
Taking it Home:
What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week.