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TWO DYING CHURCHES TEXT: Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22 SUMMARY: Christ's piercing scrutiny of the seven churches of Asia Minor should admonish us to find the modern parallels, to examine our own ways, and to heed what the Spirit says to all of the churches. I. SARDIS, THE "DEAD DENOMINATIONAL" CHURCH, 3:1-6. A. Overview. B. Modern Parallel: the Apostate Denominational churches. II. LAODICEA, THE "EMERGING CHURCH," 3:14-22. A. Characteristics of the Church at Laodicea. B. A Modern Parallel: the "Emerging Church." CONCLUSION: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES A. Christ knows His church. B. The Church is Indispensable to the Spiritual Life of its Members C. The Condition of a Church is Defined by its People.

Watch our services live at http://wcfav.org/ Free Downloads of Pastor Shane's E-books at https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/free-ebooks/ Donate to Westside Christian Fellowship here: https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/give/ Westside Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian church that meets every every Sunday at 8:30 am & 11:00 am in Leona Valley, California (9306 Leona Avenue). For more info, or to read our statement of faith, visit westsidechristianfellowship.org/about-wcf/statement-of-faith/

Why do we worship on Sunday if the Sabbath is on Saturday? Throughout the world, the vast majority of Christian denominations hold worship services on Sunday. However, if you ask professing Christians what caused Sabbath worship to move from the last day of the week to the first, most would either say the Sabbath is unrelated to Sunday worship or point to tradition. But there are important biblical reasons why the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday. It's important first of all because Christ said that if you teach someone to disobey one of the least commandments, you will be least in the kingdom of heaven and the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments. But it's important because the Sabbath is about the rest we have in Christ. It is the day our risen Lord provides for his people so that they can be set apart from the world and all its cares, and go forth to do the work that Christ's atonement made possible. Some of the confusion surrounding the Sabbath is related to a misunderstanding of Israel's place in scripture. Israel's whole calendar was built around Passover and Pentecost and their observance and the Sabbaths around them were set every year based on the day of the week , but because Israel and their observances were a type pointing forward to Christ and his fulfillment, all of their Passovers and Pentecosts and their calendar that changed yearly were nothing more than shadows. There has only been one Passover that caused sins to be forgiven. There has been only one Pentecost where the Spirit of God inhabited his people. And their fulfillment caused the Sabbath to be set from that day forth. Please join us as we consider this important topic.

Watch our services live at http://wcfav.org/ Free Downloads of Pastor Shane's E-books at https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/free-ebooks/ Donate to Westside Christian Fellowship here: https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/give/ Westside Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian church that meets every every Sunday at 8:30 am & 11:00 am in Leona Valley, California (9306 Leona Avenue). For more info, or to read our statement of faith, visit westsidechristianfellowship.org/about-wcf/statement-of-faith/

Watch our services live at http://wcfav.org/ Free Downloads of Pastor Shane's E-books at https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/free-ebooks/ Donate to Westside Christian Fellowship here: https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/give/ Westside Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian church that meets every every Sunday at 8:30 am & 11:00 am in Leona Valley, California (9306 Leona Avenue). For more info, or to read our statement of faith, visit westsidechristianfellowship.org/about-wcf/statement-of-faith/

Is Psalm 51 only David's confession after he took Uriah's wife, or is it a prayer for the children of God to pray every day? Read verse 4 and ask against Whom every sin is committed, and whether God is unjust when He judges it. Then read verse 7 and ask whether the washing the Psalmist asks of God is finished the day a man first believes, or goes on day by day. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7)

What does God say to the wicked man who would "take my covenant in thy mouth" (Psalm 50:16)? Read verse 17 and ask what that man has done with the words of God, and whether a man can hate the Word of God and still enter heaven. Then read John 1:14 and ask Who the Word is that he has cast behind him. "Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee." (Psalm 50:17)

Who can be saved? Believe it or not, you may get a different answer depending on what denomination you ask. So who can be saved and why do answers differ? Find out in this message.

Is this verse spoken to men who never believed, or to the eleven in the upper room, the branches the Lord Jesus Christ calls "in me" (John 15:2)? Read the first word of the verse, "If" (John 15:6), and ask whether a man can choose not to abide. Then ask what fire a man is cast into when "they are burned" (John 15:6), and where else the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of "the fire that never shall be quenched" (Mark 9:43). "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:6)

Who shall guard the guardians? By showing us how to treat elders who rule well, are accused, and are in sin, God demonstrates that he will guard the guardians: 1. By His Word. 2. By His Spirit. 3. By His judgments. A. Hide the Word in your heart, and seek to do it "by the book" B. Pray for your Elders/Session/Presbytery/Denomination C. Trust that if the Church doesn't get it right, Christ will work it out in the end.

In this message we take a look at the modern ecumenical movement in the evangelical churches.

When the mighty God calls the heavens and the earth, whom does He call them to witness against? Read verse 4 and ask whether He comes to judge the heathen or His own people. Then read 2 Thessalonians 1:8 and ask whether them "that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:8) are men who never knew God. "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people." (Psalm 50:4)

The sermon centers on the theological distinction between salvation as a wage earned through religious works and salvation as a free gift received by faith in Jesus Christ. It argues that no human effort, moral standard, or religious system can atone for sin, as the wages of sin is death, but God provides justification freely through the redemption found in Christ. The message emphasizes that the cost of this gift was fully paid by Jesus on the cross, rendering any attempt to earn heaven an act of pride that rejects God's grace. Listeners are urged to abandon reliance on their own goodness or denominational traditions and instead trust solely in the blood of the Lamb for cleansing and the Spirit for renewal. The tone is convicting yet inviting, challenging the audience to examine their assurance of salvation and to receive this unspeakable gift through simple faith in God's Word.

The speaker stands in the newly renovated boiler room in the basement of the ministry's building in Midtown Manhattan, marveling at God's provision. A couple of years earlier the leaking, rusting boiler needed replacement, but without the funds the ministry limped it through a winter season while trusting the Lord to provide. The Lord has now fully paid for a brand new boiler, its installation, and the city-required code upgrades, including ceiling repairs, a new fresh air duct, fresh primer, and new lighting, and both the room and boiler have passed inspection. The building, begun in 1873 and completed and dedicated in 1907, still stands in a strategic location where believers from around the country minister the gospel in the chapels and in the public arena. The speaker counts it a privilege and joy to maintain this space for Christians of different backgrounds and denominations laboring together for the gospel of God.

When the Lord Jesus Christ says "Abide in me" (John 15:4), who is He, and where does a man go to abide in Him? Read how the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision and spoke to him in the first person (Genesis 15:1), and then read what His name is called when He comes again (Revelation 19:13). Then ask whether a man can abide in Him and not abide in His word. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31).