This Sunday's sermon explored the breathtaking description of the New Jerusalem found in Revelation 21:9-27, walking us through John's vision of the holy city descending from God -- its radiant glory, its towering walls adorned with precious jewels, its gates of pearl, and its streets of pure gold. More than a study of dimensions and details, the message called us to marvel at the God who created and owns this place, and who made it possible for us to dwell there forever through His Son, Jesus Christ. Drawing on John 14:1-6, we were reminded that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will enter that eternal city. The sermon also carried a personal and urgent call to consider who in our lives has yet to hear the gospel -- and to act before the opportunity is gone.
Takeaways:
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Our citizenship is in heaven, and everything on this present earth is temporary. This truth should shape how we live, what we prioritize, and how urgently we carry the message of Christ to those around us who do not yet know Him.
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Jesus is the only way into the holy city. John 14:6 makes no room for alternative paths. As believers, we are called to hold firmly and proclaim boldly this truth, not to be unkind, but because the eternal lives of those we love depend on it.
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We do not know when our last opportunity to share the gospel with someone will come. The sermon offered a sobering personal account of a friendship where that window closed unexpectedly. The call to each of us is to write down one, two, or three names -- people we know who need Jesus -- and to begin praying faithfully that God would open doors for us to point them to Christ.
We serve a God who is not finished with us or with this church. There is still room in that holy city, and there are still people around us who need to find the way. May we go into this week with renewed purpose, praying for the lost by name and trusting that God will be with us, as He promised, to the very end of the age.
