First Love (II) Revelation 2:1-7

Some Things Are Worth Fighting For The Lord commends them for standing for the truth Paul told them they would have a battle that would arise from within the church Jesus is telling them how they fared in the battle

Some Things Are Worth Fighting For This did not take place without cost and strife You cannot tolerate In our culture, tolerance only runs one way

Some Things Are Worth Fighting For We are not called to tolerate error among the people of God We cannot afford to Jude 3; 1 Timothy 3:15

Love Must Never Be Sacrificed v. 4strong rebuke Threat to remove their lampstand Either death of church or loss of effectiveness; replaced by another

Love Must Never Be Sacrificed Forsaken First Love What Is This? They have perhaps fallen into a dead orthodoxy

Love Must Never Be Sacrificed The reality is that they have lost the sense of love that first pervaded their church. Love is itself a form of orthodoxy Love must be maintained even in the fiercest of battles

BF & M 1963 The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

BF &M 2000 The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

Love Must Never Be Sacrificed Their loss of love also may have led them to stop acting in love; they have lost their focus on loving mission. We must not let battles for truth cause us to become insular