New Sermon Series: Letters from Jesus to His Church
This Sunday, January 4, we begin a new sermon series at Redeemer entitled Letters from Jesus to His Church. These sermons, carrying us through the Epiphany season and concluding on Ash Wednesday, will explore the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation, as we consider “what Christ thinks of the church” (John Stott), not just in the first century, but in the twenty-first as well.
When Christians hear “Revelation,” our minds often run to images of strange beasts, angels, bowls and plagues; we feel the urge to parse and interpret numbers, symbols, and timelines; and we sense that we need to enter into the debates about when and how the end of the world will arrive. But the Book of Revelation begins somewhere much closer to home: with life in the local church. Before there are visions of cosmic conflict and the final victory for the Lamb who was slain yet conquers, there are letters – pastoral, searching letters from the risen Lord Jesus Christ to real churches in real places, facing real pressures, challenges, and temptations.
One of the striking features of these letters is how personal they are, from Jesus to early Christians and to us. Jesus speaks as the living Lord who walks among his churches. He knows them, their works, their fears, their faithfulness, and their blind spots. He is neither distant nor vague. He commends what is good, names what is dangerous, corrects what is crooked, and promises life to those who repent and persevere.
The seven letters found in the opening chapters of Revelation are addressed to congregations much like ours. These seven churches are marked by courage and compromise, endurance and drift, faith and fear. Christians there are learning how to follow Jesus in a world that does not share their loves or loyalties. And in each letter, we hear the same refrain: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” These words were not meant only for ancient believers in Ephesus, Smyrna, or Laodicea. They are meant for the whole church, at every time and place, including for us here in San Antonio, as 2026 breaks.
In many ways, these letters function as a discipleship diagnostic. Jesus is not interested merely in reputation or appearance, but in faithfulness — faithfulness rooted in love for him, endurance in suffering, repentance where compromise has crept in, and hope grounded in his promises. This series will not be an attempt to decode Revelation’s prophecies or chart future events. Rather, it will offer an invitation to listen carefully to Jesus’ voice as he shepherds us as his people.
As Christians, individually and as a congregation collectively, we are always being formed — either more deeply into Christlikeness or slowly drifting, even rushing, toward something else. Congregations and Christians grow vibrant or grow cold. We can experience renewal as a way of life or become lukewarm. The letters to the churches remind us that discipleship is never static. And the good news is that Jesus does not abandon his church. He speaks. He warns. He invites. He calls us, his people, back to himself.
Our prayer is that the Spirit would give us ears to hear and hearts ready to respond, that we would grow in humility, courage, and hope. And that, as we listen to these letters from the risen Lord, we would become a church marked not simply by activity or reputation, but by deep, enduring faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Come, Lord Jesus!
Matt Beham and Paul Hahn