What Christ Thinks of the Church: Preaching from Revelation 1 to 3

by John Stott

Publisher:

Langham

, 2019

Overview

Christ’s letters to the seven churches still resonate today. Like those ancient churches, most churches today lie somewhere on the continuum between flourishing and withering, between faithfulness and faithlessness, between comfort and persecution. Using seven key themes, John Stott illustrates the timeless relevance of Christ’s exhortations and warnings to the universal church, while pointing to Christ, the Lamb turned Shepherd, who knows the unique opportunities and challenges that face each church. This is a helpful guide for preachers looking to feed their flock with this often visited passage from John’s vision of the apocalypse.

Key Features

• Explores the themes of flourishing and withering, between faithfulness and faithlessness, between comfort and persecution
• Illustrates the timeless relevance of Christ’s exhortations and warnings
• Provides a helpful guide for preachers looking to feed their flock with this often visited passage

Contents

• Foreword
• Editor’s Preface to Revised Edition
• Preface
• Introduction
• The Letter to Ephesus: Love
• The Letter to Smyrna: Suffering
• The Letter to Pergamum: Truth
• The Letter to Thyatira: Holiness
• The Letter to Sardis: Reality
• The Letter to Philadelphia: Opportunity
• The Letter to Laodicea: Wholeheartedness
• Conclusion

Praise for the Print Edition

The church today needs to hear Christ’s message anew. What Christ Thinks of the Church embodies Uncle John Stott’s deep theological reflections and clear pastoral preaching. In teasing-out the messages to the seven churches in ancient Asia Minor, we have in our hands a living word for today, calling us to a “love for Christ and willingness to suffer for him, truth of doctrine and holiness of life, inward reality and evangelistic outreach, with an uncompromising wholeheartedness in everything.” These should characterize the church of Christ in every generation–they are timeless in their application for all.

—Chukwuemeka Egbo

The validity of the Christian faith turns for many today on whether the church lives its identity. The gap between what Christians say and do tempts many to believe that the gospel we proclaim is empty. For at least these reasons, John Stott’s What Christ Thinks of the Church could not be more timely. This careful and provocative book is a catalyst for lament and repentance while also a source of inspiration and hope.

—Mark Labberton

Product Details

• Title: What Christ Thinks of the Church: Preaching from Revelation 1 to 3
• Author: John Stott
• Publisher: Langham
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 100
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Church; Church renewal; Bible. N.T. Revelation 1-3 › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9781783687022, 9781783687039, 9781783687046, 9781783687053, 1783687029, 1783687037, 1783687045, 1783687053
• Resource ID: LLS:WHTCHRSTTHNKS13
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:46:57Z

About John Stott

John Stott CBE (1921 – 2011) was a Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He is famous as one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. John Stott was ordained into the ministry of the Church of England in 1945 and has served the same church ever since. He was assistant pastor of All Souls for 5 years, the senior pastor (Rector) for 25, and Rector Emeritus since 1975. During the last quarter century he had been set free (under the auspices of the Langham Partnership) to travel the world, especially for ministry to pastors and students. He has been a Chaplain to the Queen since 1959. He was President of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Sample Pages from What Christ Thinks of the Church: Preaching from Revelation 1 to 3