Revelation 2–3

A message from Jesus to the church today

by Tim Chester and Jonathan Lamb

Series Editor: Tim Chester

A message from Jesus to the church today

A Good Book Guide to Revelation 2–3

© Tim Chester/Jonathan Lamb/The Good Book Company, 2007.

Reprinted 2010.

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Unless indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission.

ISBN: 9781905564682

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Contents

An introduction to this guide

Why study Revelation 2–3?

1. Ephesus: the centrality of love

Revelation 2 v 1–7

2. Smyrna: the pressure of persecution

Revelation 2 v 8–11

3. Pergamum: the importance of truth

Revelation 2 v 12–17

4. Thyatira: the challenge of consistency

Revelation 2 v 18–29

5. Sardis: the emptiness of reputation

Revelation 3 v 1–6

6. Philadelphia: the pain of exclusion

Revelation 3 v 7–13

7. Laodicea: the danger of self-reliance

Revelation 3 v 14–22

Leader’s Guide

Introduction: Good Book Guides

Every Bible-study group is different—yours may take place in a church building, in a home, in a cafe, on a train, over a leisurely mid-morning coffee or squashed into a 30-minute lunch break. Your group may include new Christians, mature Christians, non-Christians, students, business colleagues or teens. That’s why we’ve designed these Good Book Guides to be flexible for use in many different situations.

Our aim in each session is to uncover the meaning of a passage, and see how it fits into the “big picture” of the Bible. But that can never be the end. We also need to apply appropriately what we have discovered to our lives. Let’s take a look at what is included:

Talkabout: Most groups need to “break the ice” at the beginning of a session, and here’s the question that will do that. It’s designed to get people talking around a subject that will be covered in the course of the Bible study.

Investigate: The Bible text for each session is broken up into manageable chunks, with questions that aim to help you understand what the passage is about. The Leader’s Guide contains guidance on questions, and sometimes additional “follow-up” questions.

Explore more (optional): These questions will help you connect what you have learned to other parts of the Bible, so you can begin to understand how the Bible relates together as a whole.

Apply: As you go through a Bible study, you’ll keep coming across apply sections. Some of these have questions to get the group discussing what the Bible teaching means in practice for you and your church. Sometimes, ...