C+C University District CG Discussion Guide
Text: Revelation 1:9 – 2:7
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Summary
A church can defend truth and endure hardship while still drifting from love for Jesus.
Revelation begins by unveiling Jesus Christ as the crucified, risen, glorified Lord who speaks to His churches. John, exiled for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, sees the Son of Man walking among the lampstands, which are the churches. Jesus is not distant from His people. He is present with them, ruling over them, sustaining them, and examining them.
The vision of Jesus is meant to reframe the church’s courage, holiness, worship, and hope. He is clothed with kingly and priestly authority, wise and eternal, piercing in judgment, powerful over evil, and sovereign over death and Hades. The same Jesus who laid down His life for sinners now reigns forever and holds His church in His hand.
The letter to Ephesus shows both encouragement and warning. The church is faithful in labor, endurance, and doctrinal discernment. Yet Jesus confronts them for abandoning the love they had at first. Orthodoxy without love is not spiritual health. Faithful doctrine must be joined to love for Christ, His people, and His mission.
Jesus calls His church to remember, repent, and return. This warning is serious, but it is full of grace: the risen Christ calls drifting sinners and churches back to Himself. The promise remains for the one who conquers: life with God in the paradise of God, secured by Christ and received by persevering faith.
Key Takeaways
Discussion Questions
Practical Applications
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Summary
A church can defend truth and endure hardship while still drifting from love for Jesus.
Revelation begins by unveiling Jesus Christ as the crucified, risen, glorified Lord who speaks to His churches. John, exiled for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, sees the Son of Man walking among the lampstands, which are the churches. Jesus is not distant from His people. He is present with them, ruling over them, sustaining them, and examining them.
The vision of Jesus is meant to reframe the church’s courage, holiness, worship, and hope. He is clothed with kingly and priestly authority, wise and eternal, piercing in judgment, powerful over evil, and sovereign over death and Hades. The same Jesus who laid down His life for sinners now reigns forever and holds His church in His hand.
The letter to Ephesus shows both encouragement and warning. The church is faithful in labor, endurance, and doctrinal discernment. Yet Jesus confronts them for abandoning the love they had at first. Orthodoxy without love is not spiritual health. Faithful doctrine must be joined to love for Christ, His people, and His mission.
Jesus calls His church to remember, repent, and return. This warning is serious, but it is full of grace: the risen Christ calls drifting sinners and churches back to Himself. The promise remains for the one who conquers: life with God in the paradise of God, secured by Christ and received by persevering faith.
Key Takeaways
- Behold the Risen Christ - Jesus walks among His churches with authority, holiness, and mercy. A true vision of His glory produces worship, reverence, endurance, and repentance.
- Return to Your First Love - Faithful doctrine and hard work matter, but they are not substitutes for love for Jesus. Repentance means remembering where love has grown cold and returning to the works that flow from love.
- Hear the Warning - Jesus lovingly warns His church because He intends to purify and preserve His people. The call to conquer is not salvation by works, but a call to persevering faith in the One who died and is alive forevermore.
Discussion Questions
- What details in John’s vision of Jesus stand out to you, and what do they reveal about His authority, holiness, and nearness to the church?
- What does Jesus commend in the church at Ephesus, and why do those things matter for a faithful church today?
- How can a church be doctrinally careful and morally serious while still needing to repent?
- Are there any areas where obedience, worship, prayer, Scripture, or fellowship have become more duty than delight?
- What parts of John's vision might challenge specific views that your non-believing friends have about Jesus?
- How do you approach Jesus? Do you bow your heart and your entire being in worship or do you come with entitlement?
- Do you obey Him who was dead and is alive again?
- Do you live for Him who holds the keys (power) of Death and Hades?
- Are you fully devoted to the King of kings?
Practical Applications
- Fix your attention on the glorified Jesus - Read Revelation 1:9–20 slowly this week and meditate on what the passage reveals about who Jesus is. Let those truths shape how you pray, worship, and face trials and temptation.
- Return to the works of love - Identify a practice that once stirred your love for Christ, such as prayer, Scripture, hospitality, evangelism, music, generosity, or gathering with God’s people. Reengage it this week, not to earn God’s favor, but because Christ has loved you first.