Sermons About Artemis
The Church in Ephesus: Revelation 2:1-7
The letter to the Ephesians in Revelation begins with a commendation. Jesus commends the Ephesians for their doctrinal purity. They have fought false teachings and have remained faithful to the truth without growing weary and giving up. Yet, though they have remained doctrinally pure, they have ceased to be faithful witnesses for Jesus because they lost her first love for Jesus. Jesus calls them to remember the depths of their sin and how much they have been forgiven. Some of us are like the prodigal son or the sinful woman in Luke 7, and we know we have been saved from a life of sin. We have been overwhelmed by his grace, but over time, the memory fades and we grow prideful and self-reliant. For others of us, the danger is that we have never had a sinful woman experience. We may not have ever felt desperate, out of control, absolutely empty, and needy. Our savior walks among his people and he sees them all. He will forgive us if we will stop trying to be perfect and simply fall at his feet and beg him for mercy. Run to the one who, though his face shown like the sun, willingly took on flesh to die on the cross in our place.
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Mission to Ephesus: The Critique of All Temples
Acts 19.26 “he says man-made gods are no gods at all...There is danger...that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited.” Throughout history there has been a long succession of temple building. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of many. Hollywood enjoys making adventure movies about some of them. As we follow Paul in his third missionary journey, he now arrives in Ephesus - a city dominated by the goddess Artemis and her influential temple. When Paul preached Jesus, he challenged the entire religious enterprise and people were personally affronted and angry. What we forget is that it is not just the ancient peoples who build temples - we do, too. Today in the Word we will consider how the gospel actually challenges all temples and how the powers of hell try to divert us from discovering freedom and life in the one true God.
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