Sermon Snippets with Max Taylor

Revelation 6:9-11   Today we come to the fifth seal judgment which reveals the souls of the saved who were martyred in the tribulation. As they plead for God’s justice to cover the earth from under the altar in heaven, God clothes them in white raiments and tells them to rest for a short season. We will see in the coming verses and chapters that God makes good on His promise to these saints.

Revelation 6:1-8   The tribulation starts out with the promise of peace and security, but things quickly take a turn for the worse. This terrifying time involves widespread disease, ravaging war, economic turmoil, and violent death. But Christ offers true peace that never fades away. He is contrasted with the antichrist’s fake peace in Daniel 8:25-26 and John 10:10 (see also Isaiah 9:6-7, Colossia...

Revelation 6:1   It is important to rightly divide doctrine so in this episode we get an overview of the definitions, denominations, and defining times in history when various interpretations of end-times events occur. The real comfort for believers is that we are promised to be kept from the hour of temptation—the tribulation—which will come upon the whole earth. This is not “escapism” or “abando...

Revelation 6:1   As Christ opens the scroll, we start into the tribulation. Today, we are reminded of the living and inviting aspects of God’s Word and we start to look topically at the time of the Tribulation. We will pick up with a defense of a literal 7-year tribulation next week. Looking forward to it!

Revelation 5:9-14   In heaven, as in our passage today, it’s all about Jesus. How central of a place does He have in your life today? I hope this episode both encourages you and challenges you to make Him more preeminent this week.

Revelation 5:5-10   John describes Jesus as the Lamb, humble in His rejection and exalted in His worship. And heaven erupts with praise at Who Jesus is and what He has done. Take some time to reflect on what Jesus has done for you today.

Revelation 5:1-8   The Word of God—representing God’s last will and testament, His title deed to the earth, and His plan for humanity—is in the hand of God, but it is sealed, and there is no man in heaven or on earth with the authority to open it. This leads John to despair and weep until he sees the Lamb of God, who alone is worthy to open the book. We can rejoice that Christ has the power to car...

Revelation 4:6-11   We’ve been introduced to two main groups in the heavenly crowd around the throne of God—the elders and the four beasts. These two parties have distinct roles in the praise of God, but both are important and beautiful. We begin this episode by examining the beasts more closely, and then we will turn our attention to the twenty-four elders as we close out Revelation chapter 4 tod...

Revelation 4:4-7   As we continue to read about this imagery of God’s throne room, we also start to see who else is there and what they are saying and doing. It is important for us to realize we will see this scene someday. That realization should shape and influence the decisions we make throughout our lives, even on a daily basis. We should live like this is our future, because it is.

Revelation 4:1-5   Today we step back into the scene of the throne room of God with all of its magnificence, trying to imagine what it will be like to experience this and be in God’s presence one day. It is important for us to think about eternity and strive to live each day as if it were our last. We see the sights and sounds around the throne of God, with the people and the overall atmosphere. T...

Revelation 4:1   After the letters to the churches, John was called up to the throne of God where he got to see a preview of the glory and presence of the Lord. This transition makes us think about the limited opportunity to serve God we have right now in this life. Our daily decisions have eternal implications. We need to know that (1) we should be motivated to live for the Lord now, and (2) when...

Revelation 3:20-22   Today we get a glimpse of all seven churches with their locations and the problems Jesus points out. One of the most comforting aspects of these churches is that Jesus knows our conditions and can use them to teach us what we need to hear as long as we are listening. May we have soft hearts to hear His rebukes to us and to repent.

Revelation 3:18-22   This church, in its pride and self-sufficiency, was blind to their own condition. Because of their apathy towards God and love of money, they didn’t even realize the dire straits they were in. Jesus counsels us to come and find our fulfillment in Him rather than in the society around us. And the call is individual, which is an incredible privilege.   Laodicea: the Lukewarm chu...

Revelation 3:14-17   This final church is a cautionary tale to modern Christianity, because we struggle with the same apathy and lukewarmness that they are accused of by Christ. Today we start to get a glimpse of this church and the problems Jesus points out. May we have soft hearts to hear His rebukes to us and to repent.   Laodicea: the Lukewarm church   I. The Location (literal local church) Th...

Revelation 3:7-13   This is the loyal church, and how we should wish to be characterized this way. This church was not impressive—they had little strength, were little in number, relatively out on their own, and misunderstood by those around them—but they are directed by God, reliant upon His strength, and assured of the destruction of the wicked. Some of the encouragements we can glean from this...

Revelation 3:1-6   The church at Sardis teaches us lessons about formalism or dead ritualism. Perhaps this comes out most frequently in some interpretations of end times. Christ tells us to watch for His appearing and not defile our garments, and to those who do this, he promises white raiment when we are with Him in heaven. That is to be our hope in this life!   Sardis: the Lifeless church   I. T...

Revelation 2:18-29   The church at Thyatira represents an age in history when the Christian church became mandatory, and that is not a good thing. In the letter to this church, Christ instructs them that He is the true Son of God, that they should not tolerate false teaching, and that we can look forward to the coming kingdom when the world will be made right. All of these things should encourage...

Revelation 2:14-17   The goal was to spend one week per church, but we are taking a week to catch up. Pergamos teaches us that we should not grow comfortable in the world or begin to tolerate ungodliness. The world uses harsh persecution, false teaching, subtle enticement, and many other tactics to draw us away from Christ, but we must allow the truth of God’s Word to cut through the lies of socie...

Revelation 2:12-17   In some ways, persecution is easier to bear than the invitation to join the world because persecution is direct opposition, whereas compromise can seem inviting. One of the greatest dangers of the Pergamos mentality is the subtle lie that if you live your life totally devoted to God, it will be a waste. But if we follow after Christ, find clarity in His World, and look at the...

Revelation 2:8-11   The church at Smyrna was intensely persecuted because they did not conform to the idolatry that was required of them. And they suffered for it. Some of the main lessons from this church are that we have the strongest fragrance for Christ when we are pressured by persecution, riches are only found in Christ, and we have a different perspective than the world—an eternal perspecti...

Revelation 2:1-7   We left off discussing the various views of these churches, and today we jump into the letter to the first of these churches. Christ presents Himself to the church at Ephesus—who had been given premier teaching on the church from Paul and the qualifications for church leaders through Paul’s letter to Timothy—as the One who cares for the messengers of the church and walks in the...

Revelation 2-3   This is a really important part of Revelation because this is where we are living right now. This is the things which “are” so we should take note because it is written to our current time frame. In this first episode on these two chapters, we are introducing the seven churches and the three aspects of these churches as (1) literal local churches, (2) symbolic or types of churches...

Revelation 1:17-20   John is here given the outline for the revelation he would record (1) the things which he had seen, (2) the things which were, and (3) the things which would be hereafter. When these last remaining things begin to happen, they will take place suddenly and in rapid succession (1:1). May we meditate on these things of eternal value and long to see the Lord face to face.

Revelation 1:13-16   These verses give us a glimpse of Jesus, as He will be in the day of the Lord. For now, we can see Jesus as we study the truth of His Word, watch prophecy line up for His return, interact with other believers who are part of His Bride, and meditate upon Him personally. We need but to listen and turn and look as John did. And one day we will see—not just a glimpse of Jesus—but...

Revelation 1:11-16   At the beginning of John’s vision, he hears the voice of God telling him to record the things he would see (beginning with a vision of Jesus Himself) to spread to the churches in the region. We then get a window into the voice and description of Jesus here. These verses remind us of how we have come to possess the Word of God and the privilege of being the church of God. Next...