There are, within the heart of any true Christian or any true Church, some things good and some things bad. The more mature a Christian or a church is, the more that the bad things related to sin will be purged out, and the good things related to Christ's life and His grace will be seen. But there is one thing that is absolutely essential for a church to survive and go on to glorify the Lord in their service to Him, and that is love. Without love to Christ we are nothing. Without love, all that we do will be displeasing to our Master and it will put us in the position of being liable to his removing our lampstand from its place unless we repent. This is what is being said here in verses 4 and 5. How is it possible for a church to come to the place where the people can be commended for their orthodoxy, commended for their works of guarding the truth and laboring to further Christ's kingdom, not growing weary in this, and yet we find this startling statement; "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This is the phrase that I would like to focus on this afternoon. What does it mean for a church to have left its first love? It is described for us here in 3 ways. 1st- It is described as a fall 2nd- It is described as a sin to be repented of. And 3rd- It is described as not doing the first works. Let me see if I can open this up for you in the next few minutes.
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Pastor Paul Rendall was born in November of 1951, and grew up in Davenport, Iowa. He went to college at Drake University and the University of Iowa where he received a B.A. degree in Social Work and History in 1974. Paul searched for truth in all the wrong places in college, but...
