PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR THE SERMON BY LOOKING THROUGH THESE SUGGESTIONS THAT WILL ASSIST YOU IN MAKING THE MOST OF OUR TIME TOGETHER HEARING GOD'S WORD.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Revelation 2:12-17.
• Where was Pergamum? Does the NT mention this city/church anywhere else?
• Read Rev 1:12-16 again. Which of these descriptions is mentioned in the opening of the letter to Pergamum?  
• What does Jesus say he knows about the church in Pergamum?
• What does it mean to “hold fast My name and not deny my faith”? (cf. Col 2:19, 2 Th 2:15, Heb 4:14, 6:18, Rev 2:3, 14, 15, 25, 3:8, 11)
• What does Jesus have against this church? (vv. 14-15)
• Skim Numbers 22-24. Who was Balaam and what did he do? Read Numbers 25:1-5, 2 Pet 2:15-16, and Jude 11, and Rev 2:14. What else was Balaam involved in besides what is contained in Num 22-24?
• In light of v. 14, what were the false teachers in Pergamum teaching?
• What did we learn about the Nicolaitans in Rev 2:6?
• What does Jesus call this church to do in light of what he has against them? What is the warning that Jesus gives this church?
• What does Jesus promise in v. 17? Who is this promise for? What do these promises mean?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What would have enabled this church to persevere as they had?
• How would it have impacted this church to hear directly from the Lord Jesus that he knew about their perseverance and faithfulness?
• What motivations of the heart could’ve remained in this church that would lead them to put up with false teachers?
• Why are Jesus’ warnings in v. 16 so severe?
• How would the promises of v. 17 have motivated the church in Pergamum? What action would they take to “overcome”?