A young woman from Amsterdam did not leave her room for days, while friends and family commented on Facebook photos from her trip around Asia. That story opens a reflection on the letter to the church in Sardis, the one letter in Revelation with no word of praise, only the verdict: “you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3). The sermon portrays a wealthy community that seemed to lack nothing, and asks what is left of faith once a living relationship with God disappears from it. Listen if you want to check whether your spiritual life has quietly turned into a performance.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Sardis was a wealthy city, and the church faced no persecution or division from within. Why could a church in such conditions have a reputation for being alive and yet be dead (Revelation 3:1)?
- Jesus calls Sardis to wake up, strengthen what remains, remember what they received and heard, hold on to it, and repent. What does each of these calls reveal about the way back to life with God?
- The sermon told of a couple who, after buying a bigger apartment, drifted away from church, prayer and God. What in your life might be quietly taking the place of your relationship with Christ?
- The speaker stressed that Christianity reduced to rituals and church membership, without a personal relationship and the fruit of the Spirit, is a fiction. How can you tell whether your faith is truly alive and not just for show?
- The sermon invited us to remember the time of our conversion and our first zeal. What from that season would you like to recover today, and what stands in the way?
- Faith has more to do with daily choices than with changing feelings. What one concrete choice can you make this week to nurture closeness with God?
