Message to Sardis
Rev. Jake Medcalf opened with a personal wake-up call from a July 2022 doctor visit where his blood pressure was 180/120 and he was warned he was on pace to die of a heart attack unless he changed his lifestyle. He connected that urgency to Jesus’ message to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3, a wealthy, once-secure city that fell after becoming complacent, and a church with a reputation for being alive but spiritually dead. He emphasized that Jesus’ blunt call was an invitation to repent (metanoia—change) and live: wake up, strengthen what remains through intentional spiritual effort, remember what believers have received and heard, hold it fast, and act with urgency. Jake concluded the message with prayer and communion as a practice of remembering Christ’s body and blood.