Of all the churches Jesus addressed in Revelation, Smyrna stands out for an important reason: He did not rebuke them. Their circumstances certainly weren’t easy. They were experiencing poverty, persecution, and tremendous pressure because of their faith, yet Jesus’ message to them wasn’t centered on making their lives more comfortable. He encouraged them to remain faithful. In this teaching, we look at Revelation 2:8-10 and what the church in Smyrna can teach us about a faith that doesn’t change when circumstances become difficult. It’s easy to measure God’s faithfulness by what is happening around us, but Smyrna challenges us to look at something deeper. Is our commitment to Jesus dependent upon our circumstances, or have we settled in our hearts that we will remain faithful no matter what? As you go through THIS TEACHING, consider where your own faithfulness is being tested right now. What would it look like to remain faithful to Jesus in that area, even if the circumstances don’t immediately change?

When we want to understand the love of God, we can look at Jesus. His coming to earth was love revealed. Everywhere Jesus went, people encountered the heart of the Father. The sick were healed, the broken were restored, the weak received strength, and impossible situations changed because Jesus was there. That same Jesus is victorious today. As you listen to Glory’s “YOU REIGN VICTORIOUS,” take some time to think about what Jesus has personally revealed to you about the love of God. Maybe you’ve experienced His healing, provision, strength, forgiveness, or simply His presence during a time when you desperately needed Him. What has Jesus shown you about the Father’s love through something He has done in your life?

Every kingdom operates according to something, and the Kingdom of God is no different. His Word establishes how His Kingdom works. But owning a Bible, reading it, and even knowing what it says are not the same as living according to it. In this teaching, we begin with an important foundation for this chapter of Are You A Christian? God’s commandments were never intended to produce blind obedience. They bring us into a life of faith where we know God, trust what He has said, and actually live according to His Word. That means there can be a difference between what we say we believe and what is actually governing our lives. Here’s your challenge with THIS TEACHING: Find one instruction in Scripture that you already know but have not been consistently putting into practice. Don’t go looking for something new. Take what you already know and put it into action. The Kingdom life isn’t experienced simply because we know what the King has said. We experience it when His Word becomes the standard we actually live by.

Sometimes something has been part of our lives for so long that we stop questioning whether it belongs there. We learn to live with the same physical struggles, the same emotional patterns, the same thoughts, or the same cycle of victory followed by defeat. Eventually, what should have been challenged starts to feel normal. In this service, we both approach this from a different direction. Julie shares from her own story of being disabled for four years and what began to change when God taught her to give His Word a different place in her life. Proverbs 4:20-22 became more than a Scripture she knew. She began learning to give attention to the Word, speak it, and allow it to change her thoughts, her words, and ultimately her life. Aaron deals with the cycles that can keep us moving back and forth between freedom and bondage, and what the cross actually accomplished for us. We don’t have to spend our lives continually returning to something Jesus came to set us free from. As you watch THIS SERVICE, we want you to identify one cycle in your life that needs to end. Don’t stop with identifying it. Find out what the Word of God says about it. Write that Scripture down and give it your attention this week. Watch what you’re allowing into your thoughts and what you’re speaking over that area of your life. Then come back and share the Scripture you’re standing on. Let’s fill this conversation with the Word and help each other put into practice what we’re learning.

We’re halfway through October, and we want to try something a little different for our mid-month check-in. Pick one area of your walk with God that you want to be stronger in by the end of this month. Keep it simple and specific. Maybe you want to become more consistent in prayer. Maybe you need to spend more time in the Word instead of only reaching for it when you need an answer. Maybe you want to become quicker to obey when God speaks. Maybe you need to work on controlling your thoughts or your words. Maybe you want to become more intentional about sharing Jesus with the people around you. Whatever it is, don’t choose five things. Choose one. Then decide what you are actually going to do about it for the rest of October. If you want to grow in the Word, decide when you’re going to read it. If it’s prayer, make room for it in your day. If it’s obedience, stop postponing the thing you already know to do. If it’s your thoughts, choose the Scriptures you’re going to use to renew your mind. This is what we want ITC to be about. Not simply learning more, but training ourselves to live what we’re learning. Share your one area with us below, along with the practical step you’re going to take. Then at the end of the month, we can come back and see what changed.