Welcome to this week's ToGather.church. Our focus comes from our Verse of the Day, Revelation 3:14, 20:

[To John, Jesus said:] "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.

. . .

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

Our Savior wants us to draw close, listen to him, and find life in him.

For some of us, the words our Verse of the Day are very familiar and precious. Part of this passage of Scripture is frequently used as a call to accept Jesus into our heart as we seek to become Christians. However, the New Testament doesn't use these verses in that way.Note This passage is not a message to unbelievers and the unsaved calling them to open their hearts to Christ Jesus. This message was from Jesus and delivered through an angel to a lukewarm church on the verge of being rejected by the Lord (Revelation 3:15-18).

Jesus did not want to reject them, but they desperately needed to repent, open their church and their hearts to him, and passionately live for their Lord. Jesus loved them so much that despite their lukewarm approach to their faith, he was standing at their door, knocking and hoping they would invite him back into their lives.

The Lord Jesus wants to be real and experienced by us as his disciples. He longs to be vibrantly present in our churches, gatherings, and groups. Our Savior doesn't want just to be worshiped; he also wants us to draw close, listen, and find the fullness of life in him.

Phil's Message for This Week

Phil shares a message from both the Scriptures and his heart as he seeks to help us understand and apply this vital message, reminding us that "Jesus Is at Our Door!"

Let's remember Phil's key points about Jesus' important message that we find in Revelation 3:14, 20:

  • Jesus is still speaking to us today.

  • Jesus challenges us to pay attention to his earnest pleading.

  • Jesus yearns for us to open the door of our hearts to him.

  • Jesus wants to join us in intimate fellowship.

But how do we do these things as individuals and especially as churches, gatherings, fellowships, and groups of believers?

Phil invites us to join him and hundreds of others in a simple Bible reading plan to invite Jesus into our lives:

  1. Read one chapter from a gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) daily.

  2. Before we read, we ask Jesus three questions:
    — What do you want me to know from today's reading, Lord?
    — Jesus, how do you want me to feel about what I'm about to read?
    — What do you want me to do, Lord Jesus, in response to what you say to me today?

  3. Get together with other believers and share what we have discovered about the Lord's will and how we have experienced his presence this week.

May God bless us as we open the door of our hearts to Jesus!

Full ToGather Worship Video

The full worship video leads us to open our hearts to Jesus and his love as we sing, share the Lord's Supper, hear Phil's message, pray, and share a closing blessing.

Demetrius has carefully chosen songs to help us honor Jesus and open our hearts to his presence. Phil, Donna, and Megan Ware encourage us to draw near to Jesus in the Lord's Supper. We will close with a simple prayer used in the early church to invite Jesus to come. We pray the Holy Spirit fills and empowers you as we worship!

Note: Matthew 7:8 has similar wording when Jesus says "For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." However, in that case, Jesus says that he will open the door for seekers who knock while in Revelation 3:20, he says that he is the one knocking and wanting lukewarm Christians to open the door to let him back in.

Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus' ministry from The Lumo Project and Free Bible Images for use in both ToGather videos.