For the past few weeks, several have joined in a study of seven churches described in the opening pages of John’s Revelation. This has been a thought-provoking and challenging study, as attention was focused on the Lord’s words to these groups of saints who lived over 2,000 years ago. In studies such as this, it is very easy to simply approach the topic academically, with a focus on definitions, links to other parts of the Bible, and the place the topic holds within its respective book. To do so, however, fails to understand that these were real churches comprised of real people who faced the daily challenge of faithful living amidst a pagan culture. Churches of the 21st-century do well to heed the words spoken by the Lord to these churches that belonged to Him.