Conference 2026 July 1st-6th

Laurelville Church Center

Mount Pleasant, PA

Register for Conference, Children’s Conference, or YCON and make your reservations for lodging, and meals.

"Jesus and the CGBCI"

PASTOR IKE GRAHAM

What Makes Jesus Sick?

Revelation 3:14-22

In His words to the church of Laodicea, Jesus warns us about the danger of self-sufficiency. Laodicea was a wealthy banking center and proud of her rich resources. In AD 60, the city was destroyed by an earthquake. Rather than accepting aid from the Roman Empire, the people of Laodicea refused any help and rebuilt the city themselves with their own resources. They did not need anyone’s charity.

Yet, while Laodicea appeared to have everything, it actually lacked the most basic of resources — water. Unlike the mountain towns that had cold water streams or nearby Hierapolis that had access to hot springs, Laodicea had no water supply of its own. Water had to be piped in through aqueducts. By the time it arrived, the water was lukewarm and full of sediment. Cold water is good for drinking, hot springs were reputed to have healing qualities, but lukewarm, sediment-filled water neither refreshes nor heals. It is disgusting.

Jesus tells the Laodicean church that they are just like their water. “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15–16).

Jesus is not saying that He wishes they were either spiritually hot or spiritually cold rather than being spiritually lukewarm. Nowhere does God desire for His people to have cold hearts. Rather, Jesus explains what He means by being lukewarm in the next verse. “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (v. 17). The lukewarm person is not one who is mildly passionate about God. Rather, the lukewarm person is one who has lost his dependence on God. In his arrogance, he believes he has no need of Christ’s righteousness because he has enough of his own.

Whenever we take pride in our own moral goodness, we have fallen into the perilous sin of the Laodiceans. We are like lukewarm water. We are forgetting that all of our righteous deeds are nothing more than filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Jesus finds this sort of spiritual pride so offensive that it makes Him sick. He will spit out of His mouth all those who think that they are rich in their own righteous works.

Unless we see that we are poor and needy, Jesus will have no part of us. We do not begin the Christian life poor and then grow into the riches of our own righteousness. Rather, we begin the Christian life spiritually bankrupt. As we grow, we come to understand even more the depth of our sin and our great need for a savior. It is only when we see our poverty and neediness that we can truly become rich. That is why Jesus says, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Rev. 3:18). Christ is not calling us to wallow in our spiritual poverty but to delight in the riches of His grace.

Be ruthless in rooting out spiritual pride. Remember that Jesus is nauseated by self-righteousness. Whenever you are feeling self-sufficient, ask God to open your eyes to your own nakedness. When you see your own bankruptcy, cry out to Jesus so that you may delight in the riches of His grace.

Pastors, please, please, please send in your church dues as soon as possible. Multiply $25 times the number of church members and send the total to Grace Brethren Church – 2200 Paradise Rd.,Orrville, Ohio 44667. The deadline is June 1st

There will be 2 golf carts to transport people from place-to-place at Laurelville. Call Nathan(330-234-0943), or Nancy (330-201-3649) to get a ride. You can drive your car, or ride in the golfcart.

Weather permitting (aka, Lord willing), we will begin Conference with a picnic on Thursday, July2nd. Sign up for supper that night online if you want to have your picnic meal provided. Or, order itby telling Pastor Ike at ikeg327@gmail.com Picnic tables are limited, so bring chairs for the picnic.We will go through the cafeteria line to get our food, and then take it out to Gazebo Hill. The poolpavilion picnic tables may also be used. There will be a concert on Friday night, July 3rd . The Merrill Evangelistic team will be providing the concert in “The Gathering Place.

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On Saturday, July 4th , after supper, we will take wagons up to the top of the hill to watch fireworks, have a bon fire, and a singspiration. Those fireworks will be at a distance. Mt. Pleasant is also having a “Patriotic Party” with fireworks at 10pm.

Dr. Kevn Zuber of the Master’s Seminary will be our keynote speaker.A Conference schedule is available online at www.cgbci.org When you register and make your reservation, complete each page. Be sure to answer every line; that is, be sure the page is completely filled out even if it is a “no” answer. A complete registration, or lodging choice, or meals choices will not register properly without the page being completely filled out. You also have the option of calling or texting 330-749-0545 to register, or make your room reservation and meal choices. You can also e-mail ikeg327@gmail.com The cut off for reservations is June 15th . Then, send a check to: Grace Brethren Church 2200 Paradise Rd. Orrville, Ohio 44667