In worship we've been opening up God's Word in Revelation. In Revelation 1:11 we're told of 7 historic churches in the Roman province of Asia (modern day western Turkey). These 7 churches each received personal messages from Jesus as transcribed by the Apostle John in Revelation chapters 2 & 3. In this discussion I wanted to give a brief recap of some things we should as Christians today take away from these messages.

There are lots of things that could be said about this number within Revelation. First, we must remind one another of the foundational principles when reading Revelation, the Revelation was written to make something known (1:1). Therefore, we ought to be on guard and skeptical towards any interpretations of Revelation which would make sense to us today, but zero sense to the first century recipients of Revelation.

The study of theology for all members of the household including men, women and children, is not just a side issue of the Christian faith but is a central necessity. Theology is the building block of our faith. How can we follow a God that we do not take the time to know? Our God has given us His infallible Word to study to learn more about him.

We've already read that Peter used the term "shepherd" when speaking of elders (1 Peter 5:2). Paul also included shepherding language when addressing the elders in Ephesus (Acts 20). The term "flock" is used to describe the church in relationship to the elders. This informs us of something of the nature of the relationship of the community of believers (the church) and Christian elders.

Today we will consider the first of the synonyms for Christian elders in the New Testament (there are more than this one, but in attempting to keep this a more digestible read I'm limiting today's discussion to one): Overseer. In future discussions we will examine other synonymous words and concepts for the elder (such as shepherd, and pastor). 

Today, our discussion moves from the mostly narrative driven accounts of the Gospel and Acts, to the letters written by various Apostles to individuals, and churches in the rest of the New Testament. I'll continue with the "survey" format, simply citing a passage and giving a brief statement.

To give us a starting point for learning about Christian elders I'm going to cite several passages below which speak about Christian elders in the New Testament. Some of these passages are descriptive (describing elders), some are narrative (stories that includes elders), some are prescriptive (instructions for elders).

The cross is a big deal in Christianity. It is often the singular symbol representing Christianity. While there are plenty of other symbols that could and do serve to represent the faith we have in Jesus, the cross is currently the dominant symbol carried through the centuries, across borders, languages, and cultures. The cross of Christ has a shared meaning for believers. It was not always so. Through time in history believers have used art to express their beliefs in many different ways until the cross became the dominant symbol that it is today.

One of those uncomfortable topics is the anger and wrath of God towards sin. We get uncomfortable when we discuss the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh during the time of the Exodus, or the Exile of Israel from the promised land to Babylonian captivity. When a doubting world asks about the Canaanite conquest, we become silent. We might get uncomfortable when we read about a man who knew no sin and yet he was suffering and ultimately was punished for crimes which he did not himself commit.

For the follower of Jesus hardship comes just as it does for the nonbeliever. Yet the believer is equipped to handle hardship in a way that is distinct from the nonbeliever. The believer has a hope and a plan even in the midst of hardship. The plan in hardship for the believer is the same as the plan in peace: follow Jesus.

One of the things that has stood out to me while studying Mark's account of Jesus' days before his resurrection is how Jesus knows what is coming. Jesus speaks prophetically - meaning he speaks regarding what is happening or what is about to happen with truthful accuracy.

We enter into the divine discussion and interrupt the flow of the cosmic conversation only by the intercession of another. The work Jesus Christ engages in on a daily basis since his ascension is to intercede for his people in the courts of heaven.

Today I want to share some observations from Revelation 5 (this week our suggested reading as a church is Revelation chapters 5 through 8). These notes may make more sense if you have your Bible out in front of you

One of the serious ancient threats to the church was false teaching. Amidst all the other very real threats to early Christians (such as persecution from Roman government officials, Jewish leaders, poverty, food shortages, geographically dispersed, racial tension, distinct cultural values, spiritual uncertainty and language differences) the propagation of misinformation was most grave.

A single read through will "start the wheels" turning in our mind regarding Revelation as a book given to us by God, through Christ, to John. I'm not promising to write comments on each verse, or each chapter. But today, as we get started reading Revelation, here are some comments to share with you that I'll share with my family as we read Revelation 1 today. 

There is something about singing hymns that is intimidating. Learning multiple verses to different hymns can be time consuming and difficult. How can we as parents lead family worship and teach our children hymns when we do not know them ourselves? One of the great things we get to do as parents is to grow closer to God through the discipling of our children. Lets check out some ways that we can learn hymns ourselves, and then teach them to our children.

The trademark ploy of the serpent was to twist God's word. A failure to faithfully represent God's Word as God intended has led to all of the evil that we presently now know, experience, and do. Had Adam and Eve faithfully recounted and proclaimed God's Word there would be no curse, no death, no broken relationships, no war, no famine, no disease, no evil or any of evil's byproducts.