What is this?

This is a resource for families, singles, and couples – for young and for old. We hope that this resource will help you grow as disciples together by facilitating some discussion around the topic of the sermon. We know that it is not ideal that we are not able to have fellowship time after our service. But we recognize that this is also an opportunity to discuss some elements of the service without the typical distractions that we may have. The questions will not be perfect, but give an outline of possible questions to consider. If you have the chance to read this over ahead of time I want you to ask yourself: “how would you ask these questions differently?”

Power

Do you have your own example of the seat of power? Your own examples of the one who gets to hold the remote?

In the time of Rome, power was held largely by Caesar and the peace he was trying to impart. Who holds power today?

Game of Thrones is a story of people vying for power and trying to get the throne. As Christians we name the draw to earthly thrones as ultimate powers as false. What are the counterfeit stories of power that our culture tells us?

Worship

“At the very heart of reality is the worship of the One who sits on the throne. Our ultimate destiny as creatures will be determined by the extent to which we either resonate with or rebel against this reality.” Our passage is about worship and it makes the claim that God is at the center of reality still – that he is not just the creator in past tense – but he is still the creator – the one who holds all things together in his creating power. How do we rebel against this reality in our lives? Is that something we sufficiently lament?

Genre

“Revelation is not John’s vision – it is a literary distillation of John’s vision” – have you thought of Revelation in this way before? John is not using the best descriptive words in his vocabulary to talk about what he saw in it finest detail – John is appealing to Old Testament prophecy and literature to show Jesus at the center of it all.

What literary tools is John using to communicate to his audience? Who is his audience?

One of the main goals in John’s letter is to expand his reader’s vision of the world. They are invited to expand their vision into heaven – to lift the curtain and see God’s true rule in heaven. They are also invited into the future – where God’s rule will enter into all of creation in its fulness. How do these two image give hope for people today?