Revelation….the book in Scripture that simultaneously fascinates, terrifies, and confuses most people.
Over the course of the past couple of months, my small group and I have intently studied Revelation chapters one through three. Our focus has been the seven churches. Friends, we have done some learning!!
I’ll admit, I had never studied the first three chapters of the book of Revelation. I had read them, but I truly did not ‘get’ them until I spent time researching each church in preparation for teaching them. I had tons of unanswered questions about these churches:
- Why would Jesus tell the church at Laodicea that He would rather they be ‘cold’ than ‘lukewarm’? Cold, really?
- What’s with Jesus telling a church that is as poor as a church mouse that they are rich?
- Why does He greet each church in a different way instead of just saying, “Hey church, Jesus here! Listen up.”
- Jezebel? I thought she was in the Old Testament?
- A church that looks alive, but is really dead?
- White garments? Eye salve? The rapture?
Honestly, I had more questions than answers when I began to study the seven churches. Now that I have spent time with some top-notch commentators, I am super excited about what I have learned. Knowing the historical settings of each of the churches explains many of the things that previously did not make sense in Revelation 1-3.
I’ve called this study Vital Signs: Lessons from the Seven Churches of The Revelation. I’d love to share with you what I have learned and I am offering to do that in two ways.
First, for those who live in the north Georgia area, I am going to offer a 4 week Vital Signs lecture/discussion group which will begin the first week in June. We will meet in the evening from 6:30 until 8pm and will learn about two churches each week. Day of the week to be determined. The options are Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday at this point. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS VITAL SIGNS CLASS, I NEED TO KNOW by May 10th so I can plan for date and location. Please send me an email to [email protected] indicating your interest and your preferred day of the week. I will choose the day of the week that works for most people’s schedule.
Second, I plan to do a series of Vital Signs posts right here on my blog sharing a bit of what I learned as I studied. These posts will run concurrently with the class and will last for 8 weeks. In the blog series, we will examine one church each week.
Each of these churches has crucial lessons for those of us who journey this earth in 2013. It is critical that we heed the words of Jesus contained in Revelation 1-3. Our faith and our future depend on it.
I hope you will join me in person if you live in the North Georgia area, and on the blog if you do not, for Vital Signs: Lessons From the Seven Churches of The Revelation.
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Friends, I have a crazy busy week this week, so this will likely be my only post for the week. You can still find me on Facebook and Twitter this week. Please, if the Lord brings me to your mind, I’d appreciate your prayers as I travel to Loganville, GA on Friday evening to speak to the women of Sanctuary Baptist Church at their annual Mother’s Day event. We will be talking about the importance of building a Godly legacy. Thank you and I’ll be back here posting again next week.
