LifeGroup Notes

INTRO

What one thing most resonated with or challenged you from the message this Sunday?

Would you say your faith has grown stronger or weaker as time has passed? What practices were part of your life when your faith was strongest?

READ
Read Revelation 1:1-8
1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. 4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

So, what is the book of Revelation all about?

What are some of the ‘firsts’ that we see in the first few verses of Revelation?

To whom was this book written? How does that apply to us today?

In Revelation, Jesus gives himself the title of ‘Alpha & Omega’ why do you think that this is significant?

DIG DEEPER
Read Isaiah 48:12-18
12“Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last.
13My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14“Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

What is important about the way that this passage is introduced?

What are the similarities between this passage and Revelation 1:1-8?

What is the Lord’s desire for His people and what will the result be if they follow Him?

BIG IDEA
One of the greatest needs in the church today is a clear vision of Christ! If we submit to the world’s picture of Jesus then we cannot have a clear vision of Christ! Far too often we allow our worldview to shape who Christ is instead of letting Christ shape our worldview. When we lose sight of who the real Jesus is, we begin to lose sight of what real love is and we define it in our own terms. When we lose sight of who the real Jesus is we lose sight of His grace for us.

PERSONAL REFLECTION

What is the greatest need in the church today?

So what about you? How is your view of Jesus? Is it based on the word of God? Is it centered on the gospel? The true gospel? Does your view of Jesus radically change the way you live or does the way you live radically redefine who Jesus is? Make no mistake about it how we answer these questions matter more than anything else on this earth!