Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Tulip Truth Revealed!

Greetings fellow travelers,

I’m thrilled that you were able to be with us for the second walk through the ancient words of the Book of Revelation! We were able to accomplish a few things in the time we had together. We took a look at the prologue and discovered that there is far more in the first 8 verses of chapter 1 than we ever expected! Phrases like “what must soon take place” and “for the time is near” offer tremendous hope and promise for Christ-Followers in every age!

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of challenging times asking the question, “How long will this go on?” That is precisely the point at which Christ meets us with the promise that he reigns and will never leave us or forsake us! We are surrounded by the one who is, who was and who is to come!

Verses 9 through 20 shows us the first cycle of visions in the Book of Revelation known as the Vision of Christ. Like a photograph of beautiful tulips, the image in the picture simply invites us to look deeper. We then ask, “What deeper meaning is contained here?” “How does this picture point me to deeper truth and hope in my life?”

Finally, we took what turned out to be a quick look at the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. There is so much here! As you consider the stories of these congregations in 1st century Asia Minor, ask yourself what is at work in them that is also at work in us in the 21st century. Have we lost our ‘first love’? Have we weakened in our resolve to make Christ central in our lives? How does the culture impact us today and what does it mean to be uniquely Christ’s church on earth?

If you are inclined toward more notes about these first three chapters, follow the link from the Prince of Peace website to those notes. There’s a lot there! For next Tuesday, read through chapters 4 through 7.

More excitement to come!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Paul

Posted by Paul at 11:30 AM

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Join Pastor Paul Gauche at Prince of Peace each Tuesday beginning April 10 and running through May 22 for an exploration the ancient words from the Book of Revelation! This important, yet, challenging and often misunderstood biblical text reveals timeless truths about God’s vision for the church, the people of God, and what it means to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. Often, Christians confidently construct detailed end-time scenarios from the book of Revelation. Others, bewildered by the mind-boggling imagery, believe Revelation is too obscure to understand. Between these two extremes lie truths for today and a message of tremendous hope for followers of Jesus Christ. Craig Koester, professor of New Testament at Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota writes, “The power of a book can be seen in what it does to people, and few books have affected people more dramatically than Revelation. In positive terms, Revelation has inspired countless sermons, theological treatises, artistic works, and musical compositions ranging from the triumphant ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ (Handel’s Messiah) to the gentle strains of ‘Jerusalem My Happy Home.’ “On the negative side, it has fed social upheaval and sectarian religious movements that have often foundered and misguided attempts to discern the date of Christ's return.” (from Revelation and the End of All Things, page 1). You’re invited to a lively study of these ancient words from the book of Revelation!