Grace South Bay

This conversation is based on the sermon, "The Lamb's Story," from Revelation 5.

Revelation 6:12–7:17
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 [each] from the tribe of Judah… Reuben… Gad… Asher… Napthali… Manasseh… Simeon… Levi… Issachar… Zebulun.... Joseph… and Benjamin were sealed,

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Sermon Questions:

1. What are precious things that you seal up to protect? Can you see yourself as something even more important to God?
2. Do you know your tears are counted, written in God’s book? Can you imagine each one being answered, redeemed?
3. How often are you surprised that one or another aspect of life is hard? Is it encouraging to hear that while you might not be sealed from suffering, you are sealed through it?
4. Faith is washing your robe in the blood of Jesus, not the blood of your enemies. What does that look like in your life?
5. How are people different from you who you find are hard to love?
6. Is it exciting that heaven is bursting with innumerable, diverse people? Does that impact your attitude towards sharing the faith with others?

This conversation is based on a sermon titled, "Worthy," from Rev., chapter 4.

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

1.     How do you feel about the Bible’s teaching that God will work in history, sometimes through violence, to judge people and societies?

2.     “God is wrathful because God is love.” Do you agree with this? Can you explain it? 

3.     Have you seen people or societies fail because of self-assurance and over-confidence?

4.     How do you view God’s strategy of church expansion through suffering?

5.     What describes your ‘auto-pilot and chill’? Or, what default state are you always seeking? Is it good for you or the world?

6.     How does God disturb and disrupt your ‘auto-pilot and chill’? Are you glad he does?

This conversation is based on a sermon titled, "The Conquering, Part Two" from Revelation 2:8-11.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

 “Worthy are you to take the scroll
     and to open its seals,
 for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
     from every tribe and language and people and nation,
 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
     and they shall reign on the earth.”

 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
 to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
 and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
 be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

1.     In what ways do you or have you felt personally stuck, some kind of repetitive loop?

2.     If you had to pick one, do you think of Jesus more as a lion or a slaughtered lamb? Were you surprised to hear how frequently he’s called a lamb yet only once a lion?

3.     Can you put into your own words how/why Jesus’ sacrifice unsticks history and unsticks your story?

4.     Is Jesus’ story through you (being ransomed, freed, made a king/queen and priest, ruling with God forever) compelling to you? Why or why not?

5.     In which ‘stuck areas’ in your life do you find yourself unhelpfully applying more force or pressure?

6.     What would worshiping and following the Lamb look like in these ‘stuck areas’?

This conversation is based on the sermon titled, "The Conquering, Part One," from Rev. 3:7-13.

This conversation is based on the sermon titled, "The Compromising, Part Two," from Revelation 2:18-29.

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

 And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
     who was and is and is to come!”

 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
     to receive glory and honor and power,
 for you created all things,
     and by your will they existed and were created.”

1.     God is described as holy, pure, eternal, creator, ruler…do these concepts ‘land’ with you, or do they kind of go in one ear and out the other?

2.     “If we can’t explain it, it isn’t real.” Do you consciously or unconsciously go through life with that attitude?

3.     What have been some of your experiences of the transcendent? Do you agree that those are pointing you to God?

4.     Does it matter at all that it is God’s work to bring heaven to us rather than us trying to get to heaven?

5.     What are your crowns?  How can you cast them before God?

6.     Do you find God to be worthy? Where can you better look and behold God’s worthiness, glory and transcendence?

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?