Only Jesus, the lamb who was slain, is qualified to unravel and carry out God’s purposes for these end times. God gives us Revelation chapter 5 so that we may know the greater, true reality in a world that appears to be ruled by chaos. And he gives us this chapter to invite us into the throne room to bring our songs and our lives in worship to the lamb.

In this message we’re invited into the throne room of God. We’re reminded that as we come to worship, we join a worship service that’s already in progress. It doesn’t begin or end with us. We are invited to behold God, who is magnificent & majestic, and worthy to receive all our worship.

If you’ve ever wondered what Jesus would say to His church then look no further, this week we look at 7 examples. Eugene Peterson summarises why this is of the upmost importance for us… ‘The Church is the place where we come to find out what we are doing that is right; it is a place of affirmation. The Church is the place where we come to find out what we are doing that is wrong; it is a place of correction. The Church is the place where we come to hear the promises; it is a place of motivation. No Christian community can do without any part of this message.’ As we unpack these rich, comforting, sobering letters, we pray that the Holy Spirit would give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches!

The first chapter of Revelation reveals Jesus Christ as the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. The central message of this Jesus is: do not be afraid! With this message Jesus offers hope and deliverance from anxiety so prevalent in our society today.

The book of Revelation is an often-neglected book in the church today. Perhaps we find it too confusing or we’re worried that it’s not worth our time, that it won’t make sense… we often give it a pass. But this book (as the name suggests) is a revelation from God. A gift for the church that we might be built up and encouraged. In this introduction we scope out the book’s message. See its key themes. Ultimately, we are given hope that Jesus is coming back. That He will vindicate His people. That He will make all things new. We are given a look behind the curtains to see Heaven’s perspective, that we might wait with eager expectation, and pray with the Spirit, ‘come Lord Jesus’.

This year we believe that God has spoken freedom over King’s Church. But freedom is not just doing what we want to do, it’s joyfully and obediently becoming more like Jesus. We unpack Jesus words in John 15 that he is the vine and we are the branches and ‘apart from him we can do nothing’. If Jesus is our life source and our ultimate joy, we want to learn how to ‘abide’ in Him. We don’t want to settle for lukewarm Christianity but want to find more ways of going deeper with Him. We believe that God has more for us than we’ve currently received, and we want to grow in fruitfulness and learn how to press in and remain in Him together.

Jesus tells a parable to a group of Jewish leaders of a invitation to a great banquet feast. As the invite goes out we see that those who thought they were going, turn out to reject the offer and those rejected in society are the unlikely ones who accept the invite and are welcomed in.

Watch and pray so you don't fall into temptation.

In chapter 9 we see the climax of the great reversal as the jews defeat their enemies. As the jews fight and trust God to win the battle for them, this story points us to the greatest victory of all time, Jesus' defeating his enemies on the cross. Our battle today as we live between that victory on the cross and the final victory to come is a spiritual one. As we look at what God has done, we can have great confidence that God has already won and will continue to fight for us.

In chapter 8 we see Esther’s complete transformation as she lays aside personal interest and her own safety, to beg the King’s mercy for the Jewish people. Esther has so identified with the plight of her people she’s willing to risk everything that they may be spared. This kind of love is breathtaking. It can seem almost otherworldly. In Esther 8 we look at what causes this kind of love. What possesses someone to love this deeply? And ultimately, how can we be transformed…?