Deur’s Main Idea:
Jesus is Lord, he is alive, and he still speaks to people today through the Holy Spirit. He spoke to 7 very specific faith families in “Asia Minor.” What would he say to us today?
Ice Breakers
What are some of the craziest dreams that you remember having?
Have you ever felt like God spoke to you through a dream? What do you think he was saying?
(Leaders, you can now call the loony bin for a pick up. JUST KIDDING!)
Transition
John had a vision while in exile on Patmos.
- What was new or interesting that you learned from the message?
- Review what you remember of why John was a political exile.
- How was he a threat to the establishment or “powers that be.”
Making it personal
Recent studies indicate that there have been more Christians persecuted now and in the past 50 years than in the previous 1,950 combined.
Watch this video to get a better picture of what’s happening around the world.
- What are your feelings as a response to knowing this?
- What should we do, if anything?
- What does the Bible say about persecution?
- How did early followers of Jesus respond to persecution?
Scripture
Read together Revelation 1
- What’s something new that you noticed about this passage?
- What problems or questions do you have about this passage?
- How does verse 9 shed light on our discussion about persecution?
- Verse 20 is one of the rare places where the imagery being used in the passage is explained. How would this explanation of the imagery be an encouragement to these particular churches?
Application
Jesus wanted to reach out to his followers, brothers and sisters, facing immense opposition. Through John he reminded them that he has them in his hand and that he walks among them.
- Discuss what issues you think Jesus would like to address in our faith family.
- What would he praise us for? What problems would he need to address?
- How can we take personal responsibility for those things? What can we change as individuals and families?
- Take time in group and throughout the week to pray for our brothers and sisters who are not safe simply because they follow Jesus.
