To give us a starting point for learning about Christian elders I'm going to cite several passages below which speak about Christian elders in the New Testament. Some of these passages are descriptive (describing elders), some are narrative (stories that includes elders), some are prescriptive (instructions for elders).

The cross is a big deal in Christianity. It is often the singular symbol representing Christianity. While there are plenty of other symbols that could and do serve to represent the faith we have in Jesus, the cross is currently the dominant symbol carried through the centuries, across borders, languages, and cultures. The cross of Christ has a shared meaning for believers. It was not always so. Through time in history believers have used art to express their beliefs in many different ways until the cross became the dominant symbol that it is today.

One of those uncomfortable topics is the anger and wrath of God towards sin. We get uncomfortable when we discuss the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh during the time of the Exodus, or the Exile of Israel from the promised land to Babylonian captivity. When a doubting world asks about the Canaanite conquest, we become silent. We might get uncomfortable when we read about a man who knew no sin and yet he was suffering and ultimately was punished for crimes which he did not himself commit.

For the follower of Jesus hardship comes just as it does for the nonbeliever. Yet the believer is equipped to handle hardship in a way that is distinct from the nonbeliever. The believer has a hope and a plan even in the midst of hardship. The plan in hardship for the believer is the same as the plan in peace: follow Jesus.

One of the things that has stood out to me while studying Mark's account of Jesus' days before his resurrection is how Jesus knows what is coming. Jesus speaks prophetically - meaning he speaks regarding what is happening or what is about to happen with truthful accuracy.

We enter into the divine discussion and interrupt the flow of the cosmic conversation only by the intercession of another. The work Jesus Christ engages in on a daily basis since his ascension is to intercede for his people in the courts of heaven.

Today I want to share some observations from Revelation 5 (this week our suggested reading as a church is Revelation chapters 5 through 8). These notes may make more sense if you have your Bible out in front of you

One of the serious ancient threats to the church was false teaching. Amidst all the other very real threats to early Christians (such as persecution from Roman government officials, Jewish leaders, poverty, food shortages, geographically dispersed, racial tension, distinct cultural values, spiritual uncertainty and language differences) the propagation of misinformation was most grave.

A single read through will "start the wheels" turning in our mind regarding Revelation as a book given to us by God, through Christ, to John. I'm not promising to write comments on each verse, or each chapter. But today, as we get started reading Revelation, here are some comments to share with you that I'll share with my family as we read Revelation 1 today. 

There is something about singing hymns that is intimidating. Learning multiple verses to different hymns can be time consuming and difficult. How can we as parents lead family worship and teach our children hymns when we do not know them ourselves? One of the great things we get to do as parents is to grow closer to God through the discipling of our children. Lets check out some ways that we can learn hymns ourselves, and then teach them to our children.

The trademark ploy of the serpent was to twist God's word. A failure to faithfully represent God's Word as God intended has led to all of the evil that we presently now know, experience, and do. Had Adam and Eve faithfully recounted and proclaimed God's Word there would be no curse, no death, no broken relationships, no war, no famine, no disease, no evil or any of evil's byproducts. 

This view sees Revelation as a preview of the entirety of history after the Incarnation of Christ. According to this approach events that occur throughout history have been previewed in Revelation. In this way there are parts of Revelation that are viewed by Historicist interpreters as having already taken place, and other parts that have not yet taken place. Steve Gregg provides some examples of the historicist approach:

The Idealist approach avoids any particular ties to specific events in the past, present, or future. If I was to suggest a meme to summarize the Idealist approach to Revelation, it would have to be from Pirates of the Caribbean since the Idealist interpretive framework looks for the grand lessons of Revelation rather than getting caught up in all the details. In this way the Idealist interpreter sees historical events (and future events) more like guidelines for interpretation rather than rules for interpreting Revelation.

Today we are taking a look at the interpretive opposite of the futurist view called the "Preterist" view. The word for this view comes from Latin word "praeter" which means "past". While the futurist view sees Revelation as mostly in the future, the preterist view sees Revelation as mostly in the past. While the futurist sees John's testimony as referring to signs and events that are in our future, preterist interpreters view John's prophecy as either symbolic retelling of events in John's past or prophetic forecasts of things which were in John's future, but our past.

One of the problems I find with teaching hymns to young children is that the words are not repetitive. This is great for adults and older kids who can read but becomes more difficult with younger children. Below ,you can find hymns that are simple to learn and fun for your children.

The most popular view of Revelation in contemporary western Christianity is called the "Futurist view". For many of you reading this series the futurist view will be the only view you've ever heard of or considered. In which case much of this may sound familiar to you.

Because of the multiple approaches to interpreting Revelation that have been held by Christians throughout the centuries I've decided to give a bit of background on Revelation here for anyone interested in "going deeper". This week the next few posts will be detailing a few quotes describing different approaches to interpreting Revelation. 

Beyond simply being a book with much interest, Revelation gives the Bible reader a chance to reflect on their own interpretive methods and habits. There is no book in the Bible which requires more self-awareness of what baggage, assumptions, and frameworks we bring to the text. Since we all have baggage, assumptions, and frameworks through which we view the Bible today I'm going to poke a bit (like a doctor or a parent, asking "where does it hurt?") at 3 mistakes which injure our ability to read a prophetic passage in scripture.