First Presbyterian Church

Holiday seasons, especially Christmas and the New Year, are times of celebration, but for many they are also times of reflection—while we rightly celebrate the gift of salvation in the coming of Jesus Christ, there is an awareness that all that He has promised has not yet reached it fulfillment in our lives. During this season, many people catch a glimpse of the promised joy that God has for us, yet it quickly can get swept away in the madness of our preparations, shopping, food, and fellowship.

This fleeting glimpse of true joy is, I believe, no accident, but rather an emergence of a built-in longing that all humans have by creation—there is a joy, a beauty, and glory for which the human being naturally yearns, a yearning put there by God himself. Far from being a delusion, this desire points to something eternal, something magisterial and supra-natural. Many of our desires arise from a created need which can only be filled by God alone.

Of course, human life is filled, moment by moment, by the pursue of our desires—some honorable… some not-so-muchly. So much of our frustration in life is the inadequate manner in which we seek to fill the yearning, frequently looking in all the wrong places.

I believe that our deepest desires are not animal instincts, social conditioning, or an outgrowth of our corruption—I believe that our deepest desires reflect our created connection to God himself, a connection that God has gifted us with in Jesus Christ. This gift is expressed to us in various ways, one of which we will look at this week—the offering of a benediction/blessing to us.

Sermon Outline

Text: Revelation 1:4-5

I. Benedictions: Blessings and Doxology

II. Revelation 1:4-5

     Grace and peace to you

          From Him who is, and who was, and who is to come

          And from the seven spirits before His throne

          And from Jesus Christ

               Who is the faithful witness

               The firstborn from the dead

               And the ruler of the kings of the earth

Questions

Text: Revelation 1:4-5

1. “Context is king” (or so the ol’ interpretive rule goes). So, what’s the context of these verses?

     a. What is Revelation about? Who wrote it? To whom? About what topic?

     b. How do verses 1 & 2 give context to our passage?

     c. Technically, these are verses directed to the “seven churches of Asia.” Without doing any historical work at all, what can you imagine about these churches?

     d. What do you know about the author, just for these intro verses?

2. The phrase “grace and peace” appear elsewhere in the Bible. Can you think of any places where? (hint: check the opening of other letters). Are these helpful comparisons?

3. “Grace and peace” are a common way to open a letter to someone. Why do you think that is? What is being communicated when you open a letter that way? (In contrast, what is our most common letter-open-er?)

4. This verse touches on one of the most celebrated doctrines of the Christian church, and one of the most distinctive. Can you identify what these two are?

5. If this benediction were to be fulfilled in its fullness for you in the coming year, what would that look like? How much you be changed as a result?