Welcome to our long-awaited series, Revelations. While I’ve occasionally referred to scripture from this mysterious book this is the first time we’re dedicating multiple weeks to cover the entire book. Ready?
First, Revelations may be one of the most theologically abused books in the Bible. It’s used to justify a myriad of questionable opinions and prejudices. Revelations lends itself to a variety of interpretations due to its layers of symbolism, metaphors and meaning. However, it is part of our bible and, as such, consistent with the God of Salvation found throughout the scripture.
I am the first and the last, who is, who was, and who is to come.
Revelation 1:8
And this is the main point of our series. Our plan is to review Revelations through the lens of the Gospels. After all, it is the same Jesus in all situations. The same Lord and Savior. The same God.
We’re doing this series in cooperation with other Flint area UM Churches. Two of our Sundays will feature guest preachers. The Reverend Naylo Hopkins, Pastor of Bethel UMC will be at Asbury on February 25. And the Reverend Kimberly Metzer, Pastor of Open Door UMC will be with us on March 10.
We have both a companion book and an outline of Revelations to follow. Our guest speakers will follow the outline of scripture, but the companion book is unique to our journey (see Book Club article).
Here is the outline for covering Revelations with chapters from our companion book:
| Scripture | Upside-Down Apocalypse | |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 18 | Revelation 1:9-18 | Chapters Forward-2 |
| Feb 25 | Revelation 6:1-8 | Chapter 3 |
| Mar 3 | Revelation 7:9-17 | Chapters 4-5 |
| Mar 10 | Revelation 16:13-17 | Chapter 6 |
| Mar 17 | Revelation 21:1-5 | Chapters 7-8 |
| Mar 24 | Revelation 5:1-10 | Chapters 9-10 |
| Mar 31 | John 20:1-18 | Chapter 11 |
I pray that you will join us each Sunday morning at 10:30 am. We share our weekly episodes on our YouTube channel. We go live at 10:30 am. You can find these links along with more information about us, or join our live broadcast on our website at FlintAsbury.org.
Pastor Tommy
Jeremy Duncan. Upside-Down Apocalypse: Grounding revelation in the gospel of peace. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2022.