An introduction to Revelation Sermon

Mavis Wilson 27th March 2011

Revelation is a book which evokes strong reactions – some people find it frightening and nightmarish and react by wanting to put their head under the pillow until the thunder stops. Other people find it inspiring and exciting – those are probably the same people as love Harry Potter, or even more likely, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. As a child I started in the first group but as time goes on I gradually find myself more in the second group.

What are we to make of this rather strange book for our Christian pilgrimage to-day?

It helps to understand the genre or type of book it is – apocalyptic – which means- unveiling or uncovering of things hidden or revelation of divine mysteries. The revelation (and there are several apocalyptic writings in the OT as well) is given to a prophet or seer and quite often involves a kind of mystery tour of heaven in the company of an angel. The purpose is to uncover the way things really are even if they seem to be rather different from current, usually desolate, experience.

The book of Revelation opens - The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. (1.1-2) It is about Jesus and also about things to come. Apocalyptic writing generally arises out of a time of particular stress, usually persecution, when things seems to be entirely out of God’s control, and it is powered by the conviction that the present is actually the final age of world history and the end of everything is imminent.

Prophecy and apocalyptic in the Bible have in common that they try to discern and describe the realities that lie behind the appearances of the world. and set out the consequences of not taking those realities seriously, so that people may respond accordingly.

A contemporary example of apocalyptic might be the ecological debate. As long ago as the 50s and 60s people were warning of the possible effects of our increasingly industrialised way of life. On the whole little notice was taken and certainly hardly any action resulted. Over the past 50 or 60 years much more notice has been taken of the warnings about the effects of our life style on the delicate natural balance of our eco-system. The results predicted in 1950 my not have been entirely accurate but the principles were correct and indeed the results of not changing our lifestyle may be even more serious than was predicted then and so we need to respond (as we are now trying to do). In the ecological debate we thought things were OK, life seemed to hold much promise for improvement in the 1960s, but the reality is that they were not. Revelation works the other way round – things do not seem to be ok and yet the truth is that they are. Despite appearances to the contrary - God is sovereign, holy, calls a people into relationship with him and will ultimately save all who are faithful. God’s sovereignty, holiness, love and saving power are the truth whatever appearances (in terms of what is going on in the world around) may suggest.

In one sense Revelation does not add much to the doctrine and meaning of the rest of the Bible –but it explores that meaning in a different way using poetry, drama, symbols and pictures to engage us in an imaginative response. We have to move out of rational thought into our feelings and imagination –to close our eyes as we listen and to see what it being described and listen to how it makes us feel.

One commentator calls Revelation literally the last word. It is the last book in the Bible and probably the last to be accepted into the canon of Scripture. Revelation is the the last word on Scripture (1.1-11), on Christ, (1.12-20) on the church (2 and 3) on worship (4 and 5), evil((6 and 7), prayer ((8 and 9), witness ((10 and 11), politics (12 and 14), judgement (15 to 18), salvation (19 and 20) and heaven (12.1 – 22.5). Revelation was written to be read aloud – in the churches - just as we will hear it read later in Lent.

Whoever, the writer of Revelation was – and we really do not know- he was on the prison island of Patmos incarcerated presumably because, as part of a Christian community, he was worshipping a Lord, Jesus Christ, in direct opposition to the emperor of Rome, the dominating political and pagan power. He had fallen foul of the authorities and was being punished. It was probably very close to the end of the first century after Christ. Revelation encourages these beleaguered communities of Christians to continue act according to the will of the God they could not see rather than that of the Caesar whom they could see and who, in the persecutions of the end of the first century, was punishing them for disobedience to his edicts. Whatever the cost. they were to be faithful to Christ.

Now we are not persecuted but we do live in a society which increasingly proclaims that God has no power or significance – that is not the truth. We too need the inspiration and sense of power, love and creativity which Revelation offers us.

In a few minutes now we cannot consider all the ‘last words’. So in this strange and exciting book let’s consider the last word on Christ– (1. 12-20)

· Jesus, risen and glorified is the object of worship and adoration;

the last word on evil - (6 and 7)

· Evil is a harsh reality and the whole cosmos is caught up in an ongoing battlewhich will ultimately be resolved.

the last word on heaven (12.1 – 22.5)

· The world as we know it will end but not simply in ultimate destruction but in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.

The first four chapters of Revelation are written as letters to the little communities of believers in different places in Asia minor. Jesus is pictured as walking among them affirming them for their spiritual fruits but exhorting them to overcome their faults. For all the splendour of his appearance 1.12-14 - a transcendent and also human appearance - his voice is more wonderful still like the sound of many waters and his words are the words of one who would raise up and console anyone who was frightened out of their wits at the sight of his splendour with these words Do not be afraid. That is a picture and a word to hang on to as you listen to Revelation – a picture of Jesus reaching out to touch us and speaking those reassuring words that when he is present there is no need to fear whatever chaos or trouble, temptation or persecution, arrogance or indifference may come our way. As we listen to Revelation it may be helpful to listen for the voice of Jesus and recognise that, like the Christians in Ephesus, we too are called and challenged to maintain our first love for him; and like the Christians in the other churches, to be faithful right up to the point of death; to be pure in life and doctrine; maintaining a living relationship with God and on fire for Christ rather than lukewarm in our faith and love.

The appearance of Jesus is like a Son of Man - an authority figure from Daniel in the OT coming from heaven but also representing humanity. He is clothed like a priest of the OT – one who brings together the divine and the human and makes a bridge between them; he holds seven stars in his hand – he is Lord of the cosmos - the planets do not control us, Christ controls the planets. A sword comes out of his mouth signifying that he speaks the word of God – the word which divides good from evil and establishes what is right. The power that the world respects comes from the mouth of a gun, the power that the person of faith respects comes from the mouth of Christ.

As Revelation goes on Jesus appears as a lamb – the one sacrificed for sin and through whom salvation has been obtained now enthroned in majesty and worthy of worship. There are great hymns of praise, echoed in Handel’s Messiah Worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing. Later still in the book he is also the one given authority in the battles against evil. In all there are seven visions of Christ in Revelation: listen out for them and pause to worship him.

Then the last word on evil. Evil present in the world is raised time and again as the problem in believing in a God of love. It is not just a problem on a big scale but also on a personal scale at those times in our lives when things seem to be slipping our of control - times when serious illness threatens us or when events and powers bigger than ourselves seems to be controlling our lives. The sight of a quarter of a million people marching in London yesterday suggests to me that that sense of being out of control of our lives is shared by many even in our relatively peaceful society. Chs 6 and 7 describe in imaginative ways the realities of war, starvation, death plague, martyrdom – all these are the realities of our world this morning as we look out over it. These are the harsh realities of evil. Are these the last word? No, beyond and behind them is a picture of people saved and marked out by God, a multitude which no-one can number, who worship and pray in God’s presence even in the great silence of heaven waiting for the final deliverance of all things.

And what will that ending be like? Two rather surprising and perhaps contrasting thing – a whole new creation and a city – listen out for them both. In the struggles and challenges of life as Christian disciples heaven is meant to be now as much as in the future, breaking into our experience whenever we meet Christ. Although there is much more to come we do not have to wait to experience it and that is what helps us to keep going as Christians – the presence of Jesus among us now - we too are one of the lamp stands among which he walks.

Why do we think about heaven? No doubt for a variety of reasons. Many people want to go to heaven the way they want to go to Florida –they think the weather will be an improvement and the people decent. But the Biblical heaven is not a nice environment removed form the stress of hard city life. It is the invasion of the city (small c) y by the City (big C). We enter heaven not by escaping what we don’t like but by the sanctification of the place in which God has placed us.

We do not need to wait for the end of all things although one day we will have new spiritual bodies and inhabit a whole new heaven and earth which will be like the one we now know but also unlike it, without separation form God, without pain and suffering. In reality we can enter heaven this morning here and now by praying the prayer with which revelation ends. 'Come Lord Jesus’. Jesus will come, our church here will also be one of the golden lamp stands, and Jesus will walk among us. Even so, come lord Jesus. Amen.

Questions.

1. Read again Revelation 1.12-17. What are you responses to each of the descriptions of Jesus?

2. In what way do these verses extend your awareness of who Jesus is?

3. How do you think of heaven? How do you imagine a new heaven and a new earth?

The Letters / Epistles Sermon

Alan Walden 20th March 2011

Take a walk down Frimley High Street, and you will see a variety of different shops. There is the newsagent – also selling cards and sweets; Waitrose, a large commanding presence, selling things it’s hard to live without, but offering lots of optional add-ons. Then there’s the bakers, the jewellers, the carpet showroom, and so on. Each different but sometimes overlapping, some similar in layout but very different in what is on offer. Some you rarely or never need, others you visit every week. And of course the people working in the shop and the customers all add to the variety.

The New Testament letters or epistles, from Romans through to Jude, are rather like a row of shops. There is great variety of topics and issues being dealt with, different writers and audiences, varied purposes.

What if you walk down a street of shops in a different country, a different culture? It can be hard to make sense of - you need to understand the culture before can find what you are looking for. There are lots of wonderful things, but what are they for? You either need a guide, or you will need to work a bit harder to work it all out. This is more like our experience in hearing the Epistles - some things are immediately clear and obvious, others seem irrelevant and obscure.

So as we are taking some time this lent to listen and explore the variety of epistles on our New Testament ‘shopping expedition’, let’s think about how we can understand what is on offer.

To understand what these epistles are saying we need to transport ourselves back to the first century, and the Greco-Roman world around the Mediterranean where all these letters were written and received. They are called Epistles from the Greek word Epistole, which was used for a letter, or any communication between people who are separated. The letters were written in Greek, the international language of the region for trade, politics and religion, despite the fact it was dominated by Latin speaking Roman empire, they had not yet managed to change the language.

The culture of the letters is very different therefore from the Hebrew culture of both the Old Testament and the Gospels and Acts. The way of thinking was largely gentile, Hellenistic (greek) philosophical mode, together with Roman Imperial mindset, into which the Hebrew background of Jesus and the many Old Testament references had to be interpreted.

The letters are the earliest New Testament documents, with 1 Thessalonians believed to date from 50BC, 20 years before the gospel of Mark, while some later epistles seem to refer to the Gospels, so must have come after them. For some letters, the context can be narrowed down quite accurately, in terms of who, where and when the letter was written, who it was to, and why. Acts sometimes helps with this, as well as the letter itself. Others are more general - not 1-1 letters, but round robins - more literary in style and purpose.

One thing to listen out for is any information about the occasion for the letter - when where and why it was written. This helps to understand what issues were being raised and why. This is easier when we hear the whole letter, rather than just reading a few verses. Understanding the situation helps us to ask what does this mean for us? How is our situation similar or different? Is this where we need to shop to find what we are need for our situation, or is it more like background - a place to window shop?

Some letters are to persecuted churches, others are to safely established churches which were going astray. Others to divided churches fighting amongst themselves, to very new churches. Then there are letters to individual church leaders.

Some letters are sent as sermons - to be read in front of the gathered church, others are more personal. One thing that has struck me as I have been listening to them is the personal character of the letters, which comes out when you hear them read at length. Emotion seeps out as you listen to long sections - Paul, and the other writers clearly care deeply for those they are writing to. (It is possible, though, to distinguish a variation between some particularly personal and individual letters addressed to a person or a church in a particular situation (Corinthians, Philemon, Timothy) and more general letters, aimed more generally, which are more literary but without much personal detail (Hebrews supremely). No less valuable for that, just different.)

Overall, the letters are about the church. They demonstrate how the church was shaped, how from the earliest times it wrestled with many of the same issues we struggle with today, suffering, leadership, human frailty, living in a materialistic and hedonistic culture, differences within the church, how to behave well as a Christian, prayer, as well as deep reflections on the relationship between God and people. What is more, they are a great inspiration to mission - they were written in a time of massive growth for the church, when the gospel spread out all around the ‘known world’.

Churches were established and growing in a wide variety different places, in the face of great struggles going on within the church and with the surrounding culture.

Where do the Epistles fit in the context of the whole Bible? Bishop Tom Wright has a valuable way of describing the Bible as a play in 5 acts. The acts are Creation, the Fall, Israel, Jesus and the Church - and the Letters (together with most of Acts) represent the church - God’s people living in the light of Christ. The point of this idea is that the play actually has not 5 acts but 6. We are the 6^th act - the church today. The previous 5 acts help us to know how we should behave as we play out the 6^th act with God’s help. The letters have a key place in helping us to do this, as they relate to people living in the light of Christ as we are. All the previous sections, up to and including the gospels, build the foundations of our faith, but without the Epistles we would have a very much harder job in being the church. We find a variety and complexity of the problems that the early church had, as we read in the letters. If we can learn form them, who first had to solve these problems, we can save ourselves an awful lot of trouble!

So which letters are relevant to us? We need a high level overview to grasp this. So here it is - a 2 minute walk down the high street - viewing the main themes of the letters:

Romans is foundational - Paul’s fully developed presentation of the gospel, a commanding letter which has re-ignited the faith of the church in each generation. A great inspiration to take the message to the world.

Corinthians - 2 letters to a very lively but divided and troubled church, with important teaching about Holy Communion and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians - exploring the freedom which the gospel gives and how it relates to Old Testament law, like the 10 commandments.

Ephesians - the mystery of the gospel, the importance of prayer and of the church, and how to behave as a Christian.

Philippians - Joy and peace from Paul, despite personal suffering (in prison) and opposition from some in the church.

Colossians - How about adding some trendy spiritually to the gospel? No way! Jesus is all we need says Paul.

Thessalonians - encouraging each other, especially in the face of death, and preparing for Christ’s return.

Timothy and Titus -advice on choosing and being good leaders in the church.

Hebrews - A special focus on the Jewish aspects of Christianity - a bridge backwards to the Old Testament.

James - Teaching about our well being - money, stress, speech - much like the teaching of Jesus, widely attributed to the Lord’s brother James.

1 & 2 Peter - A bridge to the gospels, Peter’s voice with warm recollections of Jesus earthly life, and the inspiration to live holy lives in response.

1-3 John - Combating false teachers with a call back to true faith, and a reminder of the wonderful hope we have in Christ.

So for us, these letters are a BRIDGE in various ways:

A bridge from the Hebrew origins of Christianity into the surrounding Hellenistic and Roman culture.

A bridge from Jesus - the teacher, saviour and Lord, to the Church - his followers in the world.

A bridge from the world of the 1^st Century to our 21^st Century world.

It is in these pages that the life, vitality, passion and mission of the early church, operating in an international, multi–cultural context come alive for us. As we listen to them, the question for us is how can we live the gospel with more clarity and compassion in our times?

I hope that this will help with your walk through the varied shops of the epistles. Which shop will grab your attention, and will you find something for yourself, or perhaps a gift for someone else? I hope you enjoy your listening and find it rewarding.

Small Group Materials - Week 2 - Letters / Epistles

Icebreaker

Compare your shopping habits (if husbands and wives are there together get them to comment on each others!) Who ‘window shops’? Who keeps on the move so they aren’t tempted? Who looks before going in? Who goes in and straight to the required section?

Explore

What are people’s favourite New Testament Epistles? Why?

Are there any letters which letters you find difficult, or would like to know more about?

Ask if anyone has a favourite passage. Get 2 or 3 people to read their favourite passage (or a section from it), and say why it is significant to them, what it tells them about God, and how it is relevant for today?

(If no-one offers, try Ephesians 3:14-20 (Prayer to know God’s love) Romans 5:1-5 (Faith and hope in Christ by the power of the Spirit).

Read 1 Peter 1.1–16. This passage is for people who are ‘Christians in exile’ refugees in another land. We are particularly focusing on verses 1–2 and 13–15 but it’s all relevant.

1) Encourage people to share together situations or experiences where they ‘feel out of it’. For some this is in their homes perhaps because of non–believing partners or teenage children viewing unhelpful TV or using violent computer games. For others it is at work – conversations and activities (maybe at Christmas parties) that seem alien. For others it’s all the stuff that bombards us through the advertising industry, the news or the TV.

2) Consider together what it means to be holy today in our alien lands? How can we allow the impact of Jesus’ coming to motivate and sustain us?

Closing activity & prayer

Make a list of challenging situations that you recall the letters addressing and then think about contemporary parallels. Spend time praying for these situations and people involved in them.

Give thanks to God for the shared experience of listening and for the gift of the Bible.

Give people the opportunity to receive prayer for specific challenges or changes that listening is bringing about.

Pray that others will be deeply blessed by the privilege of listening over forty days.

Close by saying together Hebrews 13.20–21

Small group materials - Week 1 Synoptic Gospels

Icebreaker

Obtain one or more pairs of newspapers such as, The Times and The Mirror; The Guardian and The Mail; The Telegraph and The Sun. Cut out different accounts of the same story and ask people to identify similarities and differences in what is related, the perspective and the style. Which newspaper is more like which gospel do you think?

Explore

(See also questions at end of Synoptic Gospels sermon)

1) If people have already listened to Matthew’s Gospel, invite them to share what has struck them most about this Gospel – either the plot, the characters, the orderliness, a particular story or incident? How is Jesus presented – and who might this be important for then and today?

2) Read Mark 1.12–13 and Luke 4.1–13. Encourage people to comment on which they found most interesting and why? Can they spot Mark’s urgent abrupt style and Luke’s elegant story telling? What would they lose if we had only one of these accounts?

3) Explore what each writer says about their Gospel: Mark 1.1–3 and Luke 1.1–4.

4) Consider the different ways in which Matthew, Mark and Luke deal with the resurrection of Jesus and what follows.

Closing activities

Discuss the kind of people you think today would find Mark or Luke better. Consider buying some copies of each Gospels and asking a few people (who don’t go to church) to let you know which they think is better.

Read Matthew 28.16–20 and then pray for a) your church’s mission, b) missionaries and agencies your church support and know about, c) areas where it is difficult to be a Christian today (in some work situations here as well as some countries abroad).

The Synoptic Gospels Sermon

Margaret Massey 13th March 2011

To tie in with our Lent, ‘You’ve Got the Time’ initiative we are beginning a sermon series on the New Testament. This morning I will be giving a brief introduction to the ‘Synoptic Gospels’.

The word ‘synoptic’ comes from the Greek term ‘sunopsis’, meaning seeing together or a collective view. The word ‘gospel’ is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words: ‘God’, meaning good; and ‘spell’, meaning tidings.

The term “Synoptic Gospels’ is applied to the first three Gospels in the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, and Luke because, as the term synoptic suggests, each of them records the good news of Jesus Christ from the same general perspective as the other two.

The fourth Gospel, John, offers a different, but not conflicting, perspective of Jesus Christ. For instance the Synoptics narrate Jesus’ ministry chiefly in Galilee, but John tells of Jesus’ ministry in Judea. The Synoptics narrate his miracles, parables and addresses to the multitudes; John presents deeper and more abstract discourses, Jesus’ conversations and prayers. The Synoptics portray Christ in action; John portrays him in meditation and communion.

Because Matthew, Mark and Luke contain similar elements, most scholars conclude that they come from the same literary source. However, the interesting point about these Gospels is not where they agree, but where they differ. Simple differences include the lack of the birth narrative in Mark and the descriptions of Jesus as a child in Luke. The difficulty of explaining both the similarities and differences between the accounts is known as the ‘Synoptic Problem’.

From early church times it was thought that the gospel material was passed along by word of mouth before being written down. This oral Gospel originated with the disciples and was then passed along throughout Palestine before spreading to other parts of the Roman Empire. When the Apostles began to age and ‘die off’ the need to secure an accurate, eyewitness account of Jesus’ teachings became apparent. The oral tradition was transcribed into written form and subsequently published.

Until modern times this was the accepted view throughout the history of the church. Today, however, several theories exist about the origin of the Synoptic Gospels.

Currently the most popular of these theories is the ‘Two-source Theory’. This view concludes that Mark was written first, Matthew and Luke then relied on Mark’s document along with another source document called Q. Document Q has subsequently been lost!

The main argument to support this view is that about 90% of the material in Mark is found in Matthew; and about 50% in Luke. It is argued that it is more likely that Matthew and Luke would have expanded Mark, rather than Mark abbreviating the others. Despite years of research the actual circumstances of the writing of the Gospels remain shrouded in mystery.

Whatever the Synoptic Problem poses for scholars and theologians, as readers and listeners, we should recognise that the separate Gospels enable diverse groups of people to identify with the story of Jesus Christ. And that the overall unity of the accounts produces confidence that the story is true.

When we explore in more detail, we can find the distinctive characteristics of each Synoptic Gospel.

The Gospel According to Matthew is the first document presented in modern forms of the Christian Bible. Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels, but also the most hostile to Judaism. This Gospel is noted for its use of the Old Testament Scriptures.

In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as a strict and conservative man whose life, from birth to death, is the fulfilment of fourteen prophetic sayings from books in the Old Testament.

These sayings are quoted throughout the text and Jesus’ movements and actions are portrayed as being directed by the prophecies. Matthew is, however, the only Gospel to include the word ‘Church’. Matthew believes that the Church is the true Israel, the fulfilment of scriptural promises; and Jews who do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah forfeit the claim to be God's people Israel.

Unique parts of Matthew include: Jesus’ birth story, his genealogy, the Wise men, Herod's slaughter of the innocents and the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew the disciples are characterised as understanding Jesus and his identity.

Matthew's Gospel appears to be written in a setting that required explanation of Jesus as both Jewish and Christian. It is also thought that Matthew's Gospel functioned as a manual of church instruction.

The Gospel According to Mark is commonly believed to be the earliest written of the three Synoptic Gospels. Mark is the least Jewish and most Roman in perspective. Mark’s narrative is somewhat disjointed, he presents only a bare bones tradition of Jesus.

Mark’s presentation includes short, quick events as the core of the book. Mark ignores the birth story and begins with Jesus as an adult and ready for ministry. (The Roman world had little place for genealogy.)

His account of the resurrection is also succinct – even abrupt with some scholars claiming it finishes mid–sentence. Mark translates some Aramaic phrases, presumably because they are foreign to the readers, and he alone includes Latin phrases.

In Mark, Jesus seems to be less the storyteller and teacher, and more the activist. His power over the difficulties people face provides a needed understanding of his person; Jesus' suffering defines what it is to be the Messiah.

Mark’s disciples are depicted as ignorant or confused. Mark’s presentation of Jesus is written to connect with a non-Jewish audience, to explain why Christians were suffering; to offer hope for redemption through suffering.

The Gospel According to Luke is considered the most "literary" of the Gospels with the best style. It contains more dialogue than the other gospels and places the story within an ordered framework of Jesus’ life from birth to death.

Luke’s presentation acknowledges the universal appeal of Jesus, the perfect human. His presentation stresses the logical extension of Jesus’ work beyond its Jewish packaging to the whole world; to outcasts, to women, and to non-Jews.

Theologically Luke gives great emphasis to the Holy Spirit. He attributes the work of Jesus and his Apostles to God through the impulse of the Holy Spirit.

The unique parts of Luke include: Jesus’ birth, the shepherds, the centrality of Mary, parallels with the birth of John the Baptist, Simeon's prophecy, Jesus as a youth in the temple, and genealogy that goes back to Adam.

In Luke the disciples are not characterised as ignorant. The twelve are specially denoted "Apostles". Their understanding unfolds as the narrative proceeds. At first, understanding is concealed from them, but it is later revealed, as Jesus explains the Old Testament Scriptures to them.

Luke’s presentation appears to be to demonstrate to non-Jews that the gospel was applicable to everyone, although some scholars disagree and believe it has a Jewish orientation.

Many of the differences in the Gospel narratives can be readily explained in terms of theological objectives. A good example of how differences between the Gospels can be understood is the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ passages, a short section of which we heard this morning.

Matthew (ch.5 -7) has grouped material together to present Jesus as a new lawgiver, re-creating the Sinai event, highly relevant to his Jewish readers. However, Luke (6:17–49) has no such concerns and, ironically, presents a similar but more succinct ‘Sermon’ on the plains around Tyre and Sidon.

This brief overview has hopefully shown that in the four Gospels we have four different narratives that tell the one story of Jesus Christ. Viewed historically, they are like overhead projector transparencies layered on top of each other, enabling us to view all layers simultaneously.

When we look at the Gospels we should not lose sight of their overall intention; they are good news and this good news centres on Jesus Christ. The Gospels are directed to believers, they try to teach who Jesus is and the importance of his teachings, each in its own way. If we bear this in mind it can help us to learn and grow as we study them.

I’d like to finish by adding that the Gospels are different from the usual biography, ancient or modern. The Gospels were not written like a book to be circulated and sold in bookstores. They were written to be read aloud in the worship services of early Christian communities. They were intended to be heard as one continuous reading!

The good news is that the ‘YGTT’ bible tracts have been edited to enable us to more or less hear the Gospels as one continuous reading. So happy listening!!

QUESTIONS

1. Which Gospel do you feel most drawn toward and why? Who do you feel would be drawn to the other Gospels?

2. Why do you think that the early church kept and authorised four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ? Would you prefer one consolidated account?

3. What makes John’s Gospel so different?

4. Gospel means “good news.” How are the Gospels “good news” today?