Archive for May, 2009
May 31, 2009: John’s Vision of Heaven
The text for this lesson is Revelation 21:1–22:21.
Key Points
- Those who believe that salvation has been accomplished by the all-availing sacrifice of Jesus’ blood on the cross will bear the name of Christ written on their forehead in Holy Baptism, and will have the right to the tree of life.
- Law: If I do not believe in Christ as my Savior, I will not enter the gates of heaven.
- Gospel: I am baptized and believe in Jesus, the Lamb of God; He has written my name in His Book of Life, and I shall be saved.
Context
This is the acme of John’s Revelation, indeed, the crescendo of all the Scriptures. In many ways, it is also a digest or summary of the Bible, for in these two chapters is contained the teachings of sin and salvation, heaven and hell, Jesus and the Church, the Holy Trinity, and so forth. John plucks images, as if flowers, from various other books of the Old Testament and New Testament to weave this textual bouquet that pictures the inheritance of the saints.
May 24, 2009: Paul Sails for Rome
The text for this lesson is Acts 27:1–44.
Key Points
- As Christ was with Paul and His companions, so He is with me, holding me up, keeping me with Him in the ship of the Church, and casting all my sins into the depths of the sea.
- Law: In sinful despair, I let the pains of the present overtake me and no longer believe in God or trust His redemption or love.
- Gospel: Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, rides out the storms of life with me, granting me hope in my future redemption.
Context
Arrested in Jerusalem on trumped-up charges (Acts 21:1–40) and jailed for more than two years in Caesarea (Acts 24:27), Paul is finally on his way to Rome, for he had appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11), the “supreme court” of the empire. As this story makes clear, sea travel in ancient times could be quite treacherous, especially as winter approached (Acts 27:9–12). After the shipwreck at Malta, where Paul and the crew wintered (Acts 28:11), the apostle finally arrived in Rome, where Acts ends with the account of Paul’s incessant preaching of the Gospel to the Jews and all who would lend him an ear.
May 17, 2009: Paul and Silas in Prison
The text for this lesson is Acts 16:16–40.
Key Points
- Just as God freed Paul and Silas from prison, granting them life out of death, so Christ by His crucifixion and resurrection frees me from the prison of my sins and grants me life eternal.
- Law: The world hates Christ and His followers and painfully rejects me because of Him.
- Gospel: The Spirit pours the peace of Christ into me, forgiving, strengthening, and sustaining me in Christ.
Context
The calm of their first encounter with the Philippians (which we studied last week; Acts 16:11–15) now gives way to a storm of persecution. Paul is no stranger to facing the wrath of Gospel-haters. Already on Paul’s first missionary trip, the crowds in Lystra stoned him to within an inch of his life (Acts 14:19; see 2 Corinthians 11:23–29 for a digest of the crosses he bore). The officials in Philippi broke the law in beating Paul and Silas, for they were Romans citizens—thus Paul’s complaint and the official’s apologies in Acts 16:37–39. The jailer was about to fall on his own sword when he supposed the incarcerated had flown the coop, since the penalty for him would have been execution anyway.
May 10, 2009: Lydia
The text for this lesson is Acts 16:11–15.
Key Points
- Just as God worked His miracle beside the river, clothing Lydia with Christ in Baptism, so God works His miracles in pulpits and fonts around the world today, destroying the work of Satan, ripping believers from the jaws of death, washing away sins in water tinged with Jesus’ blood, and clothing believers with His righteousness.
- Law: Full of pride and guided by my emotions and experiences, I look for God and His works where I think He is, instead of humbly following His Word.
- Gospel: Christ locates Himself and His saving gifts for me in specific places: His baptismal font, His pulpit, His altar—wherever His Word is spoken, sung, poured, eaten, or drunk.
Context
On his second missionary journey, while in Troas, Paul saw a vision of a man urging him to come over to Macedonia and help him (16:9). Heeding the call, Paul and his companions crossed the Aegean Sea, bringing the Gospel to modern-day Europe. He made his way to Philippi, an important city of the day. As we’ll learn next week, his initial welcome there by Lydia and others was short-lived, for soon he and Silas were arrested, beaten, and jailed (Acts 16:16–40).
