Liza

The Father and the Son are both worthy, and one in the unity of their natures. They show us what love and unity really means. And through Christ, we are also one with them because of their love for us. Wow!

We reign in a sense because through Jesus death on the cross we share in His victory over death, and His life on earth showed us the kind of victorious life we can lead. Sin and fear need not reign over us. We are all priests, ministering to a lost and hurting world. They won

Jesus is worthy because He who was in very nature God humbled Himself and obeyed His Father to die on the cross for the salvation of mankind. His love makes Him worthy. His purity (the perfect Lamb) makes Him worthy. His victory over death makes Him worthy.

There is sooooo much we need to praise God for, for His very nature. As we look at His nature, it is awesome that this God looks at us, sent His Son (of the same nature) to save us and He loves us! He is holy, He was, is and is to come, He is worthy of glory, honour and thanks, is seated on the throne, lives forever, is worthy of power, Creator of all things, in Him we have our being. He is worthy to open the scroll, He is the Lion of Judah, the Root of Jesse, the Lamb who was slain, He is all-powerful, all-seeing, He is risen, has purchased us with His precious blood, He has made us priests, a kingdom, He is the source of all wisdom, wealth, strength and worthy of all praise from every creature!

I can see a lot of hymns and choruses mentioned. Here is my list: Holy, holy, holy Blessing and honour, Glory and power Salvation belongs to the Lord To Him who sits on the throne Worthy is the Lamb The marriage of the Lamb

This lesson is like a searchlight beamed on the church - there things to be changed, there are things to be commended, and we need to remember the Power and Glory of the One who has saved us and also, the reward at the end. Churches were praised for: 1. Patient endurance, toil, sound doctrine 2. Suffering but rich in God

We tolerate things and it is more of a social gathering than a congregation of people gathered together to worship the living God. When we are more interested in activities, positions and politics rather than God, God ceases to be head of that church. On a personal level we need to keep checking

There are Christians who participate in certain things, saying it doesn

A loosening of moral standards would destroy our faith and witness because: 1. We would not be examples that the world could look at as

Q1. How can a local congregation lose its "first love" for Jesus? What are the signs of genuine love for Jesus in worship and ministry? How does the lack of love show up? How can a congregation regain this love? A congregation can lose its first love by becoming more involved in activities, committees, positions in church organisations rather than being concerned about people genuinely. A genuine love for Jesus is exhibited by being true to the Word, transparent holy living, and a genuine love and care for the lost. I think a lack of love shows up in a very complacent attitude no matter which way we are going, and a slack conscience where sin is concerned. Then we will be more like the Pharisees and Saduccees, with a form of godliness on the outside, but not on the inside. There will also be a sense of superiority, we know the truth, the rest of you are on the way to hell. Jesus was never like that. To regain our love, we need to repent of our sins, our lack of love and go back to the word, not to increase head knowledge, but for the word to transform our hearts and breathe life into our spirits.

Jesus is in the Church. Seven Churches symbolic of the entire Church in her wholeness, and glory, who lights us a dark world, sustained and strengthened by His presence. There are angels assigned to watch over each church. There is protection, complete protection. Jesus is present among believers and He sees all things - the motives, the secret sins, the spiritual slackness. I see it as His care and concern for His sheep, a desire for them to walk right, to be safe, and not to wander off into danger. The warnings are for the sheep 'who hear My voice'. But whether the hearts with be obedient or not is up to the sheep.

Christ in the midst of the lampstands is rather frightening - powerful, too bright to be looked at, with a sword coming out of His mouth. In a way He is revealed as the Judge who sees all things as they are, with commendations for faithfulness and word of warning for sinful behaviour. This is very different from the mercy, healing and grace that the disciples constantly saw (with the occasional rebuke). There is still the grace in the way He communicates to each of the churches but this vision reinforces the fact that He is All-powerful, All-seeing, and not a human being any longer who has physical limitations. We need to remember that the One who calls us friends and died for us is also the One who can see all things and who is not impressed with actions but with the pure motives of the heart. He calls us to follow Him and exhorts us to stand firm. He is also almighty and has promised us His strength. That is very comforting, and also calls us to pull up our spiritual 'socks' and to be more prepared, daily, for His return.

The countries that come to mind are the Muslim countries, China, India, Indonesia and even some in Europe. Persecution does not necessarily mean pyhsical torture, eg. in Pakistan, a local Christian can only be a scavenger or sweeper, even if he is educated. I am in a Muslim country and sometimes I come across articles about people who have embraced Islam (sadly a lot of them are 'Christians') There are a lot of financial benefits, and then I guess the question that arises is how much would it take to turn you into Judas. The good part about mild or great persecution is there are many 'lukewarm' Christians who become 'hot'. For those who are persecuted I guess the message of Revelation is - hang on, there is an eternal reward, eternal peace, no more tears, but the joy of being in the presence of the One who is worthy of all of our praise. There will also be Divine Judgement upon those who are unrepentant. So, they just have to be faithful in daily carrying their cross (also a symbol of shame - and in a lot of countries, it brings more shame than honour).

The Father is 'the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'. One verse, such power! He has always existed, and is beyond time. He is constant, and all powerful! Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. The Father and the Son are identical in nature - one is not lesser or greater than the other. I think those who had walked and talked with Jesus needed to understand His Deity - He is God. And sometimes even I need to remember His Holiness, Righteousness, Judgement and Power - not just His sacrifice and love and tenderness. We are servants of the God who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, and servants have responsibilities. Our understanding of our Lord will help us to live our lives in a manner that is worthy of Him.

Each person's personal experience of God's power in their lives always serves to strengthen the church - that's how I see it. When someone shares that a prayer was answered or a miracle happened my reaction is hey, this could happen for me too! Again when I hear of someone who suffers daily, but still is a shining witness, I know that the same God who strengthens him will help me in times of trial. This makes our Christian walk very real, not far away and only in the pages of the Bible. In this passage, the testimony of Jesus, who came and lived and taught and fulfilled every one of His promises, and who is ALIVE is the greatest testimony anyone can have! Jesus is the faithful witness, because He came for a specific purpose - to set us free from sin - and He went through death to achieve it. If Christ died for us when we were still worthless, how can we respond with but with wholehearted love and a desire to do ANYTHING for Him? It is this love-response that made the early church go through all the persecution and still keep growing, and it is the same 'faithful witness' who strengthens servants of God today to be willing to go to unreached places and die for the Gospel. Jesus died and there was something better ahead for Him. The victory over death and freedom for us. I think (even for me) that we are afraid to be clear witnesses because we don't want to draw undue attention to ourselves (and are also not very sure if there is a heavenly inheritance ahead - that truth has not been internalised). We don't mind being known as 'good' people, but to be called a fanatic or worse is not acceptable. We try to rationalise instead of being led by the Spirit. We believe in the lie of the Enemy that things will get really bad if we stand out (like the lights we are called to be) and that there are consequences. I wonder, what is the worst that can happen - we could possibly lose our jobs, even our lives, but can anyone take the heavenly inheritance Jesus has promised away from us? Never! It is strange, but when I step out of my so called cocoon of safety, I realise there are a lot of people who need Jesus and are ready to listen to us. We are more sensitive to the lies of Satan than to the whisper of the Holy Spirit. I feel so bad as I write this because even I am guilty of doing this. We need to start listening to the right vioce.

This study was a real eye-opener....especially the first lesson where I was confronted with the awesome power at the disposal of the Church. We expect so little from God. Now, I expect much, much more from God and I can SEE results when I pray with faith in that power. Another thing that really struck me is how little emphasis (in my church) is on what we do for the church - the attitude is what can I get rather than how can I serve. I am asking the Lord to help me have a servant's heart where His church is concerned to do all that is His will through me for His church - for ultimately, it is His Church and not man's. I must say I learnt a lot of new things and have been tremendously blessed through this study! May God continue to bless you and use you tremendously through this Bible Study. Yours in Christ, Liza

I need to remember at all times that it is one faith we all practice and it is one price that was paid for all of us, diverse as we are. I have been critical in the past over doctrine, and proud of my

One baptism unites us in Christ

One body One Spirit One hope One Lord One faith One baptism One God and Father of all To me the most compelling is one faith

The Spirit brings about the unity. We are to maintain it . The bond of peace is what makes the church one, We are all part of one body, bound by the Spirit in peace.

Humility, Gentleness, Patient and Loving. I think being loving is the most important and most difficult

Living out a life that is completely worthy of our calling would result in us producing the fruit of the Spirit, which would in turn, result us being united. It is only by remembering the price Jesus paid constantly, that we can live worthy of that price. He did so out of love and this knowledge would help us to be gracious to the sinful, kind to the undeserving, loving to all. Hence unity would be preserved. We are called to live in godly love.

The members of a congregation should be holy, living lives that bring glory to God. Then, God will dwell in their presence and they will see more and more of God

Both the new testament and the old testament serve in helping us grow spiritually and in showing us how to serve God better. The Word makes a congregation grow. Jesus is the one who trained the apostles and gave the prophets His Word. We have no Word if we don

We are members of God