Life Group - Study Guides

This is our final stop in the series “Eden to Eternity.” We close with the book of Revelation—the unveiling of Jesus Christ. This vision was given to the apostle John while he was exiled on the Island of Patmos. Revelation is not written to frighten us or help us predict the date of the end times—Scripture is clear that no one knows the day or hour. It’s full of symbolism and mystery, much of which we can’t fully explain. Yet it is meant to strengthen our hope and remind us that God is in control and that one day He will make all things new. Let’s explore its truths and the principles that still shape our lives today.

God’s Word is alive—it speaks as clearly today as when it was first written. Throughout this series we traveled through the story of scripture. This week we reach one of its most awe-inspiring moments: the Gospels. The Old Testament closed in silence as Israel waited for the promised Messiah. Then the quite broke with the best news ever: God Himself came near in Jesus Christ! Four Gospels, one Messiah. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each present the same life-changing truth—Jesus is the Savior—yet each highlights unique details. Four eyewitnesses describing the same event from different vintage points, their perspectives weave together a rich, complete picture of who Jesus is.

As we pick back up and travel on through the Bible in our series Eden to Eternity, we arrive on the scene where the Israelites have been in captivity to the Babylonians due to their sin and disobedience. Now they have returned and are starting the process of rebuilding. God is giving them a fresh start. Many of us may find ourselves in a very similar situation in life. This past weekend we learned some biblical principles to rebuilding God’s way.

This past Sunday we were blessed to hear from our founding Pastor Mike Madding. He reminded us that humility doesn't come naturally—it's something we must intentionally cultivate. In this culture we are constantly pushed to climb higher, be noticed, and prove ourselves. But Jesus points us in the opposite direction: the path of humility. True humility is not weakness; it’s strength under control. It’s not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less—making space for God and others. This week, we’ll look at what God really desires from us and how we can walk in the way of Christ’s humility.

This week we look into a time in Scripture where the Israelites wanted to be like all the other people around them. Other nations had kings, so they wanted one as well, so they asked God for a king. As you can imagine, and as we will see, this was not God’s plan or His best for His chosen people. But like we often do, they demanded their way and so begins a long journey of difficult consequences to the choice they made to have a king “like everyone else,” instead of God as their true King.