Thursday Bible Study

  “I AM [the Alpha and Omega]”   Revelation 1:8 & 22:12-16_     Most of us are great at starting new projects. We open a new book or start a new DIY project or assemble a new home-gym fitness machine with enthusiasm and determination. Starting projects is not our problem! Where we tend to run into t rouble is on the other end – or somewhere in the middle. Finishing that new gardening project or sticking to the diet or actually using the treadmill three times a week is where we struggle!     [Group discussion starter] Tell the group about a project at home or at work that you began and carried through to the end.   How did you feel when it was completed?     In Revelation, Jesus makes an astonishing claim about the biggest endeavor of all time – the entire human story. Jesus says that he was pres ent when it all began and that he will be there when human history comes to a conclusion . He is the first letter of the human saga – the Alph...

  “I AM [the True Vine]”   John 15:1-8_     If you ever visit a vineyard in early spring, chances are you would be shocked to see how drasticly the grapevines hav e been pruned back. The plants all look like dead bleeding stumps!   This, it turns out, has to be the way.    One vineyard owner said, “You have to choose between beautiful, leafy vines or plump, juicy grapes.”     [Group discussion starter] How are you at getting plants to grow? Tell a story of a memorable plant experience.     Jesus spoke the words of John 15 as he and his closest followers made their way from a banquet room in Jerusalem to an olive grove on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Maybe they were walking through a grape vineyard on their way or maybe Jesus pointed to carvings of grapevines on the walls of the temple as they walked through. The imagery of the vine and the branches was a very familiar part of the cultural setting in Jesus’ world... ...