St. Paul's Church - Willington, Ct

This week we took a deep dive into John's dizzying visions by looking at the second 7-part judgment in Revelation: the trumpets. These trumpet blasts bring ecological disasters, a plague of human-tormenting "locusts," and a terrifying army. We examined the significance of these judgments: what they would have meant for John's first readers in the 1st century, and what they mean for us today. We also explored the diversity of interpretations on the relationship between the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls - as well as the various views on when these judgments are occurring (or will occur) in history.

Is Ash Wednesday just about "apologizing for human"? What did the prophet mean when he said, "Rend your heart, not your garment?" We reflected on these questions as we prepared our hearts for the Lenten season.

Last week, the passage ended with a question: Who can stand? This week we looked at the vision John was given to answer that question. He hears of 144,000 Jews equally represented by each tribe, and then he sees a countless multitude of people from every nation. We considered the relationship between the two parts of this vision, and what they reveal about the Church.

After a three-month break, this Sunday we returned to The Book of Revelation. Where we last left off, Jesus (represented by "The Lion who Looks Like a Lamb") was given authority to open a seven-sealed scroll. This week we look at what happens when six of those seals open: four frightening horsemen, martyrs crying out, stars falling from the sky and mountains falling...we explore what all of this meant for people in the first-century, and what it means for us today.

This week we were joined by Dr. Bradley Wright, a professor at UConn and longtime friend of St. Paul's, who has researched the way our digital devices our affecting our lives. As followers of Jesus, it's important for us not only to think about how we steward our money but also how we steward our time and our attention. Dr. Wright helped us to recognize how mismanagement of our digital devices can harm us spiritually and emotionally, and offered several tips on how to get our usage under control.

What does Paul mean when he says that we are "dead to sin"? This week guest speaker Lucas Dourado from Reformed University Fellowship helped us unpack Romans 6.

When Jesus was 12-years old, he went missing. When his parents found him, he said, "Didn't you know I had to be about my Father's business?" We considered how this story reveals the unprecedented relationship Jesus had to God, as well as the way the story foreshadows his crucifixion and resurrection.

The third event the Bible records from Jesus' early years is the most dramatic and shocking so far: Herod, desperate to maintain his power, goes to great lengths to try and kill the infant Jesus. The holy family narrowly escapes tragedy by taking refuge in Egypt. We considered the significance of the fact that God became a refugee. We also considered what it means for Jesus' life to "fulfill" the Scriptures, even when the Scriptures being referenced don't seem to have anything to do with predictions of the future.

The second event the Bible records from Jesus' early years is the visit of the magi. What is a "magi"? When we understand what the magi represented, this well known story takes on greater significance.

The Bible doesn't record much about Jesus' youth, but it does include at least four significant events from his early years. Throughout January, we'll be looking at these four events. The first is Jesus' presentation at the Temple, where two prophets, Simeon and Anna, recognize the infant as the long awaited Messiah. We considered what we can learn from the example of these two fascinating people.

A new year (and a new decade) are about to begin. This week we considered three things to keep in mind as we plan and make our resolutions: (1) The brevity of life, (2) The command to "Seek first the Kingdom," and (3) The Lord's "new mercies" every morning.

Our Sounding Joy series concluded with a Christmas Eve message looking at one final song: O Holy Night. Why should we "feel our soul's worth" at Christmas? How does the birth of Christ help us to call slaves "brothers"?

O Come O Come Emmanuel is a song rich with Biblical references, many of which can go over our heads. This week we dove into Old Testament prophecies to understand this ancient, haunting carol better.

"The Little Drummer Boy" isn't like the other carols we've looked at so far: it features a character never mentioned in the Bible and doesn't have any archaic language or theological terms. But with a few simple lines it expresses truth about God, about us, and about worship.

This week we looked closely at "What Child is This," a carol that calls attention to the irony of Christ's birth. What does it mean that "the silent word was pleading"?

Every Christmas we hear and sing old familiar carols, but do we recognize the significance of the words we sing? This Advent season we are taking a break from our Revelation series to look at the lyrics of some of the most theologically-rich Christmas carols and the Scriptures that inspired them. This week we began our series with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," considering the meaning of lines like "late in time behold him come," "offspring of a virgin's womb," "hail the incarnate deity," and "mild he lays his glory by." Christmas inspires us to think about two mysteries of our faith - the Trinity and the Incarnation - both of which our minds struggle to comprehend. We reflected on the meaning and significance of these mysteries.

This week we continued John's vision of God's throne. John is told that a lion has triumphed, but when he looks at the lion he sees a lamb on the throne. We asked the question: why does the lion look like a lamb? And what does it mean that he is able to "unseal the scroll"?

This week we moved on in the Book of Revelation from the messages to the seven churches to John's vivid visions. We established some ground rules for understanding and appreciating these visions as much as possible, and then reflected on the significance of the vision of God's throne.

This week we were joined by guest speaker Carrye Burr from the preaching team at Hope Church in East Hampton. Carrye challenged us to think about how what Christ has done for us should influence our sense of security, our daily experience, and our view of our own failures.

Of all the seven churches Jesus writes to in Revelation, Laodicea might be the most relatable for 21st century Americans: they weren't facing significant persecution and they found security in their health and wealth. Jesus described them as "lukewarm." We identified what that means, as well as Jesus' prescribed solution.