INTRODUCTION

In this instalment, Pastor Rhordan explored what it means to worship as resurrection people in a Good Friday world through an exposition of Revelation 5:1-14.

Why do we worship?

• The Lamb is worthy, that’s why we worship wholly.
• Worship is how we tell the truth about how the story ends.

How do we worship?

• We worship with full attention on the Object (Jesus), not the experience.
• Worship involves your whole body, not just your mind.
• Your prayers are worship, and none of them is lost.
• Worship means saying out loud what you know to be true.
• Worship is something we do together, not alone.

DISCUSSION

Read Revelation 5:1-14 together.

1. Read Revelation 5:1-6 with a focus on the description of the Lion and the Lamb. Both the lion and the lamb represent Jesus Christ. Read Genesis 49:8-12 on the lion of Judah (the tribe from which Jesus is descended). Read Isaiah 53, a messianic prophecy about the lamb of God.
   
   a. Why do you think these two different animals were used to represent Christ here?
   
   b. What does the scroll, that only Christ is worthy to reveal, represent? Read Revelation 6 to 7.
   
   c. Why is the Lamb of God crucial to our understanding of the judgment revealed in the scroll? Read Revelation 7:14-17.
   
   
2. Following from Revelation 7:14-17, read also Revelation 5:8-12. If our eyes were open only to the judgment from the broken scroll, we would be trapped in a cycle of despair and condemnation. Yet that is not the end of the story. Alongside the God that demands justice is the God who grants mercy through the Lamb that was slain for the forgiveness of our sins.
   
   a. Why is the Lamb worthy of our worship?
   
   b. What is the Lamb worth to you?
   
   
3. Share how you worship God in your life at the moment. Consider both worship in a corporate setting at church services, and your life from Monday to Saturday.
   
   a. In a church setting, how do you physically express your worship? Compare this to the physical attributes described in Revelation 5:8, 9, 12 and 13. When was the last time you were moved to fall to your knees, shout, or play an instrument to worship God?
   
   b. In your day-to-day life outside of church, how do your prayers worship God? (We are reminded that the Lord’s prayer, too, begins with praise – Matthew 6:9-13.) When it seems like our prayers at times go unanswered, how does Revelation 5:8 bring comfort to you?
   
   c. How can your worship take on a different form this coming week? Consider incorporating one aspect of worship set out in Revelation 5 or in the Introduction above.

WHAT WILL YOU DO

See Him.
Sing to Him.
Share Him.

MEMORY VERSE

In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” – Revelation 5:12 (NIV)