As well as writing Revelation, the apostle John wrote the fourth Gospel and three New Testament letters. He is the third most productive writer of the New Testament. Is is John who teaches us that “God is love” and urges disciples to “love one another.” Yet we know surprisingly little about his life. What we do know is hard to reconcile with the picture that emerges in the Gospels. There he is mentioned after his brother James. Moreover it is James and John who wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans. What changed within John during his long life? What encouragement might John have for us? These are some of the questions we will explore in this workshop.

Any talk about the blood of Jesus and Old Testament sacrifice might sound barbaric to a non-Christian: “Your God commanded people to kill innocent animals?” This workshop will delve into the connection between sin, the death penalty, the firstborn son, and substitute sacrifice. We’ll look at Isaac on Mt. Moriah, the Passover, and Isaiah 53. For someone who doesn’t believe that anyone’s “sin” could possibly deserve death, the atonement “solves” a problem that doesn’t exist. Why is the sacrifice of the Lamb of God central to the gospel, and how can we communicate this as the good news it is?

Jesus encourages his people through times of suffering, and one of the ways he does that is through…you. God uses you to help others through times of suffering. Sometimes, however, this help is not exactly what we expect (or want). In Galatians 6, the Apostle Paul calls us to “bear one another’s burdens.” In this workshop, we’ll be thinking about what that means, and how Christ ministers to us and through us to lift up his saints as we sometimes stagger under burdens of suffering and sin.