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Every human organization has a natural tendency toward entropy, the gradual degradation of the organization's originally inspiring mission into chaos and dysfunction. When Spark was launched, we intentionally prioritized focusing on being a healthy church, and growth would simply be whatever God granted. For us, this meant tending to the core principles of organizational health and our core values. The book of Jacob is in many ways a "how-to manual" for disciples to reverse entropy, correct dysfunctions, and foster healthy and long-lasting discipleship.

The letter of James/Jacob opens with an exhortation for the scattered twelve tribes to persevere during times of trial, discovering joy in the midst of challenges. This wisdom from millennia ago provides guidance for us during these difficult days.

To quote the prophet Bono, "The rule has been disproved, the stone it has been moved, the grave is now a groove, all debts are removed!" What a glorious reason to rejoice as we conclude our series on Revelation in the Garden and celebrate the empty tomb found in a garden 2000 years ago.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday elicited a chorus of “Hosanna” (Help/Save us now!) from the crowd following him. In his vision, John hears the multitudes in heaven loudly celebrating with “Hallelujah” (Praise the Lord!) after the fall of Babylon. For many of us Christ followers now, holding the tension of the hosanna and the hallelujah can be joyfully wearisome. As we remember the work of our humble King on a donkey, Revelation 17-20 helps us grasp what it means for him to also be Faithful and True.

The central part of Revelation reveals the central characters in the central conflict in God’s story. We encounter the Woman and her Son, the Dragon and his Beasts, and their ultimate collision at Armageddon. Making this battle about some far-off, abstract ‘end of the world’ cataclysm removes the urgency with which the original audience felt this story playing out literally in front of them. Placing us into that story we realize that our ‘judgment day’ is also near (and already here).

The Four Horsemen. The Destroyer from the Abyss and his demon locusts. Scrolls, seals, trumpets. The Lamb, the Elders, the Angels, the Martyrs. Revelation abruptly escalates from grounded words of advice to a handful of churches to the iconically ‘apocalyptic’ cosmic battle that we tend to associate with the book today. As we are guided through the densest section of symbols in what feels like the most enigmatic book of the Bible, we ought not worry. We can handle it. (That’s actually the point).

Concluding the last letter to the seven churches, the author of Revelation ushers us into the throne room of God, where we encounter four living creatures singing unceasingly, "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come." Worship takes a primary place in John's letter, as he weaves nine different songs throughout the book.

As we look at the letters to the churches in Philadelphia and Laodicea, we do so needing hope ... and there is hope to be found in these letters. We long for peace and we seek a world where empires no longer rage in vain but where we all dine at the banqueting table together with the King. Come to be together, to practice the peace and love and hope found in Christ.

Based upon decades of study on the cultural and rabbinic context of the Gospels, Dr. Steven Notley will reveal fresh insights into Luke 4 and Jesus’ public pronouncement of his ministry at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus' message of mercy marks the entire Gospel of Luke though it did not find a home in every hearing heart. Dr. R. Steven Notley is Professor and Dean of Religious Studies at Pillar College, Newark, NJ. Since 2016, he has served as the academic director of the el-Araj Excavation Project in its search for first-century Bethsaida-Julias, the lost city of the apostles. He received his PhD from the Hebrew University, where he studied with David Flusser. Dr. Notley lived for 16 years in Jerusalem with his wife and four children, during which time he was the founding chair of the New Testament Studies program at the Jerusalem University College. He is the author of many books and articles and continues collaborative research and publication with Israeli scholars in the fields of historical geography, ancient Judaism, and Christian origins. Among his list of publications, he collaborated with Flusser on the historical biography, The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius; with Anson Rainey on the monumental biblical atlas, The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World; and with Ze’ev Safrai on an annotated translation of Eusebius’s important description of Roman Palestine, Eusebius, Onomasticon: A Triglott Edition with Notes and Commentary. He rejoined Safrai for their second work, a pioneering collection and translation of the earliest rabbinic parables that provide the literary and religious context for the parables of Jesus, The Parables of the Sages.

Based upon decades of study on the cultural and rabbinic context of the Gospels, Dr. Steven Notley will reveal fresh insights into Luke 4 and Jesus’ public pronouncement of his ministry at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus' message of mercy marks the entire Gospel of Luke though it did not find a home in every hearing heart. Dr. R. Steven Notley is Professor and Dean of Religious Studies at Pillar College, Newark, NJ. Since 2016, he has served as the academic director of the el-Araj Excavation Project in its search for first-century Bethsaida-Julias, the lost city of the apostles. He received his PhD from the Hebrew University, where he studied with David Flusser. Dr. Notley lived for 16 years in Jerusalem with his wife and four children, during which time he was the founding chair of the New Testament Studies program at the Jerusalem University College. He is the author of many books and articles and continues collaborative research and publication with Israeli scholars in the fields of historical geography, ancient Judaism, and Christian origins. Among his list of publications, he collaborated with Flusser on the historical biography, The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius; with Anson Rainey on the monumental biblical atlas, The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World; and with Ze’ev Safrai on an annotated translation of Eusebius’s important description of Roman Palestine, Eusebius, Onomasticon: A Triglott Edition with Notes and Commentary. He rejoined Safrai for their second work, a pioneering collection and translation of the earliest rabbinic parables that provide the literary and religious context for the parables of Jesus, The Parables of the Sages.

A closer look at the churches in Thyatira and Sardis reveals that they are encouraged to wake up and repent, and persevere, even when everything around them looks hopeless.

Looking closely at the letters to the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum, John the Revelator speaks to the specific context of the churches in these three cities using the language of first loves and white stones.

Seven cities. Seven churches. Why? A clue is found in the preface, that John, a brother to the people to whom he writes, shares, in Jesus, in the persecution, the kingdom, and resistance. This triad formulates the foundational agenda for John's exhortations and prepares these disciples for the encouraging hope that is coming.

Do you find yourself thinking about the Roman Empire lately? The people of the first century did too! Far removed from the Land of Israel, Jesus followers sought to live faithfully while surrounded by the powers and principalities of their day. A close look at the cultural and imperial context of the book of Revelation reveals that their time resonates with the world we are living in today.

Over the centuries, the book of Revelation has been used to instill fear and confusion in many readers, but the first hearers experienced hope unveiled with the anticipation of justice on the horizon. Let’s take a fresh look at all that John saw and heard, embracing the unveiled hope that still speaks to us today.