Are you good with boundaries? Do you have the guts to draw hard and fast lines that you are unwilling to cross, or allow other people to cross in your life and relationships? Are you able to say to people, “Thus far and no further!” For example, are you firm with your employer about your availability outside of work hours? Or are you constantly at their beckon call 24/7? Are you clear with your family about when, and under what circumstances, they can stop by unannounced? Or do you just have an “open door” policy? If you’re in the dating game, do you have boundaries when it comes to physical contact that will keep you from going too far? Or do you just go where your heart tells you to go? Boundary setting is an important relational skill! You need good and firm boundaries in your relationships with others. However, there is onerelationship, and only one, where we need not, indeed we cannot, set any boundaries and that is in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Being a follower of Jesus is an “all in” relationship! Jesus deserves all of us, all of the time, no boundaries! And unlike other people who make similar demands of us, Jesus isn’t some needly narcissist who drains the life out of us that we need to protect ourselves from. He doesn’t need anything from anyone! From him, through him, and to him are all things! And he is the one who loves us and has freed us and pours life into us in abundance! This message is intended to break down whatever boundaries we’ve set up between ourselves and this life-giving Jesus, so that we can experience the fullness of a faithful life in Jesus, no matter what. So if you’re up for it, I invite you to turn to Revelation 2:8-11.

Just a few short days after Mount St. Helens unexpectedly erupted on Sunday, May 18th 1980, another significant, unexpected event rocked the nation. The Empire Strikes Back, the long-awaited sequel to Star Wars, opened in theatres. And a collective “gasp” reverberated around the globe as it was revealed that Darth Vader was in fact Luke Skywalker’s father. This surprise “twist” ending was one of the best-kept secrets in movie-making history! Needless to say, it was a shocking revelation that had Star Wars fans all over the world questioning everything they had ever believed.

As we read through the New Testament, we read the four eyewitness accounts of Jesus, followed by the Acts of the Apostles and the founding of the church, then the pastoral letters, establishing doctrine and practice in the churches. Then, like a twist at the end of a movie, we encounter this surprising book filled with angels, scrolls, trumpets, earthquakes, a dragon, beasts, destruction and, of course, the end of the world. It’s kind of shocking! It makes us question everything we’ve ever believed. This morning we are beginning what I expect will be a significant journey in the life of Risen Hope. We are going to work our way through one of the most puzzling and wonderful books of the Bible, the book of Revelation. You might be wondering, “Why Revelation?” If you’re not a Christian you might even wonder why it’s even in the Bible? But why preach through it now? There are a lot of answers I could give, and I’ll be highlighting many of those reasons in the weeks to come. But for now, I think the best answer to “Why Revelation?” is the one that Revelation gives itself right at the start. So I invite you to turn to Revelation 1:1-8 as we begin this adventure together.