Session 8: I am the Alpha and the Omega

To download the guide for this week, use the link below.

Opening

This is the final group session for our Who Is Jesus study. Begin by sharing one thing that you have enjoyed or appreciated about the study and the time you’ve shared together as a group.  (This will hopefully be encouraging for everyone.)

(Would you mind filling out an 8-question evaluation form for this series? Your feedback will help! You can download the form, print it and return it, or fill it out online here 2023 Who Is Jesus Small Group Evaluation)

Read aloud the following 3 passages from Revelation: Revelation 1:8-18; 21:6; 22:12-13

Revelation 1:8-18,“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”

Revelation 21:6,Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.”

Revelation 22:12-13,“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Questions for Discussion

1. What does it mean that God is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 1:8)? 
2. What can you do each day to remind yourself daily of the awesome nature and power of Christ (Revelation 1:12-16)?
3. How does Christ describe himself to John (Revelation 1:17-18)? What kind of power does Christ possess? How is this description comforting for the seven churches John was writing to, and how is it comforting for us today?
4. How does Revelation 21:6 serve to motivate and inspire you or others who are facing persecution, hardship, or trials of any kind?
5. What can you do to prepare yourself for either the return of Christ, or facing God, when you leave this earth (Revelation 22:12-13)?
6. Of the different images Jesus used to describe who he is and what he offers, (bread of life; light of the world; the gate; the good shepherd; the resurrection and the life; the way, the truth, and the life; the vine; the Alpha and the Omega), which one speaks to you the most or is your favorite and why?

Your Closing Prayers

You’ve been together for eight weeks and shared your thoughts, experiences, and lives together. Please close with sentence prayers of thanksgiving –

Jesus, I thank you for….

Closing Prayer

Jesus, we thank you for being the bread that satisfies our deepest hunger,

the light who illuminates our path, the gate through which we enter eternal life,

the good shepherd who lays down your life for the sheep.

We thank you, Jesus, for being the resurrection and the life who conquers even death, and for being the way, the truth, and the life, who we can follow, trust, and rely on in this world and the next.

Vine Jesus, help us, your branches, to remain in you, to abide in your love, and to bear much fruit so that God may be glorified, for you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Jesus, as we seek to follow you daily, please fill us with your love and joy, that we may share your love and joy with others. In Your name we pray, Amen.