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Study Gateway's First Listens: Find your next Bible study! Join host Shelley Leith as she curates first sessions of Bible studies on various themes each season, taught by some of the world’s most influential Christian authors, teachers, and pastors. To learn more, visit https://StudyGateway.com.
First Listens Season 4: Episode 5
Beautiful Word: Revelation, by Margaret Feinberg
Plus interview with Margaret Feinberg
[MUSIC PLAYING] SHELLEY LEITH: Welcome to Study Gateway’s First Listens where you get the first listens to the first sessions on Study Gateway so you can find your next video Bible study. We are in Season Four where we're taking our inspiration from Women's History Month, and we're focusing in on women Bible teachers you should know. I'm Shelley Leith your host, and today I have the joy of introducing you to my friend, and one of our most treasure authors who was recently named one of the fifty women most shaping culture and the church by Christianity Today, and Charisma Magazine named her one of the thirty voices who will help lead the church in the next decade, Margaret Feinberg. Welcome to our podcast.
MARGARET FEINBERG: Shelley, it is always a joy to be with you.
SHELLEY: Now, how would you introduce yourself to someone who has never read your work or done one of your studies before?
MARGARET: Oh, goodness, you know, I have been writing for about twenty-five years now. So I started when I was, like negative five! And have just kinda stumbled. It was never anything that I wanted to do, but just started writing and started in the back of little Christian magazines and work my way up and eventually into books. And I've been doing this for a lot of years. My husband and I have been in ministry and serving others and there is no greater joy than I have of discovering that new or fresh living word. Like when the Bible comes alive and it really actually transforms not for information but for transformation. It's one of the most joyful things that I get to do and write about. My husband and I live outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. We have a very cute puppy, by the way, named Zoom, this little guy. He's forever puppy. He's only about four pounds. And I think our favorite thing to do is just eating meals with other people. We love of people times —sometimes we do them like, four or five times a week. But that is our passion. We love people.
SHELLEY: That's a great. Now, I noticed you didn't mention your Christianity Today award and you didn't say I'm one of the fifty women most shaping culture. So although it might feel awkward to talk about yourself like this ,what is it about your work that CT recognized as being so influential?
MARGARET: I have no idea. I feel like I'm just... I'm just your fun Margaret. Like, that's all I am. I do get a little, maybe, a little over the top in my writing and Bible study stuff and that like, we can go research all kinds of Greek and Hebrew and cool books, but at the end of the day, I love experiential. It's one of the ways that I learn and those tactile listeners who are watching, I love you. And so, like, for me, like, I don't going to just read about it. I going to know. And so, I know in several books and Bible studies, I have gone out of my way to go spend time with, like, fig farmers and butchers. And I invited myself to somebody's house in Israel so I could fish on the Galilee and went to another family in Croatia to pick—he'll bring in an olive harvest. And as I'm spending time with these people, I'm asking them about the local Scripture, and I'm asking about the process of each of these things, in order for the Bible to come alive. And so I think that's a little bit unique, maybe a little kooky in all the best ways. But I want to know God's words so intimately and to understand it in a way that that brings it alive and brings it life for everyone so they can literally taste and see that the Lord is good.
SHELLEY: Now we have four of your Bible studies on Study Gateway. We have Pursuing God which combines a study of Genesis and the study of the gospel of John. You were featured in Twelve More Women of the Bible teaching on Elizabeth and on two women I have genuinely never heard of—Puah and Shifra—who are they?
MARGARET: Oh my gosh. I love them. These are some Bad Bettys of the Bible. These are the ones who, when everything's going awry, all of God's people wake up, they've sold themselves in the slavery. And then God sends a little baby by the name of Moses. They're the ones the mid wives who are protecting the babies who are all getting slaughtered because of, you know, the evil ruling that wanted to wipe out the Hebrew people. And so they're like, “Oh, no. I don't know what happened to that baby. I have no idea.” But they're promoting life and they're fighting against the evil institution in their world, in their culture, and their time, which empowers and teaches us that we can do the same.
SHELLEY: Oh my gosh. That's awesome. Okay. And then you wrote this study that you were just talking about where you went all over the world and explore because of your foodiehood called Taste and See. And then the study that we're going to hear from today on one of the most challenging books in the Bible the book of Revelation. So how did you get into writing books and Bible studies?
MARGARET: Yeah. You know, it started just right out of college. I just started, you know, I knew that more than anything I wanted to write, I went down to my local library, it said that 97% of writers never make it. I was like, perfect. That's for me. And so I just started with the smallest, published my pieces in a magazine and worked my way up until somebody said Hey, would you be up for writing a book? And then I did that, and then they said, Hey, could you come talk about the book? And I was like, okay. Let's do that. And so it was the thing that sometimes you pursue something and sometimes it pursues you and you just can't not do it. And I've tried not to do it for a lot. But twenty-five years in, I'm still here and just like, okay, Lord, here we go again. I will trust you. I secretly kind of want to be a waitress. Or maybe a real estate agent, but for right now, this is what I'm supposed to do.
SHELLEY: So what would you say are the elements of a good Bible study?
MARGARET: I've recently come to a conclusion. And I've been doing this a lot. And I realize anybody watching or listening, we're all in a different place in our spiritual journeys. But I reached a place where I realized that my education has surpassed my obedience. And my hunch is, I'm not the only one. And so I think that a good Bible study centers us on Scripture. It centers us on Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. But it calls us to action and to be people who are not just hearers of the Word, but who are doers of God's Word. And that it would call us and nudge just to practicing forgiveness, to picking up the phone, to sending the email, to having the difficult conversation; that a Bible study is again not to make us more Bible smarter. Like when we get to heaven, it's not a clearing test of hey, did you name off all 66 books of the Bible in order and the all twelve disciples and all of the apostles. No no no. It's do you know Christ, and just as he said in the Sermon on the Mount, you know the one who's wiped out and the one who stands, it's the one who hears and does. And I'm not talking about salvation. I'm talking about a living reality that salvation and grace and transformation is available to each and every one of us. And so I want to create products that do that. That at the end you have heard and you have done to become more like Jesus and to become more sensitive to the working of the Holy Spirit.
SHELLEY: Okay. So now I know that you wrote the Revelation study, which is one of the bestselling studies in our Beautiful Word series, by the way, in the midst of a really wild season. So, what was that like for you?
MARGARET: A lot! I know we don't love pandemic stories because we've heard them all, but this one was a little weird. Because I agreed to do it like, the summer/fall before and then good-ole March 14th of 2020 hit and the whole world went sideways and upside down. And so I'm there probably in April and May, and there was a lot going on, whatever. Pandemic. No. It's just how about what's going on, like, in the headlines. So we had these crazy huge frogs that were running around. We have locusts falling from the sky. We literally were having just like, you know, strange meteors, and I'm starting to work on this Bible study of Revelation, and I'm like, What is happening??? But it was a really cool journey because you know, the team at Zondervan had asked that I write it, and I was like, no! Absolutely not under any circumstances. That's the scary book. If people read it too much they just get weird. And I don't, I don't, I’m not going to, I can't... I got too much...I got enough baggage about this book growing up that, like, I could fill a fleet of U-Hauls. And then I remember I sat down and I just prayed and I said, Lord, I have too much baggage. Like, I don't think you wrote this book so that the Bible would be this incredible love letter and we get to the end the God would be like cosmic BOO!. Let's scare the heebiejeebies out of them. And so I was like, Jesus, I need you to take that away, and I need to see what you're saying and what you're doing. And I remember opening up Revelation chapter one verse one, and it simply says the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And I was like, what? Nobody told me about that! Like, this is all about Jesus? I was like, well, if you just want me to write a Bible study about Jesus—done. Done! And so stopping focusing on all of the weird stuff and strange theology that hit America in the 1970s. Like, it got weird their kids. But like, coming back I mean, like, this is all about Jesus. And so we recenter ourselves on that truth. And if I could sum up Revelation in one statement, it would be this: Revelation is the story of Jesus Christ overcoming evil in this world and using his holy saints to do it. When it comes to that, I'm all aboard and discovering the extra extravagant hope of Christ, not just for the world to come, but the world we live in, and the one that we are the bearers and the image bearers of that hope and redemption and freedom today.
SHELLEY: Now you have a podcast called Joycast. Would you care to do a little plug for your podcast with our listeners?
MARGARET: Yeah. If you love... if you enjoy listening to podcasts, the Joycast, it just...It stumbles on people who are just…some you won't know, my favorites you won't know. These incredible humans who have these treasures of insights into life and food and the Bible and laughter. One of my favorite interviews is with Liz Curtis Higgs, and I don't know if you've ever heard her but she is just funny. Like, she hilarious. And so I just ask her like, how do we become funnier people? In other words, how to become people who spread more joy around a dinner table and with our friends and have a lighter heart and she gives these practical beautiful ways. Another was with my sweet friend, whose name I can't remember right now, of course. Chris Caine. And just these people who just have these insights into God and Scripture and passion. And so it's fun and it's life giving and it's short. And it's just enough to just help recenter you on the joy of your salvation.
SHELLEY: I love that. So that's called Joycast everybody. And now do you have any current projects you're working on that you're excited about?
MARGARET: I am deep into a Bible study, the next one in the Beautiful Word study, and it is on the book of James!
SHELLEY: Oh, love that one.
MARGARET: Right. Super short. Super direct. Super to the point. But if you take the book of James, and this is what I discovered, it has a lot of wisdom in it. So people overlay it with Proverbs, which is great. But what I began to discover is actually to take James and you overlay it with the Sermon on the Mount and the teachings of Christ. You will discover that James is just..he almost plagiarizes Jesus, like, in all the best ways. And to see that connection between Christ and James and how much James sounds like his brother. It is just remarkable and transforming.
SHELLEY: That's a cool perspective. I've never heard that before. I love that. Well, Margaret, it's been great getting to know you a bit and learning about your journey as a Bible teacher. I just want to thank you for being with us today and sharing yourself with us. Thank you.
MARGARET: Thank you, Shelley. I'm grateful for you.
SHELLEY: And now, I am so excited to be able to share with our First Listens audience the first session from your study in the Beautiful Word collection called Revelation: Extravagant Hope. Let's tune in right now to this session called Tempted to Give Up on God?
[MUSIC PLAYING] MARGARET FEINBERG: Imagine if Jesus stood before you with a golden box. It contains an invitation to know and experience Jesus like never before, to discover Christ in his breathtaking beauty, his staggering strength, his wondrous power, and the depths of his relentless love for you.
Would you take the gift? Or would you say, eh, I'm good. I don't really like the packaging, not for me.
To be vulnerable and honest, for most of my life, that's how I thought of Revelation. Maybe you have, too. For me, my aversion comes from childhood. I was raised by free-spirited parents. And we moved around a lot growing up. One of our consistencies was, we always had a dog.
Now, this is our newest super pup, Zoom, who we love so much. But the other consistency was, my parents love Jesus. They became believers during the Jesus Movement of the 1970s.
And around that time, an author by the name of Hal Lindsey wrote a book called, The Late Great Planet Earth that talked about the end of the world. And around that time, the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the US was heating up.
Well, my parents, who owned a mom-and-pop surf shop in Cocoa Beach, Florida, decided to buy a remote piece of property outside of Maggie Valley, North Carolina. And they built it completely off the grid. We had our own vegetable gardens, fruit trees, solar panels, water sources, beehives, even a bomb shelter, you know, just in case the end of the world came.
Well, my parents were doomsday preppers long before prepping or preparing for the worst became the topic of popular television shows and podcasts.
Needless to say, the end of the world did not come. After about five years, my parents sold the property. And that was the end of that phase of our lives. But it's always made me a little hesitant when it comes to Revelation. With its bloody dragons, flying creatures, mark of the Beast, I thought, eh, I'm good. Not loving the packaging. That's not for me.
Yet, I've had to reconsider. I mean, do you really think that God gives us the scripture, the Bible, this love letter in which he reveals the lengths he's gone to rescue us, and then, in the closing chapters, delivers a big, cosmic boo where he scares the heebie jeebies out of us? That's not consistent with the nature of God, the character of God, or the redemptive work of God throughout history.
What if instead, through the book of Revelation, God is saving the best for last? What if, through Revelation, you're invited to discover the extravagant hope of Jesus, no matter what circumstance you find yourself in? What if you don't have to be scared of imagery like the four horses of the apocalypse, and instead, discover how they're meant to awaken and empower you as a follower of Christ?
I believe that, in order to lay hold of the golden gift that Jesus has for us, we've got to push aside our fears, our preconceived ideas, any spiritual baggage that we might have picked up along the way because of our upbringing or our past, and decide to accept the golden gift of Christ, and say, Jesus, I want all of you.
Would you say that out loud with me right now? Jesus, I want all of you. I want you to come expectant to each session. I believe that God has a word of hope for each and every one of you.
You see, Revelation is a message that came to the disciple John, a pastor, a prophet, a prisoner. John refused to bow down to the ways of Rome and worship Caesar by calling him Lord. He was banished, cut off, and sent to the island of Patmos to rot in isolation.
Physically and spiritually, John, he was in a dark place. His fledgling churches were struggling. Many of his fellow disciples had died brutal, barbaric deaths. John was surrounded by uncertainty about his own future and the future of the faithful.
In that place, I suspect John was wrestling with questions that humanity has struggled with for thousands of years. Why does God allow evil to rise to power while God's servants suffer? How do you hold on to hope when everything seems lost? How can you be sure God and his goodness really win in the end?
I don't think Revelation was given to John as a random, out-of-the-blue download. Rather, in that dank prison, John had been wrestling with God.
And today, I don't know what you're wrestling with. Maybe you're walking through medical uncertainty, the dementia, the infertility, that vicious autoimmune disease, the lingering effects of COVID, the vertigo. You're exhausted by all of the doctor's appointments. For others, maybe you're wrestling with mental health issues, maybe for yourself or those you love to rise above in the wake of panic attacks, anxiety, depression, bipolar swings, autism, ADHD.
Some days for you, getting out of bed feels like too much. Others of you are wrestling with loss, the loss of a job, the loss of retirement, the loss of your business, the loss of your life savings, the loss of your marriage, or the loss of life as you once knew it. If we're honest, we all have areas where we're wrestling. And John delivers the extravagant hope, no matter what you're wrestling with, which prison you find yourself in, what isolation you find yourself in, never give up on Christ. Because Christ has never given up on you. Revelation is a survival guide for the suffering, a book of promises for the persecuted, a banner of hope for the beaten down. Not just for John in his time and his age, but for every church in every age, including you and me.
Turn with me to Revelation 1:1. It begins, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." That word revelation in Greek is apokálypsi. And it's where we get the word, apocalypse from. It means, unveiling or uncovering. You see, this is an unveiling of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his bondservants the things which must soon take place. And he sent and communicated it by his angel to his bondservant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.
This is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it, and not just those who read, but those who see, hear, and obey. Rest assured, there is a powerful blessing waiting for you through studying this book. Now, John pens this letter to his spiritual kiddos, the seven churches in Asia. And this is a group letter, like a group email where everyone reads it, not so churches compare or compete, but so they grow into the fullness of Christ together. In this first chapter, the veil of who Jesus is, is ripped back. He is the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. He's the one who loves you, who frees you from your sins, who positions you in a kingdom of priests. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And he is with you every step of the way. When you find yourself exhausted from the wrestling match, backed into a corner ready to call it quits, Revelation 1 calls you to set your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, remembering, never give up on Christ, because Christ has never given up on you.
After centering us on the beauty, the power, the might of Jesus, John pauses in verse 9 to remind us where he's writing from, prison. Most of us, we want to meet Christ on mountain tops, on bright, everything-is-perfect days. But it's often in the darkness, in the dungeons, the sickness and the suffering, we see Christ most clearly.
And so it is with John. It's in this place of desperation, John says in verse 12. "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me."
Now, let's pause here. Because what we'll see throughout Revelation is, almost every passage traces back to another passage of scripture. In fact, it's estimated that of the 404 verses in Revelation, there are 518 references to earlier scripture. That is a lot.
Now, who else in scripture turned to see a voice speaking to him? Moses. In Exodus 3, Moses finds himself in the wilderness, on the run surrounded by uncertainty. An angel of the Lord appears to him as flames of fire from within a bush. Moses goes over to see this strange sight.
This one encounter changes everything. Moses receives a fresh revelation, an unveiling of God as, I am who I am. He receives his marching orders to set the Israelites free from Egypt, a nation that specialized in the horrors of human trafficking. But everything hangs on Moses's decision to turn and see, to engage with God rather than retreat.
And so it is with us. Throughout Revelation, God is calling us to come, to see, and to encounter him. Let's not miss this moment.
But it's not just the book of Revelation. In our personal setbacks and suffering, there's always a temptation to retreat, to pull back from God at the precise time that we need him most. In those moments, Christ challenges, never give up on Me, because I have never given up on you. Like Moses, John makes the decision to turn and see, to engage with God rather than retreat. And that changes everything.
[MUSIC PLAYING] SHELLEY: Well, already I have learned some things about the Book of Revelation I never knew before. Did you catch the fact that there are 518 references in Revelation to earlier Scriptures? Wow. Never knew that. You’re enjoying the first session of Revelation, a Beautiful Word Study, by Margaret Feinberg, published by HarperChristian Resources and streaming on Study Gateway. Study Gateway is a streaming video service, and we’re the only one that has a subscription plan especially for small groups. For our First Listens listeners, we offer you an exclusive rate on our small group plan. When you use the promo code FIRST at studygateway.com, you’ll get 20% off of small group plan for up to 20 people. And, for a complete experience with Revelation, take advantage of our publisher-direct pricing on the essential Bible study guide designed to be used with the videos. You’ll get the group discussion questions and leader materials, between-sessions activities to go deeper, and you get all the features of the Beautiful Word products, including verse coloring pages and word art. Get all the details at Studygateway.com.
Okay now, let’s return to Margaret Feinberg.
[MUSIC PLAYING] MARGARET: Continue with me in verse 12. "And when I turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands." Now, we know from verse 20 that the seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches. Notice their color. Gold represents the purifying work Christ does in and through the church. The lamp stand reminds us that we are called to stand and shine bright, like a city on a hill.
Verse 13, "And among the lamp stands with someone like a Son of a Man." Who is the Son of Man? Jesus. And where does he position himself? Among the churches. And this imagery is so rich because we live in a culture that often takes potshots and criticizes the church. And in Revelation 2 and 3, we'll encounter some of the church's weaknesses and imperfections, alongside her strengths and beauty. But here, we're challenged, never give up on the church because Christ has never given up on her.
In this first chapter, we encounter the names of Jesus, the titles of Jesus, the passion of Jesus which is the church. Now, we get to lay our eyes on Jesus. Woo-hoo, this is so rich. We're going to see seven key elements. And seven is significant because it signifies a completeness, a wholeness, a fullness. And you're going to see the number seven all over Revelation.
Now, each of these seven elements provides an unveiling of Christ and a word of extravagant hope to you, no matter what you're wrestling with. And the first element is clothing. And all the fashionistas amen. Look with me at verse 13. Jesus is dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
Now, just as a soldier's uniform tells you something about that person's role, so, too these garments reveal the role of Christ. These are the garments of a priest, and not just any priest, but one who, according to Hebrews 5:14 is able to empathize with our weaknesses. He has been tempted in every way just as we are, and yet he did not sin. This is a priest who is holy with you and holy for you.
A few years ago, I went through a season when I lost my joy. I was just spiritually empty. In some ways, I was giving up on God because it felt like he was giving up on me. But Jesus was so patient and gentle with me. Through refocusing my daily patterns, changing my thought patterns, and getting spiritual counsel, Jesus ever so gently put me back together and restored my joy in him. That's the kind of priest that he is.
Continuing in verse 14, we begin to scan Jesus from head to toe. And it describes, "The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow." This reminded me of a verse and Isaiah that compares the forgiveness of sin to being as white as snow. But when I looked it up, I noticed as if for the first time that white wool, it's mentioned there, too. In fact, Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are read as crimson, they shall be like wool." What? I mean, here is Jesus, the priest, the sinless one, the ultimate sacrifice for sin. And that white wool and white snow declare, there is nothing you have done or left undone that, through the power of Christ, cannot be forgiven.
The third element, verse 14, "And his eyes were like blazing fire." I don't know about you, but I need this so bad. Jesus doesn't just look at us. he looks into us. And if we're honest, isn't that something that we all long for, to know and be known, to be vulnerable without shame, to be loved in our deepest and darkest places and spaces, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, the one who sees us is committed to completing the good work he has started in us?
The fourth element, "His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace." Now, I had to do some research on this. It turns out that this imagery is a callback to King Nebuchadnezzar, who dreamed of an enormous statue. And in this dream, the feet were made of a mixture of clay and iron.
As powerful as the statue appeared, all you had to do was throw a rock at the feet, and it would crumble from the bottom up. Feet of glowing bronze reveal that in Christ, there is no weak spot. Jesus is flawless. Guys, we can trust him to be our rock, to be our fortress, the firm foundation of our faith, even when everything feels shaky.
The faith element is in verse 15. "And his voice was like the sound of rushing waters." His voice, oh, that voice. Psalm 42:7 says, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls." I need that voice so bad. I bet you do, too. I need that voice to lead me, guide me, comfort me, fill me with extravagant hope. I think we all do.
The sixth element. "In his right hand, he held seven stars. These are the angels of the seven churches." Again, we're reminded, never give up on the church because God has never given up on her.
It continues, "And coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword which is God's word." And the final element, "His face was like the sun, shining in all its brilliance." The one who declared, "Let there be light," He is the light of the world. Jesus illuminates the cosmos and he illuminates our lives. When you find yourself lost in the dark, Jesus makes a way where there is no way.
Friends, this is just chapter 1, the launching pad of the great unveiling of Jesus Christ, where we're going to see and counter and be empowered by him like never before. This Jesus has come for you, right in the middle of whatever you're wrestling with today. And he is holy and faithful and true. And he opens what no one can shut. And he shuts what no one can open. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Bright and Morning Star. He is the Lamb, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
And you can trust him with whatever you're facing. He will give you the strength to rebuild and the grace you need to be renewed. He will give you the power to overcome and the presence that will carry you through. He will give you the hope that rises and the joy that shoves the darkness down.
I don't know what you're wrestling with today. I don't know what your pain, your prison, your island of Patmos looks like, how rugged, how isolated, how lonely you feel today. But the extravagant hope through the great unveiling of Jesus Christ is that he will meet you there.
And so the question is simply, where do you most need to set your eyes on Jesus right now? Perhaps today, you need to center on the garments of Christ, remembering that he is your priest and he is praying specific, wondrous prayers on your behalf. Or maybe you need to zero in on that white hair and snow that affirms that as far as the East is from the West, God has removed your sin. Now friend, it's time to stop playing those old tapes of the past in your mind.
Or maybe like me, it's those blazing eyes that remind us that God doesn't just see us. He sees into us. No matter what we are facing, we do not do it alone.
Or perhaps right now, your life just feels shaky, so uncertain. And the one with bronze feet invites you to rediscover solid ground with him. Or maybe it's that deep, rushing voice. You need God to speak in your situation, your circumstance because one word from God changes everything.
Or maybe it's the gift of a double-edged sword. It's been so long since you've read the Bible or more importantly, allowed the Bible to read you. And Christ wants to take your hand and lead you into deeper places of healing and repentance than you've ever been before. Or maybe you've been plunged into so much darkness, you desperately need the light of Christ to break through.
I don't know your place of pain. I don't know what you're wrestling with today. But what I do know is that Jesus is giving you a golden invitation to a fresh revelation, a great unveiling of who he is and how he's going to see you through.
Over the coming days, through the participant's guide, you will die deeper into chapter 1, as well as chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation and discover once again, never give up on Christ, because Christ has never given up on you.
[MUSIC PLAYING] SHELLEY: I would venture a guess that that was a very different message out of the book of Revelation than you were expecting. Right? And here’s a teaser to get you to go watch the video of this session: Margaret has her superpup Zoom sitting on her lap the entire time she’s teaching. I bet you’ve never seen that in a Bible study video before, have you? If you are dying to see Margaret Feinberg teach with Zoom never budging from her lap, then you’ll be delighted to know that we have unlocked Session One of Revelation, a Beautiful Word Study on Study Gateway, so you can go there and watch the entire first session for free! Revelation is a video Bible study published by HarperChristian Resources and streaming on Study Gateway. Here at Study Gateway you can find your favorite authors, pastors and Bible teachers, all in one place. We’re the only streaming video subscription service that offers a small group-sized plan, AND has user-based pricing for churches, no matter what the size. And don’t forget, you can use the promo code FIRST to get a 20% savings on a small group plan, and that discounted rate lasts as long as you keep your subscription!
With Study Gateway, you also get a direct link to our store, where you get publisher-direct pricing on the essential Bible study guide Revelation, a Beautiful Word Study. The study guide gives you everything you need to have a great discussion with your group, and then go deeper into your personal study of the Scriptures and applying it to your lives between sessions PLUS you’ll get all the signature Beautiful Word features such as Scripture verse coloring pages and word art. Is Revelation going to be your next study? Get started right now by going to studygateway.com, click start free trial, choose the monthly small group plan, and use the promo code FIRST for your 20% discount.
Make sure you rate and review this podcast so other people can find this show too. And come back next week for our next episode in the season on Women Bible Teachers You Should Know. In Episode 6, we will be meeting Ruth Chou Simons, artist, mother of 6 boys, and author of When Strivings Cease. You’ll get to hear from her how she viewed her calling to be a mom and her calling to be an artist and a writer during the days when she couldn’t be both at the same time. I know many of our listeners can totally relate to that tension. Then we’ll get to hear the first session from When Strivings Cease called Favor You Cannot Earn.
See you next time on Study Gateway’s First Listens.
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