GARDEN TO GARDEN Week 5 By: Charis Button This seven-week series tracks the recurring theme/symbol of Gardens within Scripture. Each of the Garden stories reveals understandings about the nature of God, human identity, and the world (present and future). By exploring the Garden of Eden (in Genesis 1 to 3), the new creation Garden-city (in Revelation chapters 21 & 22), and the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden tomb (in the Gospels), we will gain an overarching view of God's creative and redemptive plans. Looking Back Listen to How Great Is Your Name by Passion and Rachel Halbach. Lead into a prayer that flows from the song. As a group or in twos or threes: Share any points of thanksgiving or concern as you reflect on your last week or two. How are you growing in your faith at the moment? Who and how have you served, invited, prayed for, and/or witnessed to recently? Pray as a group or in twos or threes based on what has been shared above. Looking Up Revelation 21–22 brings us to the breathtaking climax of the biblical story - a vision not of escape from earth, but of heaven and earth reunited as one. The garden of Eden is not only restored but expanded into a radiant garden-city where God's presence fills every corner and where the story of Scripture finds its fulfilment. The imagery John uses (rivers, trees, light, cities, glory) echoes the Old Testament and invites us to read Revelation not as a code to crack, but as a hope-filled vision to inhabit. It reminds us that God is committed to renewing all things, removing evil, and restoring humanity to its original calling as His image-bearing, priestly people. And that future reality doesn't just shape tomorrow - it reshapes how we live today. READ Revelation 21 and 22, paying particular attention to the descriptions of the New Heaven and Earth. What does this vision reveal about who God is and what He ultimately desires for His creation? (Consider His presence, His commitment to renewal, and the way He brings heaven and earth together.) What does this passage show you about humanity's true identity and purpose - both what we were created for and what we are being restored into? (Think about the imagery of priests, image-bearers, and life in the garden-city.) If this future is certain, how might God be inviting you to live differently right now as someone who belongs to that coming reality? (Reflect on how you can embody the “way of the Lamb” in your everyday spaces.) Watch this short Bible Project video together. Looking Ahead What is your next step? Watch this short Bible Project video together. The video highlights that heaven and earth are meant to overlap, and Revelation shows us the day when that will fully happen. This means our future hope is not escape, but restoration. So as we live in the “now and not yet,” we are invited to embody that future reality in the present. Where do you notice the tension between the “now” and the "not yet" of God's kingdom in your everyday life? What is one specific way you can live out the reality of God's kingdom this week - in your relationships, your attitude, or your prayers? Pray for each other Pray for courage, clarity, and faithfulness to live out your identified next steps this week. Pray for those you personally know who are far from God and ask that they would encounter His love. Pray for boldness and sensitivity to invite someone this Easter - to church, life group, and/or into a conversation about Jesus.