On Sunday, January 19, 2020 at Wildwood Community Church in Norman, OK, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 24:32-51.  This message was part 3 in the “Tomorrow” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 24:32-51
3. How do you react when a meteorologist tells you to be “weather aware?”  Do you see any parallels to how people react/don’t react to being “second coming of Jesus” aware?
4. When Jesus comes back, judgment will come with Him.  This judgment will take people living in that time by surprise.  Given all the Scripture written about the “end times,” why do you think people will still be taken by surprise at His coming?  Do you see any parallels with the time on the earth in the day’s of Noah?
5. Jesus does not want us to wait to respond in faith to Him.  What are some reasons why people wait to get serious about their relationship with Jesus?
6. Jesus also wants us to live for Him while we await His return.  If someone were to do an investigative study on your life right now, who would they determine is your “Lord” or “master”?  What would it look like for your life to be characterized by Jesus as your Lord today?
7. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

In many adventure movies, it is common for characters to find a map leading to “treasure” . . . if only they could decipher how the map was oriented.  There is a mountain they are supposed to go around . . . but which mountain is it?  There is a river they are to cross . . . but how do I know if it is the Canadian or the Caney?  There is a cave they are supposed to descend into . . . but which hole in the ground is it?  This plot device has been utilized in scripts from Indiana Jones to Pirates of the Caribbean to Star Wars, and makes for a very entertaining story.  Eventually, Rey or Indy or Captain Jack find a clue that anchors them to the map and helps unveil which “x” marks the spot.

I was thinking about this today as I was preparing for this Sunday’s continuation of our series on the return of Jesus entitled “Tomorrow:  Preparing for the Son to Rise Again.”  Over the first two Sundays of this series, we have seen Jesus talk about the clock counting down to His second coming and the establishment of the Kingdom (in Matthew 24:1-31).  However, is it possible to orient ourselves today to this “map” en route to tomorrow?  And what does Jesus treasure as our response to the “map” He has delivered?  

This Sunday at Wildwood in our 9:45 and 11:00 services, we will be looking at what Jesus had to say about this in Matthew 24:32-51 in part 3 of our series.  Make plans to join us this weekend, as we prepare today for the coming tomorrow.  See you Sunday!

On Sunday, January 12, 2020 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 24:15-31.  This message was part 2 of the “Tomorrow” sermon series.  Below you will find the audio from this sermon to listen to, download, or share.

 

To listen offline, click the link to download:

Tomorrow #2 1.12.20

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the video of the service, visit YouTube online:

 

On Sunday, January 12, 2020 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 24:15-31.  This message was part 2 of the “Tomorrow” sermon series.  Below are a set of questions related to that message for personal reflection or group discussion.

 

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 24:15-31
3. In what way does knowing Jesus will come back “Tomorrow” give you hope today?
4. In the last 7 years of human history . . . in the time right before Jesus comes back to the earth . . . the earth will experience the hardest days that it has ever seen.  What are some of the “hardest things” this planet has undergone in your lifetime?  In human history in general?  Knowing the difficulties that have already transpired, what does that tell you about the time that really will be “the end”?  (a time that Jesus calls worse than anything else in human history).
5. What are some of the false gods that people are tempted to worship today?  How do you manage to keep your focus on the “one true God?”
6. What are some examples of people in history who have tried to tell others that they are the “savior”?  In what ways is Jesus different from those “false christs”?
7. When Jesus comes back, no one will “miss it” as many did at His first coming.  However, the response of humanity will vary from “mourning” to being “gathered.”  Have you placed your faith in Christ, so that you might be gathered at His second coming, instead of “mourning” because judgment will soon follow?
8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

Eleven year old Annie lived at the Municipal Girls’ Orphanage in New York City during the Great Depression.  Forced to do hard labor during the day, and neglected during the night, it was certainly a “hard knock life” for Annie and her fellow orphans.  What kept her going during her struggle?  What allowed her to have any joy in the midst of such hard circumstances?  Well . . . it was hope.  Hope for a better tomorrow.

This is the setup for the 1977 Tony Award winning musical “Annie” that featured a song that articulated the virtue of hope, on which this story hinged.  This song (“Tomorrow”) has become an anthem for many whose “today’s” are less than ideal.  Listen to the words of this classic song:

The sun’ll come out tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow

There’ll be sun!

Just thinkin’ about Tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow

‘Til there’s none!

When I’m stuck with a day that’s grey and lonely

I just stick out my chin and grin and say, “Oh!”

The sun’ll come out Tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on ‘Til tomorrow

Come what may

Tomorrow, tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow!

You’re always a day away!

In this musical, the hopes of the little orphan Annie are ultimately satisfied when a rich billionaire welcome her as his own, paying the price to welcome her to his family – with all the benefits therein.

I was thinking about this musical (and song) today as I prepare for this Sunday’s sermon at Wildwood Community Church.  This week we will have part 2 of the “Tomorrow” series.  This week we will be in Matthew 24:15-31 where we will see the promise of the return of Jesus to this earth one day — great news for those of us struggling in our “today’s”.

In light of His promised return, we have the hope of a truly better TOMORROW . . . at least in the ultimate sense.  Before Jesus returns, He lets us know that this earth will face great difficulty, including rebellion by humanity and outpourings of the wrath of God.  But at the end of this, Jesus will return in a dramatic way and ultimately set all things right.  Far more than pinning our hopes on a billionaire, Jesus points the hope of our TOMORROW on the Son who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  In light of this, we might be able to sing:

The SON will come back TOMORROW

Bet your bottom dollar that TOMORROW

We’ll see the SON

So ya gotta hang on ’Til TOMORROW come what may!

See you in three “tomorrows” as we talk more about this in our 9:45 and 11:00 services.

On Sunday, January 5, 2020 at Wildwood Community Church in Norman, OK, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 24:1-14.  This message was part 1 in the “Tomorrow” sermon series.  Below you will find the audio from this message to listen to, download, or share.

 

To listen offline, click the link to download:

Tomorrow #1 1.5.20

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the stream of the service, view Youtube online:

 

 

On Sunday, January 5, 2020 at Wildwood Community Church in Norman, OK, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 24:1-14.  This message was part 1 in the “Tomorrow” sermon series.  Below are a set of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 24:1-14
3. Have you ever wondered if human history was “headed somewhere?”  What have been the kinds of things you have experienced in your life that made you wonder if the world would ever “end”?
4. What in this life looks like it will go on and on forever?  How do you take comfort from the destruction of the Temple in toppling the seemingly indestructible forces in our world?
5. What do you see as the biggest differences between the “Old Testament” times and the “New Testament” time in which we live?  In what way is the New Covenant of Jesus better than the Old Covenant from the Old Testament? (see Hebrews 8)
6. Jesus describes the events that will proceed the establishment of His Kingdom.  This length includes many different things that will involve difficulty for those who are on the earth in the days leading up to His second coming.  In what way do you see similarity with the events described in 24:3-14 and today?  What are some differences you see?
7. Jesus encourages us to not be troubled by the delay in His coming, while also persevering to the end.  What does persevering in your faith look like in your life today?  Are you experiencing any difficulty or persecution because of your faith in Jesus today?  Do you anticipate any challenges or difficulties in the days ahead?
8. Throughout history between His resurrection and HIs second coming, Jesus is proclaiming the Gospel through His people to the ends of the earth.  Who in your life right now does the Lord want to use you to reach?  What is one tangible thing you can do this week to that end?
9. Take a moment and pray for a missionary you know around the world today sharing Christ in another culture!
10. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

Well, it is January 1.  Another year is beginning . . . filled with a number of “tomorrows.”  As you start another year, have you made any resolutions?  Anything you want to add to your life in 2020?  Anything you want to remove from your life in 2020?  Any progress from this past year you want to sustain?

If you are like me, you probably have several goals in mind for the new year.  For me, one of the things I am looking forward to in 2020 is to complete our preaching series that have focused on the Gospel of Matthew.  Since Christmas 2016, I have been preaching through Matthew’s Gospel . . . a journey that has already encompassed 12 specific series and included 67 individual sermons.  It has been such a joy to focus on the Person and work of Jesus Christ on Sundays mornings these past 3 years.  It is a vivid reminder that Jesus really came to the earth and shows us who God is and what He is like.  

Over the next 4 months at Wildwood Community Church, we will have our final 2 series from Matthew’s Gospel covering Matthew 24-28.  These final 16 sermons from Matthew will walk us through the most critical events in all of human history.  I am so excited for us to be on this journey together!

The first of these series will begin this Sunday.  Entitled “Tomorrow: Preparing for the Son to Rise Again,” this series looks at Matthew 24-25 – Jesus’ predictions about the future and His promise to come to the earth again one day.  These words are super important for us to see.  Some view Biblical prophecy as a topic of little contemporary significance.  If that is how you view prophecy, it is likely that you may have simply avoided reading much of it out of fear or confusion, OR you have been taught prophecy only as an academic exercise.  

If you are either bored or confused by prophecy or consider it irrelevant to your current life, then let me encourage you to allow JESUS CHRIST to be your teacher on the end times over the next 6 Sundays, as we look at what He had to say about the topic.  His teaching and comments on the subject are exciting, straight-forward, and carry with them imminent personal application and response.  I can’t wait to look at these passages together.

Our outline for the next few Sundays will be:

• January 5:  “Tomorrow – part 1” – Matthew 24:1-14
• January 12:  “Tomorrow – part 2” – Matthew 24:15-31
• January 19:  “Tomorrow – part 3” – Matthew 24:32-51
• January 26:  “Tomorrow – part 4” – Matthew 25:1-13
• February 2:  “Tomorrow – part 5” – Matthew 25:14-30
• February 9:  “Tomorrow – part 6”  – Matthew 25:31-46

I encourage you to read ahead as we look at these passages together!

New Testament scholar Michael Green says, “The return of Christ has another important facet to it, which this chapter underlines.  History is going somewhere.  It is not meaningless.  It is not random.  It is not eternal.  There will be a real end just as there was a real beginning.  And at the end we shall find none other than Jesus Christ.”

History . . . including OUR history . . . is headed someplace; ultimately headed to Someone.  Are we prepared for that meeting?  And how should we live our lives today knowing where we are going?  That is the subject of this month’s sermon series.  Hope you make plans to be with us on Sunday mornings this January at 9:45 or 11:00!