Anticipation…
Good Morning Harvest South Bay!
I hope that this announcement is getting to you in your inbox: our “feedburner” (the thing that takes the announcements and emails it out to your email inboxes) has been buggy at best recently. If it continues in this vein of being inconsistent, we’ll look for another solution for communication since keeping everyone up to date is important for our experience of community!
Meanwhile, here are the notes from this last Sunday’s sermon!
Please pray for our family as we travel to Lake Tahoe via airplane; it will be Baby Asher’s first flight. Also, please pray for Samantha’s safety on the slopes during her first skiing experience!
byron
Harvest South Bay March 29th, 2009
Anticipation
Great Expectations: Mark 13:1-27
Part 1: The Setting: In the context of Jesus’ condemnation of the temple leadership, He issues this judgment on the actual, physical structure of the temple.
Part 2: The Warning: Our day to day life as Christians is one of preaching the gospel and persecution. False Christ’s, natural disasters, and our own suffering are not indications of end time fulfillment. Don’t be deceived!
Part 3: The Signs: The desecration of the temple and the darkening of the sky are all pretty good indicators that Christ’s coming is just around the corner.
Part 4: The Charge: Be ready!
3 New Perspectives from Knowing the Future
1. Be Discerning: Power does not validate a prophet or claimant of the mantle of Christ. Plenty of false prophets have had and will have power to do signs and wonders.
2. Be Fearless: Persecution is part and parcel of the Christian experience: it God’s plan. Therefore we can operate without fear, knowing that harsh circumstances are within the will of God.
3. Be Alert: Don’t fall asleep! This means looking for the signs mentioned, but even more, actively living the Christian life. Our nesting instincts are what lull us into spiritual sleep and inactivity!
Weekly Application Exercises
1. If the standard of the Christian life is to be persecuted and to be consistently sharing the gospel, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being inconsistent and 10 being perfectly consistent) how much does your life look like that standard?
2. Our outward actions might not betray us because comfort is found by different people in different circumstances: reflect on how often your motivation in life is comfortability and ease. What circumstances that are uncomfortable can you be placing yourself in?
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