Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Lead in: In Luke 21, Jesus talks of the signs that speak of the hard times to come. Is he predicting the end of the world? There has always been great curiosity about the second coming of Christ. When is it and how will it happen? These are two questions that we can only speculate about. What we do know is that history is going somewhere. It is not an endless treadmill. The Christian concept of history is that it is going toward a goal and Jesus Christ is that goal. That’s all we know and all we need to know.
Prompt: Have you ever felt like you were on a treadmill going nowhere? What did you do to get off that treadmill?
Prompt: If history is going somewhere, where is your life going these days? How is Jesus guiding you as your life unfolds before you?
Lead in: Scripture tells us two things. That someday the world will end as Christ appears at the second coming, and that someday our own lives will end. We do not know when either will come, only that they will come.
Prompt: Reflect on your own mortality, the day you will be called on to hand your life over to the One who made you. On the continuum between trust and resistance, where are you these days?
Prompt: What do you need to do before you die so that when your time comes you will have no regrets?
Lead in: In Luke 21 Jesus exhorts us, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
(distracted) … with the anxieties of life.”
Prompt: What are the anxieties of your life that make it hard for you to resist the drowsiness Jesus warns us about?
Prompt: As you talk to God about these anxieties ask, “What is the invitation?”, that is, what is it that God is inviting you to consider?
Lead in: Jesus’ words in Luke 21 are sobering. “There will be signs in the sun … and the roaring of the seas …and people will die of fright.” In effect, it will seem like all hell is breaking loose. But then we hear, “But when these signs begin to happen, stand tall and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” So, when things in your life seem bleak you might find yourself asking, “Where is the hope in this?” The hope is in the faith we hold dear to us. The Christ who died and is risen, will come again.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when it seemed all hell was breaking loose but you were able to stand tall and hold your head high despite all that was going on around you.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when it was hard to stand tall and hold your head high with all that is going on around you.
