She told me Jesus was coming back in September. This was back in the 90’s, but she was confident they had figured it out. We stood in front of Stater Brothers as I listened to her share why they thought His return was only months away. I smiled and said, “You might be right, but I’ll probably see you in October.” Hey, nobody knows for sure. Nobody. The way I saw it, since they supposedly figured it out, God wouldn’t come back then just to make sure they wouldn’t say, “See we knew it!”

 

Stepping In: READ IT

Read Matthew 24:1-51

 

Building Up: STUDY IT

Focus on Matthew 24:36 & 44

 

Let me merge these two verses for you: Know one knows, except God, when Jesus will return, but we need to be ready because it could happen any time.

 

Now even shorter: No one knows…be ready!

 

Living Out: APPLY IT

 

Application questions (Is there a… 1. Sin to CONFESS 2. Promise to CLAIM 3. Attitude to CHANGE 4. Command to OBEY 5. Example to FOLLOW (or not) 6. Prayer to PRAY 7. Error to AVOID 8. Truth to BELIEVE 9. Something to PRAISE GOD FOR). 

 

Being ready has always meant more to me than merely getting myself ready. It should mean, if we really understand God’s invitation and His grace, I need to get as many people ready as I can. 

 

Mother’s Day is coming up. It’s actually a pretty good day to invite your friends to a weekend service at Community. You’ve got friends who need to BE READY? Get ‘em here!

 

Dear Father, I have a few people in mind I want to invite this week, but help me keep my eyes open. You may put someone in my path I hadn’t even thought of, and yet they need to be invited too. Give me a loving boldness as I invite my friends, neighbors and anyone else you place before me this week.