Advent 2 - No Secrets
Most years we skip right over the themes of Advent to focus on Christmas, yet Advent is supposed to focus on one of the richest and most exciting themes of the church calendar, the second coming of Christ. Far from being mere fantastical predictions, the second coming encourages and inspires us to live for Jesus in the present moment, no matter when he returns.
Anchor Passages:
2 Peter 3 EASY - The Lord Jesus will certainly come back
Questions to Ponder:
What has your experience been like with “predictions” of the return of Jesus. Why do you think the Bible teaches about the “end times”?
Pastor Nate said the intense langauge of Peter isn’t to give us a clear picture of the future, it’s to light a fire under us in the ____________, to be wise, to be holy to be ready.
Typically, a person’s main objection to Christianity is no philosophical or intellectual, it is _________________. Why are these “sinful desires,” as Peter calls them, so hard to overcome?
Many modern “religious” people, like people in the days of Noah, don’t think they’ll actually be ___________________________ for their daily lives. That’s what leaves them unprepared for the end.
Fire is a strong image of judgement and Peter uses language of disolving, unravelling, and melting to compliment the picture of fire. What does the image of fire communicate to you about the nature of the final judgement coming on evil in the world?
Answers: 2. present, 3. Moral contradictions, 4. held accountable
The Theme in Song:
I’ve included the song “Even So Come” again this week, because it is new and we’ll be singing it again on Sunday. If you missed it last week, have a few listens, and we’ll join voices together on Sunday!
The Theme in Art:
The Destruction of Sodom and Gehmorrah is a prototype of the destruction Peter talks about at the end of the age. Sodom was a localized event, while the whole world will stand in Judgement before God at the end of time. Yet there are key differences, the greatest being that Sodom was destroyed in judgement and was promised not to stand again, while the whole world will pass through fire with the purpose of being made new. We don’t look forward to NO earth, we look forward to a NEW Earth, a world purified from evil and sin and the people who dwell in it will be purifyed, too.
The Destruction of Sodom and Gehmorrah