In our sermon text for today (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica concerning the Second Coming of Jesus or what we call the Apocalypse! This letter is the oldest piece of “Christian” literature we have, pre-dating Mark’s Gospel by some 20 years. It was also written some 20 years after the death/resurrection/ascension of Jesus. Paul is concerned about the newly formed “church” in Thessalonica. He and timothy had not been able to spend much time in Thessalonica but they did “preach” in the Jewish synagogue there with the result being several Jews and lots of pious Gentiles converted to this new movement called The Way.
In our text for today, Paul addresses the Second Coming and he uses the metaphor of darkness and light to drive home his point. He reminds those Christians there that they are not in darkness (v4). Why – because they “are children of light and children of the day…” I believe the point that Paul is making here is that as Christians, we should not be surprised at the Second Coming of Jesus when it happens. He relates the Second Coming to a thief in the night and because they are Christians they will be prepared no matter when or how that Second Coming happens. The very same holds true for you and for me today. As Christians, we must remember that we are no longer children of the darkness—now we are children of the light and the day. If the Second Coming should happen in your life-time, it should not surprise you. Truth is, we ask God to send Jesus back every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer (“Thy Kingdom come!”). As Christians we should expect that coming to happen just any time! IN fact, pray more for it – things will be much better when Jesus does return. Amen. Comments are closed.
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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