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Are we living in the end times?
sermon guide
Gene shared three unique indicators that we may be living in the end times:
The regathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. (Jeremiah 16:14-15; Isaiah 11:11-12)
The reclamation of the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:35)
The rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948. (Ezekiel 37; Matthew 24:32-33)
Have someone read Ezekiel 36:35 and 36.
If you have been to Israel, share what you saw and experienced there.
Imagine what it might be like to stand at the Jezreel Valley in Israel and see that what was once a malaria-infested marshland is now one of the highest food-producing pieces of real estate per square foot in the world.
While we see indicators in our world today that make us wonder, we are not the first generation to think that current world events might be signaling that the end is near. Reading passages like chapter 24 of Matthew and chapter 3 of 2 Peter informs us that God’s timing is not the same as ours.
Have someone read 2 Peter 3:8-19 and 2 Corinthians 4:18.
What emotions or feelings do the words about Christ coming as a “thief in the night” stir up inside you?
Why is God not slow to fulfill his promises? How did Peter describe God’s sense of time?
What should we do in light of Jesus’ promised return?
People are going to be distracted by the things of life, forgetting the God who gave us life. We each need to ask ourselves, How much of my daily focus is on this world, and how much of it is on the next?
Would you say you are prepared for the return of Jesus?
Peter challenges us to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to the day of God and hurry along its coming.
How can you live expectantly? What does that look like in practice?
Who has influenced you positively toward godly living? How so? How can you be more like that person for the sake of someone else this week?
How do the passages Gene discussed this week help you as you consider your own end of times?
warm up and prayer
Have each person share their prayer requests. Ask someone to type them up and share the list with the group. This week spend time daily praying for your group.
Pray and thank God that we can look forward to the end of times and the return of Jesus with hope and anticipation if we’re ready. Ask him to reveal to you how you can live expectantly and ways to make your life count.
Write a text, email or note thanking someone who has modeled godly living to you.
Deeper Dive:
Read chapter 24 of Matthew: Jesus’ take on the end times. He gives a beautiful explanation of what it will look like when it happens.