The end times.
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle A
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Jeremiah is commanded by God to stand in the court of the temple and warn the nation to repent of their sins or be destroyed. This is at the onset of the reign of King Johoiakim, placed in power by the Egyptians. It is possible that the prophet chose this time because of the crowds flooding into Jerusalem for the coronation ceremonies. A fuller rendition of Jeremiah's temple sermon is found in Jeremiah 7:1--7.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Paul gives thanks to God for the love of the church and prays that they might stand firm in that faith and increase in love so that they might be blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
The disciples point out the impressiveness of the temple and Jesus responds that the day will come when this imposing structure will be decimated. They then ask when this will be and for the signs of his coming kingdom. The Lord lists a litany of dread happenings that presage the end of the age. False messiahs, wars and kingdoms in conflict are but the birth pangs of the new age. Followers of Christ will suffer persecution and death as the price of their faith and the embers of human love will grow cold. Nevertheless, before the end, the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 105:1--7 - ''O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples'' (v. 1).
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Full disclosure. Jeremiah is instructed to deliver the full counsel of God, without holding back. ''Do not hold back a word'' (v. 2). The difference between a true prophet and a politician has to do with full disclosure. The politician is supposed to disclose the full extent of his or her financial dealings. Later, the public finds out about secret sweetheart deals, where political influence is bartered for financial gain. Politicians may not technically lie but many of them become masters of disclosing only the information that makes them look good and withhold facts that would be damaging to their cause. The prophet, on the contrary, lets the chips fall where they may, being driven by a God--inspired passion for revealing the truth, even when it is unpopular.
Urgent message. God's message of repentance was delivered with great urgency. The people didn't receive it that way. Apathy turned to hostility toward the messenger.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Living in others. The tone of this letter is one of rejoicing. In spite of their persecutions and hardship, they can celebrate the faith and love of those whom they have discipled. Paul
338
makes a rather extraordinary statement: ''For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord'' (v. 8). This could mean that the fortitude of their faith is a source of hope and strength for Paul's group. Or this could be a way of expressing the truth that we live in others. We live in our children, we live in those whom we have profoundly touched, and we live in those whom we have discipled. Living in others is a form of immortality. We are called to live in and through others.
Love is a living thing. The apostle prays that the Lord will cause his spiritual children to increase and abound in love (v. 12). Love is a living organism and like all living things, if it isn't growing, it's dying. The Lord is the source of love and our growth in love. In the body of believers, we grow in our love for God and for our fellow believers. Yet it cannot be contained there; it grows to encompass all of life.
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
Toppling temples. The disciples pointed out to Jesus the magnificence of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus countered with the grim prediction that the temple would be toppled to the ground, not one stone left in its rightful place. This was the same warning which Jeremiah issued centuries before. This is a message of caution to us when we vaunt our religious structures and institutions and make ultimate that which is only a temporal expression. God doesn't need our buildings, our structures or our institutions. The temples that are eternal are not made with stones but are formed in the human heart, where Christ is Lord.
The beginning of the birth pangs (v. 8). The birth of a new human life does not come without pain. This verse suggests that the kingdom of God is not born without pain; a new world does not come into being without acute labor pains. If this world were too pleasant or perfect, we would not be ready to be born into the next.
The evil forces won't go down without a battle. The picture portrayed in this mini--apocalypse is that of an all--out war. The forces of Satan are not going to give up until overpowered. As I write this, the military junta in Haiti has backed down under the threat of an all--out invasion. Thankfully, bloodshed has been averted by the diplomatic efforts of Jimmy Carter and Colin Powell, but is permanent peace a likely outcome with the corrupt forces of oppression still present? The peace is extremely fragile. One thing is certain: the forces opposed to Christ's kingdom will not give up without a battle. The closer their doom, the greater their fury.
The triumph of the gospel. When will the world end as we know it? For us as individuals, it will end when we die. Jesus teaches that the kingdom will come when the gospel has been preached to all nations, when all people have a chance to intelligently respond to the claims of Christ. The gospel may not be accepted by all but it will be known by all.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Sermon Title: How To Make God Repent
Sermon Angle: Repentance means to turn around in the opposite direction that you were going. We don't normally think of God as needing repentance because we usually understand repentance to mean that we turn away from our sins and that our holy God is sinless. However, the Bible doesn't present a deterministic God but a God who is flexible enough to respond to the actions of his people (v. 3). In this text, God threatens destruction if the people do not repent. Yet he sends his prophet because he wants to change his mind, to avert the promised consequences of the people's continued sin. God's repentance is precipitated by the repentance of his people.
Outline:
1. Do you know that God wants to repent?
2. Explain that repentance means to change your mind
339
3. God sent Jeremiah with the message that he would repent of his punishment, if the people would repent of their sins
4. If God's people will repent and turn to Christ, God will repent of his threatened judgment
Sermon Title: The Whole Truth
Sermon Angle: God tells Jeremiah to share all of his words with the people, not to hold back a syllable (v. 2). When we fear that the truth might not be well received, we tend to withhold part of it. When a person is sworn in to testify in court, she is sworn to ''tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'' God is called in as a witness to the veracity of the testimony. Yet lawyers on one or both sides may actually be endeavoring to hide part of the truth, if it detracts from their case. Pastors may withhold disclosing the whole truth for fear of being rejected by parishioners. Lovers may do the same thing for the same reasons. God wants his people to disclose the whole truth not because he wants to hurt or destroy us but to save us.
Outline:
1. God told Jeremiah to relay all his words to the people (v. 2)
- so they might realize their dire straits
- so that they might repent
2. Withholding the truth usually leads to destruction, suspicion and hurt
3. Jesus teaches that we shall know the truth which will make us free (John 8:32) (The truth of our sin and God's salvation in Christ)
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Sermon Title: Staying Alive
Sermon Angle: Paul rejoiced that the Thessalonians had not sold out their faith, exclaiming: ''For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.'' The faith of his spiritual children helped to sustain his life. It is equally true that the faith of Paul's party helped to keep the Thessalonians alive in difficult circumstances. The secret of staying alive is sharing and exercising faith.
Outline:
1. Humans will do almost anything to stay alive (examples)
2. We stay alive spiritually by sharing our faith as Paul did
3. We stay alive spiritually by exercising our faith as the Thessalonians did
Sermon Title: Holy Love
Sermon Angle: We do not often think of holiness and love as being together. Holiness means to be set apart in God's service. Many people tend to keep so--called holy people at a distance because their presence creates discomfort and guilt. Love is the drive that breeches the gulf between peoples. In verse 12, Paul prays that the church will increase and abound in love with the result that they might be unblamable in holiness (v. 13). Holiness and love are tightly linked. God's love in us is holy because it is unique, reaching out to the undeserving. If we practice such holy love, we will be ready for the Lord's return.
Outline:
1. Some religious groups have tried to prepare for Christ's return by selling all goods and dropping out of the world
2. Paul suggests that we will be ready if we practice holy love (vv. 12--13)
- love which accepts the unacceptable
- love which gives and forgives
- love which grows
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
Sermon Title: Toppling Temples
Sermon Angle: While the disciples admired the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus informed them that this lovely edifice would be thrown to the ground. The temple was designed as a place
340
where the Lord would be worshipped. Instead, it became an object of human pride. Jesus was trying to teach his disciples that God is not dependent on our human structures. He dwells in the lives of the faithful.
Outline:
1. The Jews took pride in the temple and thought God would always be worshipped there
2. They thought God was dependent on their structures and institutions
3. Jesus taught religious structures were not permanent
4. He also taught that the world, as we know it, would pass away
5. Place your confidence in God's eternal love and grace
Sermon Title: Interpreting The Signs
Sermon Angle: Until the Rosetta Stone was found, the Egyptian hieroglyphics were unintelligible. The stone provided the code to understand the signs. The disciples asked Jesus for signs of the closing of the present age and the start of the new age. Unfortunately, the signs which Jesus spoke of are ambiguous - earthquakes, wars and violence have accompanied every age. This indicates that Jesus did not intend a specific time but desires that we might be eternally vigilant and watchful for the dawning of God's new day. He did say that the end would not come until the gospel was preached to all the world (v. 14).
Outline:
1. The disciples asked for the signs of the end time so they might be ready
2. Jesus did not give them a timetable
3. He taught that the kingdom would never be a human achievement but come when things were at their worst
4. He maintained that the kingdom would come when the gospel had been proclaimed to all
5. We can hasten the coming of Christ through proclaiming the gospel
Sermon Title: The Good News Kingdom
Sermon Angle: Verse 14 states that the good news of the kingdom will be preached to all nations before the end of this age. The kingdom of Christ is a good news kingdom. So many kingdoms in the history of the world started out that way but quickly descended into a black hole of corruption and the abuse of power. The kingdom of God is good news because God rules through his Son in justice, righteousness and love.
Outline:
1. Much that happens in this world is bad news - crime, wars and so forth
2. The Bible says that it will get worse before getting better (vv. 4--13)
3. In this bad--news world we proclaim the good news of the kingdom
4. The good news is that the God who reigns in us will ultimately bring everything in subjection to his righteous rule
The earthly church was highly influenced by eschatology or the doctrine of last things, which our Gospel Lesson is devoted to. The views on eschatology generally sift into three compartments within the Christian community. The various viewpoints are clustered around various understandings concerning the millennium (the thousand year reign of God spoken of in Revelation 20:4--6). First, there are the Premillennialists. They hold that Christ is going to return prior to the millennium. Under this scheme, Christ subdues the evil powers and rules on earth for 1,000 years. Many premillennialists employ the adjective dispensational in front of premillennial. They hold that there are at least two dispensations.The first dispensation was an earthly rule through Israel. The second dispensation is God's spiritual reign through Christ. These folks interpret biblical prophecies very literally. A second group is known as Postmillennialists. They hold that Christ will return after an earthly rule is established. However, the millennium will be coterminous with ordinary earthly existence. A third group is known as Amillennialists.
341
They believe that there will not be any millennium. All people who interpret this earthly reign of peace in a symbolic manner, fall under this heading. No matter what group one might fit into, the key thing to emphasize is the already--but--not--yet character of the kingdom of Christ. For believers, Christ is Lord right now and our hope is that in the indeterminate future he will be Lord of all creation, when his kingdom is fully come. Let's not waste our time in splitting eschatological hairs.
In the old L'il Abner comic strip there was a rather pathetic character by the name of Joe Btsfplk. Wherever Joe went, he was accompanied by a black cloud and a bolt of lightning, leaving chaos and destruction in his pathway. Joe Btsfplk was the incarnation of gloom and despair. Many spokesmen of the apocalypse are of this stripe. They never tire in relating the lurid details of destruction and death that are certain to manifest themselves any moment. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsay is such a piece. A word of warning sometimes needs to be issued but such prophets of doom tend to generate fear rather than hope. Apocalypticism tends to rise up during times of crisis and danger. The real aim of this mode of expression is to engender hope, not despair and fear. The message boils down to this: No matter how bad things get, God is still in control and his reign of peace and love will ultimately triumph.
342
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Jeremiah is commanded by God to stand in the court of the temple and warn the nation to repent of their sins or be destroyed. This is at the onset of the reign of King Johoiakim, placed in power by the Egyptians. It is possible that the prophet chose this time because of the crowds flooding into Jerusalem for the coronation ceremonies. A fuller rendition of Jeremiah's temple sermon is found in Jeremiah 7:1--7.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Paul gives thanks to God for the love of the church and prays that they might stand firm in that faith and increase in love so that they might be blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
The disciples point out the impressiveness of the temple and Jesus responds that the day will come when this imposing structure will be decimated. They then ask when this will be and for the signs of his coming kingdom. The Lord lists a litany of dread happenings that presage the end of the age. False messiahs, wars and kingdoms in conflict are but the birth pangs of the new age. Followers of Christ will suffer persecution and death as the price of their faith and the embers of human love will grow cold. Nevertheless, before the end, the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 105:1--7 - ''O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples'' (v. 1).
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Full disclosure. Jeremiah is instructed to deliver the full counsel of God, without holding back. ''Do not hold back a word'' (v. 2). The difference between a true prophet and a politician has to do with full disclosure. The politician is supposed to disclose the full extent of his or her financial dealings. Later, the public finds out about secret sweetheart deals, where political influence is bartered for financial gain. Politicians may not technically lie but many of them become masters of disclosing only the information that makes them look good and withhold facts that would be damaging to their cause. The prophet, on the contrary, lets the chips fall where they may, being driven by a God--inspired passion for revealing the truth, even when it is unpopular.
Urgent message. God's message of repentance was delivered with great urgency. The people didn't receive it that way. Apathy turned to hostility toward the messenger.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Living in others. The tone of this letter is one of rejoicing. In spite of their persecutions and hardship, they can celebrate the faith and love of those whom they have discipled. Paul
338
makes a rather extraordinary statement: ''For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord'' (v. 8). This could mean that the fortitude of their faith is a source of hope and strength for Paul's group. Or this could be a way of expressing the truth that we live in others. We live in our children, we live in those whom we have profoundly touched, and we live in those whom we have discipled. Living in others is a form of immortality. We are called to live in and through others.
Love is a living thing. The apostle prays that the Lord will cause his spiritual children to increase and abound in love (v. 12). Love is a living organism and like all living things, if it isn't growing, it's dying. The Lord is the source of love and our growth in love. In the body of believers, we grow in our love for God and for our fellow believers. Yet it cannot be contained there; it grows to encompass all of life.
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
Toppling temples. The disciples pointed out to Jesus the magnificence of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus countered with the grim prediction that the temple would be toppled to the ground, not one stone left in its rightful place. This was the same warning which Jeremiah issued centuries before. This is a message of caution to us when we vaunt our religious structures and institutions and make ultimate that which is only a temporal expression. God doesn't need our buildings, our structures or our institutions. The temples that are eternal are not made with stones but are formed in the human heart, where Christ is Lord.
The beginning of the birth pangs (v. 8). The birth of a new human life does not come without pain. This verse suggests that the kingdom of God is not born without pain; a new world does not come into being without acute labor pains. If this world were too pleasant or perfect, we would not be ready to be born into the next.
The evil forces won't go down without a battle. The picture portrayed in this mini--apocalypse is that of an all--out war. The forces of Satan are not going to give up until overpowered. As I write this, the military junta in Haiti has backed down under the threat of an all--out invasion. Thankfully, bloodshed has been averted by the diplomatic efforts of Jimmy Carter and Colin Powell, but is permanent peace a likely outcome with the corrupt forces of oppression still present? The peace is extremely fragile. One thing is certain: the forces opposed to Christ's kingdom will not give up without a battle. The closer their doom, the greater their fury.
The triumph of the gospel. When will the world end as we know it? For us as individuals, it will end when we die. Jesus teaches that the kingdom will come when the gospel has been preached to all nations, when all people have a chance to intelligently respond to the claims of Christ. The gospel may not be accepted by all but it will be known by all.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 26:1--6
Sermon Title: How To Make God Repent
Sermon Angle: Repentance means to turn around in the opposite direction that you were going. We don't normally think of God as needing repentance because we usually understand repentance to mean that we turn away from our sins and that our holy God is sinless. However, the Bible doesn't present a deterministic God but a God who is flexible enough to respond to the actions of his people (v. 3). In this text, God threatens destruction if the people do not repent. Yet he sends his prophet because he wants to change his mind, to avert the promised consequences of the people's continued sin. God's repentance is precipitated by the repentance of his people.
Outline:
1. Do you know that God wants to repent?
2. Explain that repentance means to change your mind
339
3. God sent Jeremiah with the message that he would repent of his punishment, if the people would repent of their sins
4. If God's people will repent and turn to Christ, God will repent of his threatened judgment
Sermon Title: The Whole Truth
Sermon Angle: God tells Jeremiah to share all of his words with the people, not to hold back a syllable (v. 2). When we fear that the truth might not be well received, we tend to withhold part of it. When a person is sworn in to testify in court, she is sworn to ''tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.'' God is called in as a witness to the veracity of the testimony. Yet lawyers on one or both sides may actually be endeavoring to hide part of the truth, if it detracts from their case. Pastors may withhold disclosing the whole truth for fear of being rejected by parishioners. Lovers may do the same thing for the same reasons. God wants his people to disclose the whole truth not because he wants to hurt or destroy us but to save us.
Outline:
1. God told Jeremiah to relay all his words to the people (v. 2)
- so they might realize their dire straits
- so that they might repent
2. Withholding the truth usually leads to destruction, suspicion and hurt
3. Jesus teaches that we shall know the truth which will make us free (John 8:32) (The truth of our sin and God's salvation in Christ)
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:7--13
Sermon Title: Staying Alive
Sermon Angle: Paul rejoiced that the Thessalonians had not sold out their faith, exclaiming: ''For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.'' The faith of his spiritual children helped to sustain his life. It is equally true that the faith of Paul's party helped to keep the Thessalonians alive in difficult circumstances. The secret of staying alive is sharing and exercising faith.
Outline:
1. Humans will do almost anything to stay alive (examples)
2. We stay alive spiritually by sharing our faith as Paul did
3. We stay alive spiritually by exercising our faith as the Thessalonians did
Sermon Title: Holy Love
Sermon Angle: We do not often think of holiness and love as being together. Holiness means to be set apart in God's service. Many people tend to keep so--called holy people at a distance because their presence creates discomfort and guilt. Love is the drive that breeches the gulf between peoples. In verse 12, Paul prays that the church will increase and abound in love with the result that they might be unblamable in holiness (v. 13). Holiness and love are tightly linked. God's love in us is holy because it is unique, reaching out to the undeserving. If we practice such holy love, we will be ready for the Lord's return.
Outline:
1. Some religious groups have tried to prepare for Christ's return by selling all goods and dropping out of the world
2. Paul suggests that we will be ready if we practice holy love (vv. 12--13)
- love which accepts the unacceptable
- love which gives and forgives
- love which grows
Gospel: Matthew 24:1--14
Sermon Title: Toppling Temples
Sermon Angle: While the disciples admired the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus informed them that this lovely edifice would be thrown to the ground. The temple was designed as a place
340
where the Lord would be worshipped. Instead, it became an object of human pride. Jesus was trying to teach his disciples that God is not dependent on our human structures. He dwells in the lives of the faithful.
Outline:
1. The Jews took pride in the temple and thought God would always be worshipped there
2. They thought God was dependent on their structures and institutions
3. Jesus taught religious structures were not permanent
4. He also taught that the world, as we know it, would pass away
5. Place your confidence in God's eternal love and grace
Sermon Title: Interpreting The Signs
Sermon Angle: Until the Rosetta Stone was found, the Egyptian hieroglyphics were unintelligible. The stone provided the code to understand the signs. The disciples asked Jesus for signs of the closing of the present age and the start of the new age. Unfortunately, the signs which Jesus spoke of are ambiguous - earthquakes, wars and violence have accompanied every age. This indicates that Jesus did not intend a specific time but desires that we might be eternally vigilant and watchful for the dawning of God's new day. He did say that the end would not come until the gospel was preached to all the world (v. 14).
Outline:
1. The disciples asked for the signs of the end time so they might be ready
2. Jesus did not give them a timetable
3. He taught that the kingdom would never be a human achievement but come when things were at their worst
4. He maintained that the kingdom would come when the gospel had been proclaimed to all
5. We can hasten the coming of Christ through proclaiming the gospel
Sermon Title: The Good News Kingdom
Sermon Angle: Verse 14 states that the good news of the kingdom will be preached to all nations before the end of this age. The kingdom of Christ is a good news kingdom. So many kingdoms in the history of the world started out that way but quickly descended into a black hole of corruption and the abuse of power. The kingdom of God is good news because God rules through his Son in justice, righteousness and love.
Outline:
1. Much that happens in this world is bad news - crime, wars and so forth
2. The Bible says that it will get worse before getting better (vv. 4--13)
3. In this bad--news world we proclaim the good news of the kingdom
4. The good news is that the God who reigns in us will ultimately bring everything in subjection to his righteous rule
The earthly church was highly influenced by eschatology or the doctrine of last things, which our Gospel Lesson is devoted to. The views on eschatology generally sift into three compartments within the Christian community. The various viewpoints are clustered around various understandings concerning the millennium (the thousand year reign of God spoken of in Revelation 20:4--6). First, there are the Premillennialists. They hold that Christ is going to return prior to the millennium. Under this scheme, Christ subdues the evil powers and rules on earth for 1,000 years. Many premillennialists employ the adjective dispensational in front of premillennial. They hold that there are at least two dispensations.The first dispensation was an earthly rule through Israel. The second dispensation is God's spiritual reign through Christ. These folks interpret biblical prophecies very literally. A second group is known as Postmillennialists. They hold that Christ will return after an earthly rule is established. However, the millennium will be coterminous with ordinary earthly existence. A third group is known as Amillennialists.
341
They believe that there will not be any millennium. All people who interpret this earthly reign of peace in a symbolic manner, fall under this heading. No matter what group one might fit into, the key thing to emphasize is the already--but--not--yet character of the kingdom of Christ. For believers, Christ is Lord right now and our hope is that in the indeterminate future he will be Lord of all creation, when his kingdom is fully come. Let's not waste our time in splitting eschatological hairs.
In the old L'il Abner comic strip there was a rather pathetic character by the name of Joe Btsfplk. Wherever Joe went, he was accompanied by a black cloud and a bolt of lightning, leaving chaos and destruction in his pathway. Joe Btsfplk was the incarnation of gloom and despair. Many spokesmen of the apocalypse are of this stripe. They never tire in relating the lurid details of destruction and death that are certain to manifest themselves any moment. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsay is such a piece. A word of warning sometimes needs to be issued but such prophets of doom tend to generate fear rather than hope. Apocalypticism tends to rise up during times of crisis and danger. The real aim of this mode of expression is to engender hope, not despair and fear. The message boils down to this: No matter how bad things get, God is still in control and his reign of peace and love will ultimately triumph.
342
