Sermon Tone Analysis

I enjoy a good movie.

I like a movie that has a lot of action, quality actors, and a storyline that captivates the audience.

It has to tell a story, and there must be a hero in it.

Someone who rises up to the occasion and saves the day.

It can be hard to find a good movie that’s worth seeing, there’s so many different spinoffs of the same story.

That they just don’t seem to compare to the original.

What I like even better though, is a movie that is so good, that the people in Hollywood decide to make a sequel, a continuation of the original storyline.

It’s great when the sequel is even better than the first movie.

That’s what I want to talk about today-The greatest sequel ever-Jesus’ return for his Church.

We know the whole story of Jesus.

We know how his family was formed, how he came into physical existence.

We know his family tree, all the way back to creation.

We know that Jesus grew up and began to walk according to the Spirit.

He ministered for three years, teaching and healing in the name of God the Father.

He mended humanity’s broken relationship with God and taught how to embrace that relationship.

At the climax of Jesus’ story we learn of betrayal, and persecution.

We see Jesus put on trial, and condemned to death for no reason other than to protect the politics of Jerusalem and Rome.

We watch as he is brutalized and scoffed.

We see him carry his cross and then be nailed to it.

We watch as his body passes into death and is buried in a borrowed tomb.

And then we see the dismal side of reality.

The one that was called master is dead.

We watch as his disciples hide in fear and sorrow over their loss.

But on the third day, yes, on the third day that stone was rolled back and he arose.

Jesus, the son of God, the son of man has conquered death.

He arose!

The story continues for the next 40 days while Jesus walks among his disciples teaching.

Finally, Jesus ascends into heaven in a cloud of glory.

Isn’t that a wonderful story?

Some moviemakers stop at the resurrection while others go to Jesus’ ascension.

It is a wonderfully told story in many film adaptations.

And now, as Andy Rooney would say “the rest of the story”.

Jesus is Coming Again

“I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” Jesus said these words in John chapter 14.

Jesus promises to come back for us, to come back for his church.

Who is the church?

It’s not the hierarchy of established religion.

It’s not priests, pastors, deacons, and evangelists.

The church is the elite of humanity.

Those people who have professed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

This is a basic tenet of our faith.

Jesus will come again for his church, removing it from the pending tribulation of this world.

We all accept that as fact.

Jesus is coming for his Church.

It is brain knowledge.

We recognize it up here.

We read in Matthew 24 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

We seem to have put some distance between us and that hour when he returns.

I think that since we don’t know when he’s coming that we have grown lazy in being ready for his return.

“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing…but and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder…”Who are we?

Are we, am I, are you the faithful and wise servant?

Or are we the evil servant?

We know he’s coming for us, just not when.

Are we ready for his return?

Having this foreknowledge of things to come you would think we would be ready.

With this snowstorm we just got, I can guarantee you that gasoline, water, snowshovel, and salt sales were up at every retailer in the area.

Why?

Because we have been given foreknowledge of what was to come.

We prepared ourselves for the storm so that when it came we would be ready for it.

But we know that being in the Berkshires we will get snowstorms.

Why aren’t we always prepared?

Why do we go through all this last minute hustle when we know that storms are going to come?

Now let me ask you this.

How are we ready for the return of Jesus?

Are we already prepared?

Or do we have to make a trip to the store?

Are we the evil servant or the faithful and wise servant?

How would you adjust your life if you knew that Jesus was coming today?

The Bible gives us many signs to look for so that we may know that Jesus’ return is sooner rather than later.

For example, according to Ezekiel 37 God promised to “take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel.”

God promises to restore the nation of Israel.

God accomplished this on May 14, 1948.

Revelation 13 talks about the coming of the antichrist.

A man who will rule ruthlessly yet be worshipped by all.

A man who will terrorize Christians and persecute them.

A man empowered by Satan who will entice the general populace to follow him.

Although we are not aware of his presence, yet; the mood and the politics of this world are lining up to make his rule seem like an inevitable outcome in future events.

Now something closer to home, something that we are all familiar with.

Matthew 24.

Beginning in verse 5 we read “…many shall come in my name [Jesus], saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

In the past century 20 people have made claims to being Jesus.

Most have maintained some sort of following.

Out of these 20, there are 9 false Christs alive today.

One of them, a man named Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda has his own website, his own 24/7 satellite channel which broadcasts in 16 countries by over 600 cable companies, his own radio station, 355 education centers in 30 nations, 225 radio programs, 300 tv progams and 2 million followers.

“you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars…nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”

Is it just me or does it seem like all we hear about nowadays is what our troops endure in the middle east?

The world, it would seem, is becoming unraveled and more violent.

“and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

I know growing up, that this time of the year my school would always sponsor a UNICEF collection drive where when we would go trick or treating we would collect money to help feed the hungry.

We can also define a famine as a scarce harvest.

Haven’t our prices at the grocer been going up due to a poor harvest.

I remember last year we ran out of pumpkin mix and squash was scarce.

We seem to endure famine and not even recognize it.

Pestilence or disease.

It seems like every year the flu gets worse, you here about more people with sickness, such as cancer, AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, fibromyalgia.

How about earthquakes?

Have you heard about any of them?

It seems like a week doesn’t go by that we don’t hear about one happening somewhere in the world.