The Final Count Down

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1500 words for intro and close (About)

3500 Total

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SERIES DESCRIPTION: In this series on the Book of Mark, Pastor Shawn and Krista highlight how Mark presents Jesus as the main attraction. This week, they explore Mark 13:1-13, where Jesus shares insights about the end times. He offers practical guidance on how to live faithfully as we navigate life in the end.

Altar Instructions: Please make your way to the stage about 3min after I begin the 3rd point.

Series | The Main Attraction

Pre-Message Welcome

Well... we’re so glad to see everyone of you that are here today in person and online.

· My name is Shawn... my wife and I are the Co-Pastors here at The Grace Place.

· Our mission here is simple... it’s to be Caring People... Caring for people.

· We hope you feel cared for... by God in worship & Word and by the people.

Spanish Welcome - 2nd Service ONLY!

A mis amigos hispanos, me-da-gusto.. que vino... a adorar... con nosotros hoy!

We’re so glad you came to worship... with us today!

A nuestra familia de habla hispana .... Bienvenidos, esperamos que usted y su familia se sientan bien atendidos también.

To our Spanish speaking family... welcome, we hope you and your family feels cared for as well.

Tithe’s & Offering

How many of you know that the bible say’s God loves a cheerful giver?

I want to tell you that we have a generous church - thank you for for your faithfully in the area of finances.

When you bring your weekly tithes

It takes care of all the basic needs of the house.

We make it really easy for you to give

CC app

We also have giving boxes on the back wall’s as you leave the auditorium for cash or card contributions.

Well today is a special day for so many reasons… one of them is this…

We have been preparing you for the last Month for our Thanksgiving Offering… how many of you are thankful today for what God has done for you in 2024?

It may have been a year of blessing…

It may have been a year of difficulty… BUT GOD is still here…. YOU are NOT ALONE.

Thanksgiving Offering

Every November at TGP we take time to slow down and thank God for all his Kindness during the year.... by giving what we call a Thanksgiving Offering. It’s simply a tangible way we say thank you.

I am thankful for many things… but mostly…

For Gods faithfulness.

I am thankful for..

The healthy & unity… in my personal family – and our church family.

I am thankful for you... the amazing unity you have showing one another and support you have shown to my wife and I and our staff.

We do incredible things throughout the year for local and global missions... It’s amazing what we have been able to accomplish together.

But this offering goes to special projects for this house... allowing us to do things that are not in our annual budget….

We have done incredible things over the last several years through this thanksgiving offering – things like...

You gave 30k to purchase 2 safe vans to transport our folks to camps, conf and special events

You gave…

Nearly 50k to install the Playground in the back

The Basketball court & lights on the back property

· Along with several other projects.

Friends God has given us a beautiful Building and property As good stewards... we want to continue to maintain, improve and keep up with the technology needed to reach our community.

This years project is going towards:

Replacing the soundboards - in our Auditorium & Youth room

I will tell you that the board has gone out mid week several times with no warning…

We’re just grateful it has not happened on a Sunday-How many of you know what Im talking about?

The 2nd thing this project is going towards….

Refilling the fabricated mulch in the play area

Lets get things things done together.

We are NOT asking you to give because of the type of project we are presenting... we are asking you to give as a way of saying Thank you to God for all he has done this year. that is the real focus.

We need to raise 20 thousand dollars for this project.

My wife and I are going to sow the first seed.

We want to invite you to join us.

You know... 20k is very doable with where we are at as a church.

I want to invite the ushers to come forward and prepare to receive the Thanksgiving offering

Think about this…

Every adult sowed 100.00 we would easily meet & superseed our goal.

We’re inviting you to give this over the next month.

I think most of us can find an extra 25 dollars a week... over the next 4 weeks to do this.

Just cut out a couple runs to the drive through a week

Everyone might not be able to give a 100.00

My wife I and I are going to do much more than that... many of you can join us.

By giving a thousand or more.

You might not have 100… but Several of you can do 50 or 25.

How many of you are going to believe with me that we will raise exactly what we need for this project?

Practical ways to give today?

First… be sure to indicate your gift is for Thanksgiving offering -no matter how you choose to give.

You can give using the the envelope in front of you - cash, check or card

We also make it easy to give through our church center app…

Listen, we’re just like you…. we take contributions any way you have them :) Mail them, walk them over to the office

We thank you very much for your generosity and faithfulness in giving.

Well… make sure to download the sermon notes for today as we get ready open Gods word…

Transition Video: Thanksgiving

Transition: We’re in a series called

Sermon Title | The Main Attraction

We’re going through the book of Mark – noting how Mark makes Jesus the Main attraction of every story he writes.

Well... if you have missed the opener to our series you can catch up

o By listing on most Podcast sites

As well as

o Watch on our Youtube

How was my Father-In-Love last week?

Did he do a good job… did he step on your toes a bit? Yea, he kind of has a reputation of just saying it straight… and pulling no punches. :)

As always… before we read our text for today… I want to give you some…. WHAT?

Context

Yea- context… is King.

Here we find Jesus at the Temple again…

Remember, the disciples believe they are on a conquest to Jerusalem to take over the Roman government and establish the Kingdom of God.

Little do they know… it will not happen the way they expect.

In their minds of his disciples this is going to happen in one swift move and happen any day now. They can’t be more wrong about this.

IN our passage today - Jesus begins to discus Eschatological Themes….

Eschatology is a fancy theological word that simply means:

the study of End Times…

This brings us to our text for today … you can open your bibles to Mark 13 beginning at V 1, Also, notice in your notes, I added Matt. 24 and Luke 12 as other text to consider reading and studying when looking at this passage. To see how the other Gospel writers describe the same things.

Here we go.. Mark 13 verse one…

Mk 13:1-13 (ESV), Mt 24, Lk 12

Mark 13:1–13 (ESV)

13 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, WHEN will these things be, and WHAT will be the sign when all these things are about to be ACCOMPLISHED

The disciples are asking… when will your coming kingdom be here?… What will be the sign that that everything is complete and your kingdom is fully established

I think they are beginning to realize it’s not going to come the way they thought?

Lets continue reading in V. 5 it says…

5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you ASTRAY. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, DO NOT BE ALARMED. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

***Feel free to encourage people to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to them personally as the message is preached

LETS PRAY

Transition: the title of our message today is...

Sermon Title | The Final Count Down

Everyone wants to know about the Final Count down… they want to know about end of the age… as scripture is describing here… or we could say…. the end of the World.

Now.. if you grew up in the 80’s I know you can’t help your self… when you hear the title of our message…

THE FINAL COUNT DOWN

Hit they key… So I’m going to help you sing it…

On the count of 3… you can sing it if you know it… EVERYONE PULL OUT YOUR “Air Keyboard” or your “Air-KEYTAR” IF you don’t know whats happening right now… just go along…

are you read… 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - SING…..

THIS IS THE FINAL COUNT DOWN… Then Play the rift… lol

Just so you know these are the type of things that pop into someones head with ADD in the middle of sermon prep… and sometimes you just stop to take the time and enjoy it :)

Introduction

FUNNY STORY ABOUT THE RAPTURE:

There is a story about…

A taxi driver and a preacher

They both arrive at the gates of heaven at the same time.

St. Peter greets them, checks the book, and says to the taxi driver, “Welcome! You’ll be in the penthouse suite.”

The preacher overhears this and, when it’s his turn, he says confidently, “I assume I’ll be getting the same treatment.”

St. Peter smiles and says, “You’re in! But your place is down the hill a bit.”

Confused…. the preacher asks why.

St. Peter replies, “When you preached, people fell asleep.

When the taxi driver drove…. people prayed!”

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER

***Well… If you have ever fallen asleep on Sunday’s… just drive to lunch with me… and I promise … if you don’t have a prayer life… you will get one quick.

Just ask my wife or daughter.

Listen… everyone want’s to know about…

The Final Count Down

Well… lets jump right in it today… .

First, let me say this… I am not an expert in End Times Theology.

I consider Eschatology a 2nd tier theology issue.

Listen… what you believe about the end times does NOT determine your salvation. So I won’t split hairs with you on the details.

What are we talking about when we say End Times?

When we say End Times… we are talking about several Major events… that will take place leading to… and including the final return of Jesus.

First..

The Rapture…

The term “Rapture” is not found in the Bible but is commonly used to describe the event where the church is caught up to meet Jesus.

This is how he saves from the tribulations or Judgments of God that are poured out just before the End.

When we talk about…

The Tribulation

This time of judgement… it’s most commonly understood as a 7 year period that is broken up into two 3 and 1/2 year periods.

The first… 3 and 1/2 years… will be mild tribulations and judgments.

The 2nd… 3 and 1/2 years… will be the greatest of tribulations and judgements like no one has ever seen.

After this Great Tribulation will be the

Return of Christ as he comes to Establish his reign forever.

We didn’t read it today but its described later on in chapter 13….

As we consider the End of times… what would Jesus want us to know…

Yea from a 1000’ view… what would he say

The first thing I believe Jesus wants us to know about the Final Count Down is… this…

People will be DISCUSSING the end.. v.1-4

Yea… there will be a lot of talk… there will be a lot of hype… in fact there always has been since the time of the disciples.

We see this in v. 1-4 as they ask some key question as Jesus described some coming events before the end of mans rule and reign… and Establishes his Kingdom.

They ask these two questions

WHEN will these things take place?

The next question they ask is..

What will be the signs of the end?

What is it going to be like during the final count down, how will we know its here?

For them… they understood the destruction of the temple to mean… the end of the religious system of the Jews and the time period where Jesus will over throw of the Roman Government… and they take over with the Kingdom of God.

A major fact to keep in mind here is this. The disciples though that all three events (Jerusalem’s destruction, the Lord’s return, and the world’s end) would happen at about the same time.

The disciples we’re ready for this to come in one fail swoop…. I don’t blame them :)

What I find interesting is that Jesus does NOT answer their question in any detail…

He does not give them a TIMELINE… A Chart… a Graph…

Rather he answers their questions… with instructions…. on how to discern FALSE signs of the End time.

False signs… what do you mean shawn… I thought these we’re signs… they are but we’ll talk more about that in a moment…

What is Jesus saying to us… IN YOUR NOTES…

Don’t be DOPED

People will be discussing the end… they will have lots of commentary…

I want you to be wise as to what is and what is NOT taking place.

I don’t want you running around saying THE END IS HERE - when it is NOT.

Here is what we know… we are not much different that the disciples… people really want to know when these things are going to take place. Especially when will tribulation begin, when will Christ return.

In fact some want to know so bad… they actually make predictions… we see it all over Youtube & Christian media outlets.

Here is whats important to know …. friends these are false predictions.

Be really careful when trying to interrupt blood moons… the patterns of the stars… or any so called apocalyptic-like events. Sure they are interesting… they are curious…

Many of these things have come and gone… and where are the prophets coming out to apologize for their false predictions?

Jesus says… don’t be DOPED.

In v.32 of this same Chapter… Jesus tells the disciples… and I remind you today…

Hey… no one knows the day or the hour of these things… not the angels, not even me.. only the father knows.

Yea, don’t be doped… don’t be tricked into believe all the false predictions you hear.

Here is the simple question we all need to answer when it comes to the end…

Question: Will I ready when he returns?

yea this is the bottom line… is this…

Jesus is coming back for his church… this is our GREAT HOPE

Weather you think he is coming

Before the tribulation.. 1/2 way through it or after its over…

He is coming!

***I love what my father in law used to always say… You can stay here for the tribulation as long as you want… but I’m going out on the first load. lol!

The second thing I believe Jesus wants us to know about the Final Count Down is… this…

People will be DISTRACTED by the end. v.5-8

We see this in V. 5… Jesus answers their questions about the end by telling them… See to it that NO ONE leads you astray…

He begins to list off several distractions in v. 6 and says.. you will hear of

v. False Messiahs - people will say… look no more for Jesus - I AM HE.. I have the answers… don’t look to Jesus.

This has overtly happened throughout history and…

Covertly happened… we see this happening today as so called Christians claim to be following Jesus while discrediting the Scriptures even throwing them out and not viewing them as the infallible word of God….

What they are saying is DON’T LISTEN to the GOOD NEWS of the WORD of God… it can not save you… LISTEN TO ME… MY WORDS WILL SET YOU FREE.

You will hear of

Wars & Roomers of war

Yeah… there will be lots of international Disturbances

***Jesus has more to say about these “So called” signs… but Notice the Pause and explanation.. in v. 7 & 8

Jesus say’s… here is something I want you to know… what does he say in V.7…?

DO NOT BE… WHAT? ALARMED..

Yea… don’t panic… when you see these signs…

Why Jesus… why shouldn’t we be alarmed?

Becuase when you see these signs… v.7b say’s…

the END IS NOT YET.

Other translation says:

Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately

Yea… when you see these SIGNS…. I want you to know the END IS NOT HERE.

Well… Shawn - I have always been told these are the signs of the end… If this is not the end then what is it?

Let’s keep reading… because Jesus will tell us…

v.8b this is the beginning of Birth pains.

Its the signs of the beginning of the end… NOT THE END>

‌One Commentator said it like this… …

“These are not dying pains… but birthing pains.”

The average woman is in labor for about 12-18 hours…. this does not mean in a matter of hours Jesus will return

Remember what Peter say’s about our perspective of time. He say’s this… a day to us… is like a thousand years to the Lord

so… according to Peter…

When God says… these signs are the beginning of birth pains… that means according to Gods’ time table its about 500-750 years in Gods eyes.

Listen… Peter doesn’t give us this reference to start calculating time… I believe his point is Jesus point… and it’s this… no one knows…

I find it interesting here that… Jesus encourages them not to place their trust in their ability to spot the signs and nail down the details of the precise timing of the end.

One commentator cautioned us by saying this:

Your desire for a sign may make you vulnerable to being led astray…

Friends… being over focused on end times charts..… easily Get you out of focus and off mission.

What is Jesus saying to us… IN YOUR NOTES… the message is loud and clear to me… He is saying...

Don’t be DISTRESSED

Yea…. Jesus’s is saying… when you hear of these signs… don’t be distressed

In John 16:33

Jesus is comforting his disciples after describing the end.. He says…

Hey… I am telling you these things so that you might have what… PEACE…

Yea… don’t be distressed…

Here is the question I believe scripture is inviting us to ask ourselves today…

Question: What things are distracting you from Jesus?

What is bringing anxiety in your life rather than peace?

What life persist are you chasing that is removing your focus from Jesus?

____________3-5min left__________

Here is important to remember

World trouble and persecutions against God’s people have always existed…

Here is what we can know… from scripture…

As we look at v. 19 of this chapter… things do not get better as we draw near to the end.. in fact they get worse.

The tribulations that the world will experiance will be distinguished form all other troubles we have face.

If you are getting water baptized…

Baptism Announcement:

Go ahead and change, then meet Pastor Bruce in the fellowship hall.

Today… if your in the room and you did not plan on being baptized… but it has been on your mind for a long time… and you keep putting it off…

Today is your day! We have an extra change of clothes for you and a towel… you can get that from Pastor Bruce in the fellowship hall.

The last thing I believe Jesus wants us to know about the Final Count Down is… this…

People will need DIRECTION. v.9-13

We see this beginning in verse… 9 Jesus say’s… in spite of all the false alarms and false signs of the end… here is my direction for you is to…

v. 9 Be on Guard..

Stay focused, keep trusting in me, keep your faith in me…

Don’t be doped, don’t be distracted

Here is what he say’s in V.10…

Here is what I need for you

v. 10 Remain on Mission… becuase

The Gospel must be preached to all the world before the End.

Spread the word, make disciples… baptized them and teach them all I have said.

Stay focused… and shine bright for my fathers sake…

What is Jesus saying to us… IN YOUR NOTES…

Don’t be DAZED

Yea.. my mission is important… don’t be caught in a daze… unfocused on the lost… uninterested in the lost…

I want the lost to be found… ‌We must remain on guard.

Church… this is why we make an appeal for Salvation…. nearly every week in our services…

The father came to seek and save the Lost and this too is our mission.

Here is the question I believe scripture is inviting us to ask ourselves today…

Question: How am I following His directions? How might I be missing it?

Are you dazed.. stuck in the mundane tasks of life… or are you are you on mission for Christ…

Jesus closes this part of the dialogue with this…

The one who ENDURES to the end will be saved

Transition: As I close today….

So today… if you do NOT know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today is your day…

Salvation Altar Call

I believe Jesus is here today, and He wants to save you. Salvation simply means to deliver or to free. It’s not just about delivering you…

It’s about believing

Believing in Jesus means trusting what He say’s—about sin, and eternal punishment, thats the bad news.

The good news is this… that His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins, making us right with God.

Ephesians 2:8 reminds us: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Salvation requires two things:

1. God’s Grace—His undeserved gift of forgiveness and life because of His love for you.

2. Faith—placing your trust in Him for salvation.

If you’ve never asked Jesus to save you, today is your day. If you’d like ask him… , raise your hand.

I want to invite you to Repeat a prayer after me

· There is nothing magical in this prayer.. it simply is a way of declaring to Jesus what has taken place in your heart.

We’re going to end the service with A question as we do nearly every week.

When we started the message out today… I encouraged you to listen to the Holy Spirit….

How many of you heard him speak to you today… Caution you… encourage you… etc…

Call to Action

If you are ready to commit to

Remaining a person of peace

Staying alert…

Staying focused on the mission

I want to invite you to stand with me today… as a decloration of your commitment to JESUS.

ALL ACROSS THE ROOM – HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT spoken to you in anyway today?

Worship… pray

Baptisms:

We’ll we have…

1 baptism - 1st Service

6 baptisms - in the 2nd service.

Our baptisms are very causal… if you would like to come to the front of the stage and take pics of your family member getting baptized please do that.

-Also… we are going to have pictures in the fellowship hall… right behind me… so if you got baptized today we would be happy to take pics of you and your family celebrating this awesome day!

1st Service

Hussain – Pastor Jacob

2nd Service

Sheila Rauch – Pastor Amanda

Mychael Knighten – Pastor Bruce

Solomon Silva – Pastor Bruce

Ryan Jones – family/friend (Who is this person?)

Adam Dreiling – Pastor Jacob

Mialy Ranaivo – Pastor Krista

Announcements(Amanda)

Going Deeper

What stuck out to you the in this passage? v. 1-13

Will I be ready when he returns? v. 1-3

What things are distracting me from Jesus? v. 4-8

How am I following his directions, How might I be missing it? v. 9-13

What might the Holy Spirit be saying to you in light of this teaching?

How might the Holy Spirit want to transform you in light of this teaching?

What actions might the Holy Spirit want to take in light of this teaching?

Tongues & Interpretation

1. To STRENGTHEN the Church (1 Cor14:5)

For prophecy is greater than SPEAKING in TONGUES, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be STRENGTHENED.

Believers, God has operated through this gift today to strengthen you today. Let your faith be strengthened and know that God is in control and using supernatural measures to speak to us.

2. Is a SIGN for unbelievers. (1Cor. 14: 21a, 22)

1 Corinthians 14:21–22 (ESV)

In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.

22 -  So you see that speaking in tongues is a SIGN, not for believers, but for UNBELIEVERS.

The Bible explains to us God has chosen to use this gift to be a sign for you. A sign for what? It is a sign of his realness for those of you who have been doubting or questioning the existence of God. He wants you to know he is REAL and he wants to bring you spiritual life and health. If you're in here today and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior... he wants you to know he has gone to great lengths to show you his love today. (Great opportunity for a salvation altar call if it fits).