Until He Comes: Watch Closely!

Second Kings 6 takes place during a time of ongoing conflict between Israel and Syria. Though Israel had turned from the Lord, God continued to show mercy to His people through the prophet Elisha. When the king of Syria discovered that Elisha was revealing his military plans, he sent an army to capture him. As the army surrounded the city, Elisha’s servant would learn that the Lord was present in a way he could not yet see. What do you see when life feels overwhelming? When uncertainty and fear surround us, it can be difficult to see beyond our circumstances. Join us this Sunday as we study 2 Kings 6:8–23 and consider how seeing through eyes of faith helps us trust the Lord’s presence and power, even when we cannot see all that He is doing.

Revelation 15 begins the final movement in the book of Revelation. In the first fourteen chapters, the text steadily moves us toward the moment of Christ’s appearance. Here in Chapters 15-19 we find the story of what His Second Coming will be like. The account begins in chapters 15-16 with the completion of God’s judgment and a clear manifestation of His perfect holiness. Join us this Sunday as we return to our study of Revelation! This week, we enter the final movement in Revelation as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ begins to appear. The first evidence of His arrival will be manifested through a brilliant display of God’s holiness. Seeing that holiness demands a response. Join us as we see an unparalleled vision of God's holiness!

In Matthew 24-25, Jesus is providing clear instructions to His followers on how to get ready for the day of His return. In these three parables, Jesus gives three powerful lessons on what readiness looks like. The person who is ready for Jesus’ return will: 1.) Walk Faithfully (24:44-51) 2.) Watch Closely (25:1-13) and 3.) Work Intentionally (25:14-30). Join us this Sunday as we complete our detour into Jesus' parables. In these parables, Jesus instructs us on how to prepare for the day of His return. This Sunday, we will look at the most practical of the three lessons as Jesus teaches us how to spend our lives today, given the prospect of His imminent return.

In Matthew 24-25, Jesus gives three parables that are intended to teach His disciples how to get ready for His return. In Parable 1, he tells us to walk faithfully. In Parable 2, he tells us to watch closely. In Parable 3, he tells us to work intentionally. Join us this Sunday as we continue our study in the Parables of Jesus. In these stories, Jesus teaches us what to do while we wait for His return. Given the glory of His coming Kingdom, how can Christ's followers be ready for His arrival? This Sunday, we learn from Jesus what it looks like to be found ready.

What will life be like when Christ makes all things new? The Bible gives us a glorious hope—not an eternity floating on clouds somewhere far away, but life with our King in His renewed creation, the New Earth. This Sunday, we’re grateful to welcome guest pastor Andrew Gutierrez, who will open Isaiah 25 and give us a glimpse of that promised future. On the New Earth, Christ will feast with us, death will be gone forever, and every enemy will be removed. This is the future awaiting all who belong to Christ: a restored creation, a redeemed people, and our King dwelling with us forever. Come worship with us and be encouraged by the hope God has set before us in The Future with Our King.

Matthew 24-25 is a parallel text to Revelation 4-19, known as the Olivet Discourse.   In the flow of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus pauses his explanation of the end times to instruct present-day believers on how to think and live in light of His return.   Given the importance of Jesus’ explanation, we’ll pause as well and look at those instructions before getting to the end of the story in Revelation. Join us this Sunday as we pause our progress in Revelation to hear personal instruction from Jesus himself on how we should think about His return.   In Matthew 24-25, Jesus gives three parables that help us understand what we should be doing today given the prospect of His imminent return.    This Sunday, we’ll begin a brief three-week detour into these practical instructions from our Lord.

In Chapter 14, John introduces us to the final act of the book of Revelation. The final judgment of the Tribulation is recounted in chapters 14-18. It’s fitting that this section would be introduced with a vision of Christ preparing to gather to Himself all the members of His own Kingdom, even as He prepares to judge those individuals who insist on remaining in Satan’s Kingdom. Join us this Sunday as we look at a fascinating text at the end of Revelation 14. As Jesus prepares to judge the earth, the wonder of our salvation comes into crystal-clear perspective. This text gives us a surprising word of encouragement about the value of our salvation.

Having approached the Tribulation period from every possible perspective, John now unites the threads of the story and pulls the pieces together. Chapters 4-5 showed us the Tribulation from heaven’s viewpoint. Chapters 6-10 showed us a picture of judgment as it fell from heaven to earth. Chapters 11-13 showed us what happens on earth during this turbulent time. But starting in chapter 14, John turns our attention to the final coming of Christ, and it’s fitting that this final phase begins with a clear proclamation of the eternal gospel. Join us this Sunday as we deal with Revelation 14, a powerful text that gives us a profound gospel presentation preached by the angels of God. As the book of Revelation moves toward its climactic end, it’s fitting that its final phase opens with a powerful presentation of the gospel according to the angels. Don’t miss this unique message as we see the gospel according to the angels.

Revelation 13 gives us a snapshot of humanity’s response to the Tribulation Period. Having seen the Antichrist’s arrival (13:1-10), the second half of the chapter shows us the false religion that will be built around him. While this text is famous for the “mark of the beast” (which will be very real in the future), it also shows marks of false religion that we can see all around us today. These marks come from the deceptive spirit of antichrist, and we should be on the lookout for them in our own pursuit of true worship. Join us this Sunday as we learn to identify the marks of false worship. While many have ideas about true worship, we must clearly understand and avoid several marks of false worship. This Sunday, as we study the false religion that develops around the Antichrist, we’ll see five litmus tests for identifying false worship. Those marks are the real “marks of the beast” that we must learn to identify and avoid!

Our attention has been focused on the last half of the Tribulation. Revelation 10 set the tone: Jesus wins! Revelation 11 showed us what God will do during this 1,260-day period: ensure the proclamation of His gospel. Revelation 12 showed us what Satan will be doing during this same period: assault heaven and lose at every turn. Revelation 13 now zeroes in to show us “the man of lawlessness” that Satan will seek to use in his last best chance at victory over Jesus. Join us this Sunday as we consider two very different Christs. The text of Revelation 13 will present a fake version of Christ and call on us to compare that Christ to the real Christ. This Sunday we’ll see the Antichrist vs. Jesus Christ. In the end, our hearts will rejoice to see that there is no glory like Jesus’ glory!