The Rapture of Church Takes Place in The Meantime!: Diving Deeper
See Jesus
"we ... will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words."
1 Thessalonians 4:18,19
Hope Filled Grief
In June 2019 our brave little grandson, Oliver Daniel, fell asleep in Christ Jesus while still in his mother's womb. Oliver's spirit is alive and awake in Heaven with the Lord even while the ashes of his body remain here in his little grave ... for now.
I experienced the love of Jesus so deeply after Oliver's death when I read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-19.
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him ...
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
I hope for this day. What a day it will be when the archangel shouts and the trumpet blasts! What a day it will be when, at the command of the Lord, the earth gives up those dead in Christ.
This Grandma can hardly wait! O death where is your sting?! The sleeping ashes of Oliver will be resurrected and his body returned to his spirit. What joy! What laughter!
I see the joy-filled and radiant face of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh how He loves you! Oh how He loves me! That He would plan such a moment for us. The moment when those who fell asleep hoping in Jesus and those who are still alive believing in Christ Jesus are poetically plucked out of danger's way to be re-united together and to be with the Lord forever.
Beloved Family, let us not keep this hope a secret. May we not be ashamed of the Rapture just because it is mysterious and long in coming. Rather, let's encourage each other with these rapturous words!
-Pastor Merodee
Know Jesus
This week, you can dive deeper into the message through one or all of the following:
Imagine the Rapture as described in 1 Thessalonians. Imagine those asleep in Christ being called up. Imagine those still alive being caught up. Imagine the Lord.
Do a DBS on 1 Thessalonians 4:16-19
Watch the video of Pastor Kevin's message (8 mins)
Consider praying for the prayer prompts this week.
Discovery Bible Study
TO BEGIN
Pray and ask Holy Spirit to teach you about God from His word.
Next, read the verse a couple of times.
Now, ask these questions:
What does this tell me about God/Jesus?
What does this tell me about people?
How can I respond to what I just read?
When you’re done asking these questions, it’s a great idea to pray and thank God for teaching you more about who He is and who you are!
Discovery Bible Study (DBS) is a way for anyone, anywhere to read God's word! You can dive deeper into this week's message by doing a DBS one any one or all of these scriptures. DBS is a great tool to use for your own devotions, as a bible study with friends, or as an evangelism tool!
1 Thessalonians 4:16-19
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
Prayer Prompts
Pray for the Lord to lead us in worship by His Spirit.
Pray for those who grieve to be able to grieve with hope.
Pray for revelation of the Rapture that encourages.
Pray for the influx of souls into the Kingdom! Pray that the love of God would shine through the family as we are on mission through hospitality.
Share Jesus
You can share this week's podcast, email, or blog post. Check out volunteer opportunities to get involved in the work of sharing Jesus in our church family and community.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
January 28th we are hosting a "Mid-Winter Feast" community outreach dinner! The vision behind this dinner is the instruction that Jesus gave us in Luke 14: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” If you would like to volunteer for this ministry opportunity, you can reach out to Pastor Merodee by clicking here.
Pastor Charla is creating the upcoming Kids Church schedule. You can reach out to Pastor Charla to sign up by clicking here.
