Dig Deeper:
THE FIRST PART IS THE EASIEST: This passage is called the Olivet Discourse, because as v3 points out, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives discoursing with His disciples.
BUT IT GETS HARDER FROM THERE: This is one of the most difficult chapters in the Bible to interpret, and good Christians are going to come to differing conclusions about it. There are some aspects of it that seem to have been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 (which was an absolutely awful and brutal siege and defeat), and other aspects that will not be fulfilled until Christ returns.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THIS CHAPTER? Over the millennia there have been countless fools who thought they had figured out exactly when Christ would return, and obviously none of them have been correct. Jesus reiterates both here and other places in the Bible that the end will come suddenly and without warning. Our problem isn't being overly aggressive trying to predict the day and time Jesus returns, rather, we don't think enough about the second coming. It doesn't seem worth worrying about with all of the other things we have going on in life. But Jesus wants you to be mindful of His return. He wants you looking out for it each day, even praying that He comes back quickly. As you do these things, you're reminding yourself that you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of man, and it will be easier for you to submit to God's law live for His glory each day.
DON'T DOZE OFF... Jesus warns you in v36 not to let Him find you sleeping when He returns. Stay awake (metaphorically, of course) by continually practicing your Spiritual Disciplines - read & study God's Word, pray, worship, and evangelize as you keep watch for your Savior's return.
MEMORIZE: v31- "Heaven & earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
REVIEW PREVIOUS MEMORY VERSES FROM MARK: 5:36 - Don’t be afraid. Just believe. 9:24 - I believe; help me overcome my unbelief. 9:35 - Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all. 10:51 - Rabbi, I want to see. 12:29-31 - Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Prayer Tips:
Pray for the Holy Spirit to both wake you from your slumber... that is, feeling too warm and cozy in a world that's in rebellion to God.
Pray for the grace to continue building up your Spiritual Disciplines, which will keep you Spiritually away and anticipating Christ's return.
Pray that Christ's kingdom comes quickly.
Sermon Reflections
Psalm 119:9-16 Living According To God’s Word Will Keep You On The Path, so make the time to be taught By God’s Word
Monday - God's Word saves and helps us make us look more and more like Christ.
Tuesday - The key to living in Christ is to live according to God's Word.
Wednesday - God is the perfect model, we are made in His image, so learn from Him.
Thursday - Delight, meditate, rejoice in God's Word, then recount it to others.
Friday - Don't be lazy and neglect God's Word.
