i.to remind Christians about the second coming of Jesus Christ and
ii.to discuss the actual time of His second coming.
We welcome us all into the Advent season; the period of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of His Second Coming in glory. Prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming of the Messiah in Isaiah 7:14 and this prophesy was fulfilled in Matt 1:23 and throughout the earthly mission of our Lord Jesus Christ in His first coming to redeem the world. Before his departure from earth, Jesus taught and always warned of the undisclosed time of His second coming. In our Text today, He used the parable of the five wise and five unwise virgins to teach on watchfulness for His second coming. As familiar as this parable is to us, we shall remind ourselves on some vital points to note in Christ’s second coming.
1. Define Advent in the context of Joh14:3; Acts 1:11; Heb 9:28 and its significant to our Christian faith.
2. Compare Matt 1:21 with Jud 1:14-15 and Matt 21:1-5 with Rev 19:11-16 and differentiate between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ to the world.
3. Define a virgin, relate it to the Church as a Bride of Christ and reasons to be watchful. 2Cor 11:2-3.
4. We are in a world that preaches various theories concerning the time of Christ’s second coming. Share some of your experience on these Teachings and the particular time Jesus mentioned He is coming back? Matt 24:36; Mk 13:32; 2Pe 3:10.
The first coming of Jesus Christ was with humility to redeem the world, however, His second coming at a time we don’t know, shall be in glory and power to judge the living and the dead. Therefore, we must be watchful for this dreadful day.
In face of the unknown, only the wise are watchful.
Matt 24:42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning".