Pastor Mac Hammond | January 9, 2022

Recap:
So many questions surround the end of this age. In particular, a lot of people don’t fully understand the rapture of the Church. Who goes in it? When will it happen? What exactly should we expect? This past weekend, Pastor Mac began to address these questions, for the rapture of the Church is the next mystery of God’s kingdom that we are going to study. Yes, the rapture is coming. Yes, you can be a part of the rapture—and yes, it’s coming soon!

Dive Deeper:
The end of this world is coming. That’s not a doomsday statement. That’s a statement based on the Bible. The end of this age is coming close. The signs God has given us are pointing to the truth that the next steps in God’s eternal plan will soon be unfolding. One of those next steps is the rapture. The rapture is the moment Christians leave this temporal world behind. We will step into eternity and meet our Lord and Savior. It’s the moment where the pain of this world truly moves behind us and we enter into the eternal ages to come.

You can look for, expect, and hope for this moment. You can cultivate your expectation of Jesus’ soon return. When exactly will it happen? Well, we can’t know an exact day or time, but we can learn about the season in which it will take place—and everything is pointing to that season being right now!

Throughout the Word, we see prophecies and parallels that show us after Jesus is on this earth the first time, around two thousand years will pass. Those two thousand years are part of the church age. That is when the church will flourish on this earth, spreading the good news of the Gospel around the world. Toward the end of that two thousand years or so, that’s when Jesus will return.

Soon, we will hear the trump and the shout and know that we are going up in the air to meet our Lord!

Read More:
1 Corinthians 15:51–57 KJV
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:13 KJV
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

2 Peter 3:8 KJV
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Matthew 24: 3–13 KJV
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Discussion Questions:
1. What signs of the end times stand out to you the most right now?
2. What excites you the most about the rapture?
3. Why do you think God has kept the time and day of the rapture hidden?

Rewatch or catch up on the full sermon with the link below!

Recent Sermon Notes

FOCUS FOR EFFECT: Love | Mac Hammond

Pastor Mac taught the third installment of his series entitled, “Focus on Effect,” based upon 2nd Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The apostle Paul said the hardships in our lives can be light and momentary. It all depends on what we place our focus upon. Paul says we are to focus our attention on what is eternal, rather than what is temporal. There are three things that are eternal: faith, hope, and love. We are to focus on that.

FOCUS FOR EFFECT: Hope | Mac Hammond

This series is all about focus, meaning where do you give your attention. This is important because whatever you give your attention to will determine how hard or difficult your life will be. And conversely, it will determine how easy and carefree it will be. Teaching on 1st Corinthians 13:13, Pastor Mac says you can gain the clarity you need to succeed in your life by focusing on matters of faith, hope, and love.

Focus on Effect | Mac Hammond

Pastor Mac began a new series entitled, “Focus on Effect.” He started off by telling us the topic of the new series is something we probably think we already know about, but in fact, we don’t know enough about it as we probably should. The scriptural reference was 2nd Corinthians 4:17–18: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Though Pastor Mac has taught on this passage before, he said he’s “gotten a glimpse of a different side of this mountain. And I’m seeing it from a perspective that has really impacted me in a positive way.” He added, “And I want it to be that way for you all as well.”

Are We in the Days of Noah? | Jim Hammond

Jesus’ disciples asked Him what the signs will be of His coming. Jesus said it will be like it was in the days of Noah: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Fellow believers, we are in the days of Noah. All they thought about in the days of Noah was eating and drinking and the like. They were not thinking about the flood that was coming. So it is today!

A Deception of Palestine | Jim Hammond

This past weekend, Pastor Jim ministered a special God-directed message for the congregation entitled, “A Deception of Palestine.” He talked about how there is a division in the body of Christ worldwide, where believers are allowing themselves to become deceived when it comes to the present and ongoing deception regarding the Jewish people and Israel. It’s important that Christians do not allow themselves to be persuaded by worldly and ungodly leaders and news systems. It’s important they know what the Word of God says and exalt it as God’s truth.