Chicken Little Faith

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: LUKE 21: 5-19 (THE MESSAGE)

One day people were standing around talking about the Temple, remarking how beautiful it was, the splendor of its stonework and memorial gifts. Jesus said, "All this you're admiring so much—the time is coming when every stone in that building will end up in a heap of rubble." They asked him, "Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it's about to take place?" He said, "Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, 'I'm the One,' or, 'The end is near.' Don't fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end." He went on, "Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You'll think at times that the very sky is falling. But before any of this happens, they'll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You'll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I'll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters. You'll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There's no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry; you'll be saved.”

Have there been times in your life when you felt like the sky was falling in on you? Have you felt like you were being crushed by things over which you had no control? How did you respond? Were you connected with a community? Were you aware that you weren’t in that difficult place all alone? Did you notice when you made it through? Did you rejoice that you were on the other side? Have you ever shared what you went through and how you made it with someone in a similar situation?

Join us for worship at 10:00am at Christ Church this Sunday where we will hear and explore Jesus’ encouragement that when we are in relationship with God we need not ever fear that the sky will fall on us because we are never alone. Join us as we journey with Jesus in faith. It will be adventure, for sure!