Who Will Come Again In Glory

Aim of the Study: To consider Jesus’ second coming and explore how this might impact our faith and our hope for the future.

NOTE TO LEADERS: YOU WILL NEED A LARGE SHEET OF PAPER AND PENS FOR THIS STUDY. THERE IS ALSO AN OPTIONAL WORSHIP SONG IN RESPONSE THAT YOU MAY WANT AUDIO-VISUAL FOR. 

Icebreaker: What event can you remember being the most (a) excited or (b) nervous about in your life? What was it that made it so exciting (or nerve-wracking)?

  1. Ask people to say out loud as many questions as they can about the second coming of Jesus that they are unsure about or think are interesting! This could be anything at all, e.g. ‘What will Jesus look like when he returns?’ or ‘How will we know when he’s back?’ or ‘When do you think it might happen?’  Ask someone to write each question down on a big sheet of paper. Keep going until you have at least 10-15 questions!
  2. Have a look at the questions you’ve written together – what strikes you about your questions? Is there a particular theme or any similar questions? Are there any you think the Bible might not have an answer for – and are you not comfortable not knowing all the answers?
  3. We’re going to look at some key passages together about the second coming of Jesus (also called the parousia – ‘Appearing’). Between the group, ask people in twos and threes (if your group is big enough) to look at the following passages and consider the following questions. (If you have a smaller group, just look at the first two or three passages).
  1. What do you think this might tell us about Jesus’ return?
  2. What does it not tell us?
  3. What do you find confusing or troubling?
  • Matthew 24.3-14 
  • Matthew 24.23-31
  • 1 Thessalonians 5.1-2, 9-11
  • John 14.1-3 and 2 Thessalonians 2.1-12
  • Revelation 1.1-3, 7-8 and Revelation 19.11-16
  • Revelation 21.1-4 and Revelation 22.6-7

Spend some time feeding back to the group – and see whether any of your questions on the larger piece of paper have been answered, or whether you have even more questions than you started with!

    1. Having looked at lots of different accounts of Jesus’ return – how does it make you feel? (Excited? Nervous? Confused?)
    2. Sometimes life or world events can either make us feel concerned that Jesus is coming back very soon, or that he might never come back at all. How might keeping these passages of scripture in mind help us have a wider perspective on life and what’s going on in the world? 
    3.  Sometimes we can give up hope or become frustrated if we have to wait for something for a very long time. How can what we’ve discussed this evening and the passages we have read help us stay hopeful and not give up waiting for Jesus’ return?
  2. Given what we’ve discussed together and learnt, what practical difference do you think this might make for our daily lives?

Response

Either

Spend time praying together to stay hopeful for the second coming, or for any other topics that you have discussed this evening.

Or

Sing Christ Alone (Cornerstone) in response together. youtu.be/izrk-erhDdk