Led Astray     (Mark 13:1-8)
Delivered on November 15, 2009 to Smith Chapel UMC.

Part One    

Part Two    

What I Didn't Say

The Apocalypse-- When I was a young Christian, I read “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsay.  I basically looked to the sky for about a year after that.  I was convinced Jesus would be back before the end of the decade.  That was forty years ago now.  I guess I was a little off (time-wise).

     I finally realized I needed to be about my Father’s business.  I got down to the business of becoming a disciple of Christ.  I stopped wasting my time and got around to living out the gospel as best I know how.  Hopefully since then, I’ve learned to put a lot of what I’ve learned into practice and have gotten a little more serious about affecting the world around me with the power of the gospel.

     That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good for me to study apocalyptic literature or any commentary on it.  In fact, I’m very glad I did.  I continue to do that from time to time.  I do that because I believe we should be people of the Bible…not just of the apocalypse, not just of the gospels, not just of the O.T. prophets.  The Bible is only understood in context of the entire Scripture…apocalypse included.  We shouldn’t ignore it, but neither should we live our lives simply waiting for the end.