Next Time will be Different

Jesus: “I am going to heaven to prepare a place for you. And after I prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK to get you, so that where I am, you will also be with me!”John 14:2-3 

DIFFERENCES

1. THE FIRST TIME: JESUS’ ARRIVAL  

happened slowly.

NEXT TIME: JESUS’ ARRIVAL  

will happen instantly. 

“It will all happen in a flash, as fast as the twinkling of an eye.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 

“The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2 

2. THE FIRST TIME: JESUS’ ARRIVAL  

was very quiet.

NEXT TIME:  

the entire world will hear it.  

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with LOUD COMMAND, and with the SHOUT of the archangel, and with the GREAT SOUND of the trumpet of God!”1 Thessalonians 4:16   

3. THE FIRST TIME:  

A single star was seen in the east.  

NEXT TIME: JESUS WILL  

light up the entire sky.  

JESUS: “For just as lightning flashes light up the ENTIRE SKY and EVERYONE can see it, so will be the return of the Son of God!” Matthew 24:27 

JESUS: “When I come back in ALL my glory, ALL the holy angels will be with me!” Matthew 25:31   

4. THE FIRST TIME:  

Only a few people honored Him.  

NEXT TIME:  

Everyone will honor Him.  

“As surely as I am the living God, EVERYONE will kneel before me, and EVERYONE will confess that I am God!” Romans 14:11    

5. THE FIRST TIME: JESUS CAME  

to save the world.  

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life! God did NOT send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it!”John 3:16-17 (NLT)   

NEXT TIME: HE’S COMING  

to judge the world.  

“God has set a day when the entire human race will be judged WITH JUSTICE and everything set right. And God has already appointed the Judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.”Acts 17:31 (Mes)   

“God will reward or punish every person for what that person has done. For those who have lived for God’s glory and honor. . . God will reward them with life forever. But for those who continue to live for themselves and reject the truth, and follow evil instead of obeying God. . . they will receive God’s anger and punishment.”Romans 2:6-8   

6. THE FIRST TIME: JESUS CAME  

to die for our sins.  

“God’s unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his OWN FAMILY by sending Jesus Christ to die for us.” Ephesians 1:5 (LB)   

NEXT TIME: HE’S COMING  
 

to gather His family. 

“He will send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.” Matthew 24:31 (NCV)   

“God’s family is the Church of the living God.” 1 Timothy 3:15 (NCV)   

7. THE FIRST TIME: HE CAME  

in humility.  

“Though he was God. . . he made himself nothing, taking on the humble position of a servant and becoming a human! And while living as a man he humbled himself even further by obediently dying on a cross!”Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT)  

NEXT TIME:  

He's coming as King and Lord of all.  

“Because he humbled himself, God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given him the name that is above every other name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God!”Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT)  

HOW DO I GET READY?

Live for Him looking forward.  

“GOD’S GRACE shows us how to say ‘No!’ to the godless, self-centered, and self-destructive ways the world lives. Instead, God’s grace empowers us to live a wise, self-controlled, and God-honoring life while we look forward with great hope for the coming of our God and Savior Jesus Christ when his great glory will be revealed to all!”Titus 2:12-13  

“The Lord isn't being slow in keeping his promise to return. Instead he is being patient FOR YOUR SAKE. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.”

THE 3 WISE WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS

Elizabeth

“When Herod was king of Judah there was a priest named Zechariah. . . and his wife was named Elizabeth. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous and godly people. Their lives pleased God because they always did everything God commanded and they lived with a clear conscience before God. BUT THEY HAD NO CHILDREN, because Elizabeth had been unable to conceive and now, they were both too old.”Luke 1:5-7 

Elizabeth’s Story: The Miraculous Birth of John the Baptist  Luke 1:5-25, 56-66 

o “Your persistent prayers have been heard.”    vs. 13 

o “Every word I’ve told you will happen at just the right time.”               vs. 20 

“Some time later, Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months she never left her house. But she kept praising God saying ‘The Lord did this for me! He has shown his blessing and taken away my shame and pain’”Luke 1:24-25  

ELIZABETH WAS BLESSED BECAUSE SHE CHOSE:

to trust God's plan instead of being bitter.  

2nd WISE WOMAN OF CHRISTMAS:  

Mary

“In the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a young virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. The girl’s name was Mary. The angel said, ‘Greetings! God has chosen you for a SPECIAL BLESSING and he is with you!’ Mary was frightened and confused and tried to figure out what this greeting might mean. So the angel said to her, "Don’t be frightened Mary, for God has decided to bless you in a wonderful way!”Luke 1:26-29 

Mary’s Story: The Miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus  Luke 1:26-56 

o “Mary was frightened and confused”  vs. 29 

o “Nothing is impossible with God”           vs. 37 

o “I am the Lord’s servant and I accept his plans for me. Let it happen according to your word.” vs. 38 

o Elizabeth to Mary: “God has blessed you because you believed that God would keep his word.” vs. 45 

MARY WAS BLESSED BECAUSE SHE CHOSE:

to believe God's Word instead of her fears.  

3rd WISE WOMAN OF CHRISTMAS:  

Anna

“After the birth of Jesus Joseph and Mary took the baby to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate him to God, because the law that God gave Moses said ‘Every first born boy is to be dedicated back to God.’”Luke 2:22-23    

“That day there was also a woman named Anna worshipping in the Temple courts. Anna was a prophetess and she was very old. She’d been a widow most of her life because her husband had died after being married only 7 years. Anna was now 84 years old and since she had no family, she never left the Temple courtyards. She stayed there day and night, worshiping God with prayers and fasting. Just as Simeon was dedicating the baby to God, Anna walked by and she paused to listen. Then Anna joined in praying for the baby and she thanked God for sending a Savior. FROM THEN ON ANNA TALKED ABOUT JESUS TO EVERYONE who was looking for redemption and freedom in Jerusalem.”Luke 2:36-38   

ANNA WAS BLESSED BECAUSE SHE CHOSE:

to focus on God's presence and to talk to everyone about Jesus. 

THE JOY OF WORSHIP AT CHRISTMAS

WORSHIP IS DECLARING  

the worth and greatness of God.  

1. THE ANGELS WORSHIPED BY  

singing.  

“There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, ‘Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!’”Luke 2:8-14 (GNB)  

2. THE SHEPHERDS WORSHIPED BY  

sharing the good news.  

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen [Jesus], they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them . . . The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”Luke 2:15-20 (NIV) 

3. THE WISE MEN WORSHIPED BY  

giving. 

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied . . . [The wise men] went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh.”Matthew 2:1-11 (NIV) 

— GOLD REPRESENTED JESUS’  

royalty. 

(see 2 Chronicles 9:1,9,14,24)

— FRANKINCENSE REPRESENTED JESUS’  

divinity.  

(see Exodus 30:8; 1 Kings 9:25; 2 Chronicles 2:4; Malachi 1:11)

— MYRRH REPRESENTED JESUS’  

humanity. 

(see John 19:39-40)

• FIRST THEY OFFERED  

themselves

THEN THEY OFFERED  

gifts. 

“These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.”Isaiah 29:13 (GNB)  

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 (NIV) 

• WHAT GOD WANTS MOST FROM ME IN WORSHIP IS ME.    

me.