When I was a youth at church I used to love singing this song, ‘Soon and Very Soon’:

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king.
No more dying there, we are going to see the king.
No more crying there, we are going to see the king.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the king.

It was such a simple, positive, uplifting ‘chorus’ that helped us set our focus on what mattered most in life, and what we all look forward to.

There’s a lot of talk right now about the difficulties our church and community faces in the coming weeks and months, especially in terms of what things will be like as doors start to open in different ways.

Yet, what must unite us above all is a focus on the return of the king, when Jesus comes to bring us safely home, where we will experience, together, the new creation.

And not only should we focus our own gaze on the return of Christ, we should keep this in mind as we continue to pray for and engage with the people in our society.

In these last days, we are closer and closer to the time when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead… and the groaning of creation reminds us that it’s soon and very soon.

There’s no better time to turn our conversation and prayers to proclaiming Christ faithfully to our village, valley and beyond.

We’re still locked into our homes for a bit longer, but since so many people can now use web browsers, it’s possible for our little church in Jamberoo to be broadcast into homes across our region and even our planet.

Soon and very soon we are going to see the king… so who are you going to ‘share’ our livestream with, so that they can become friends with Jesus before they meet him as their judge?

JODIE McNEILL 

(CREDIT: Dennis Yang via Flickr)

When we first were locked down in March 2020, it seemed right for our church to spend some time in sermons that looked at the comforting word of God in the book of Revelation.

Now in the current era in the Covid-19 pandemic, there are new fears amongst us, as we consider what life will be like when restrictions begin to be released within our community, and what it will mean for life together.

Yet, the message for our church today is the same message that Jesus gave to his seven churches in the first century, as is written in Revelation chapters two and three.

To one of those churches, in Philadelphia, Jesus said, “you have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.” (Revelation 3:8)

And because of their great perseverance at that time, Jesus said, “I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.” (3:10)

Jesus told them that he would be with them and all Christians during that time of great testing in the first century, and his message to them was simple and powerful: “I am coming soon” (3:11).

The church in Philadelphia endured that great time of tribulation experienced by Christians in the first century, and they did so knowing that Jesus would sustain them as they confidently awaited his return.

The difficulties that we face today are different to theirs, for our hardship is shared with all citizens of NSW, not just Christians, and our enemy is a virus, not a political tyrant.

Yet, as people who know the Lord Jesus and who take comfort in his love, we can endure these hardships as we eagerly await his return on the final day when all who trust him will enjoy the new creation with him.

JODIE McNEILL

(Image credit: Dave Shea via Flickr)