Judgment/Second Coming Sermon
I've been given my last Sunday to preach. I'll be preaching the topic that the other pastors are working through right now: the Apostles Creed. I've got the line: "[he] will come again to judge the living and the dead." I think they gave me this line since its my last Sunday. Whatever I say, I'll be gone the next day.
anyway...It's obviously a challenging assignment. I think my strategy will be to stick very close to a text. Does anyone have text suggestions?
anyway...It's obviously a challenging assignment. I think my strategy will be to stick very close to a text. Does anyone have text suggestions?
posted by Tom Arthur at 3:26 PM
2 Comments:
This is an excellent topic. There are many passages you might consider. I want to mention a few and then point to one that is not so obvious that I think may be most fruitful. First, the clearest statement of this theology may be 2 Esdras 7:32-33. Also, note John 5:25-29. However, I think the most interesting theologically is Rom 1:16-17. On its face we don't see language about the 2nd Coming, but if you listen to Hays' lecture on 11 Apr 06, you'll find the following:
judgment is an inescapable part of God's righteousness; God will pronounce judgment because judgment is part of justice; if God is not a God who judges evil and acts to counteract evil and oppression in the world, then God cannot be trusted. So the proclamation of the wrath of God is part of the GOOD NEWs.
Rom 1:16-17 - note the parallelism ==> mentions righteousness and then the wrath of God==> the revelation of righteousness and wrath go together, both pointing to the truth - the good news that God will makes things right.
I think you can address the judgment part real well by unpacking this passage.
Just another observation about your homiletical points. There are at least two huge points here, both of which could make a sermon: (1) Christ will come again and (2)Christ will judge both the living and the dead. There is a wealth of Scripture on the 2nd coming, so, above, I glossed over that. The judgment issue = especially connecting judgment with salvation - seems to me the more meaningful point in terms of edifying the congregation.
I just did a sermon this weekend in which I made the Hauerwasian point that it is this eschatological promise of justice that allows us to live here and now in peace. That is, because we know that ultimately God's justice prevails (judgment) we need not feel that we must coerce others in our own effort to bring about justice. It seems that belief in Christ's judgment of the quick and the dead is central to our ability to follow Christ' injunctions to love our enemies and to live non-violently.
Craig,
Thanks for the feedback. I looked over your suggested texts. I like your suggestions on judgment/justice/righteousness. I'm thinking about trying to develop a tension between this second coming being a day of judgement(righteousness) and hope(justice, resurrection). I'm thinking of using these texts:
Amos 5:18-24 (judgment/justice/righteousness)
1 Thess 4:13-18 (hope/resurrection). I'm wanting to hold a tension here between these things and not necessarily resolve the tension. Thoughts?
Post a Comment
<< Home