Future Hope for Present Change, Luke 21:5-19

Jesus speaks of wars, tumults, earthquakes, and diseases as well as persecutions for his followers. All of these things are what has been taking place since his death and resurrection throughout the world around us. What are we to make of that? How should we live in the midst of these things around us? What is our anchor into the future renewal of all things and how does knowing of the future return of Jesus and the resurrection affect us in the here and now?

Image: A bear has overturned a beehive and is attacked by bees, etching by J. Kirk after F.Barlow for a fable by Aesop, public domain. Image Location: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/b43wpm8n/images?id=aa6gc5ct

Sanctified by Ascension, John 17:11b-19

Jesus spent time in deep prayer for his disciples and all those who will come to believe in Christ through their word. What does this prayer reveal to us about he work of Jesus after his ascension? We see through his words that he knew he would ascend and that he would continue to present us to the Father that we might be washed and sanctified in the truth of God.

Image: The Ascension of Christ, Pietro Perugino, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.