Jesus Taught about the End of the Age

Jesus Taught about the End of the Age

Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21

Dear families,

Our world—filled with same-day delivery and streaming on demand—has discipled us into being impatient people. We get annoyed when our computer slows down and frustrated when a drive-thru takes longer than expected. We immediately reach for our phones whenever a moment of stillness appears. 

Most of our waiting is superficial—just seconds long—and filled with distractions we use to avoid the discomfort of longing. In a culture that dislikes slowness, spiritual waiting seems almost foreign.

Jesus, however, spoke to His disciples about the importance of waiting—waiting for His return, waiting through trouble, waiting through a world that feels increasingly unsteady. His disciples admired the temple because they thought it would stand the test of time. But Jesus knew the temple would one day fall and be in ruins. While telling the disciples what would happen, Jesus gave us a guide to waiting well: remembering what will last.

The disciples were stunned to hear the temple would one day fall, but Jesus wasn’t trying to terrify them. He was trying to loosen their grip on things that don’t last. The world, Jesus says, will be full of wars, earthquakes, famines, betrayals, false teachers, and fear. Jesus’ goal was not to send the disciples into a panic. He wanted to prepare them to be alert amid the chaos that will ensue before He returns.

Waiting well also means trusting God in the unknown. Jesus tells us that no one except the Father knows the hour or the day when Christ will return. Because only the Father knows, we wait as an act of surrender to His control. We don’t wait with anxiety; we wait with expectation.

Today’s kids are prone to be anxious and to look to things of this world for immediate, but fleeting, reassurance. In contrast, help kids anchor their hope this week to the unchanging Jesus who was and is and is to come. The world may shake, but the kingdom of God will not.

Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.