1-Dec-24 (Luke 21:25-36)

[Bring some pictures of road signs, like "Stop", "No Passing", and "No U Turn".]
These are some signs that you might see on roads. Why do you think they put these signs out?
[Wait for answers]
Yes. These signs tell you what to expect ahead. They warn you in advance so you can do the right thing.
Jesus talked about signs in our gospel reading for today, but he was talking about "signs" in the sun, the moon, and the stars. That's because people in his day believed that things happening in the heavens told about what was about to happen and a lot of them were worried about what would happen soon. These days you might hear people talking about inflation, or riots, or even wars and some folks may be as worried as people in Jesus' time about what was about to happen.
Jesus told them that there was only one thing that they needed to pay attention to. He said, the heavens and even the earth might go away, but my words will not. You can trust in the words that I say.
So, when we're worried about what might happen, we should look to Jesus' words to give us hope and to help us to face whatever might be coming.
Let's pray about that.

Prayer

God, we thank you for sending us Jesus to show us that we can have hope. Help us to trust in Jesus' words and help us to share the hope we have with others, especially those who are worried or scared.
We pray in Jesus' name. AMEN