Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Watch Out! (Part 2)

Bryan Schneider · December 9, 2023

Mark 13:9-13

sharonrpc.org/sermons/watch-out-part-2

Summary

Jesus' Olivet Discourse repeatedly exhorts disciples to watch out rather than merely supplying a timetable for speculative end-times systems.
Wars, earthquakes, famines, and troubles are recurring birth pains and explicitly do not prove that the end has arrived.
Peter, James, John, and Andrew personally experienced councils, beatings, imprisonment, rulers, missionary expansion, family betrayal, hatred, and martyrdom as Jesus foretold.
Acts records the Spirit giving bold testimony to apostles before religious councils, governors, and kings while the gospel crosses ethnic boundaries.
The command to preach to all nations extends beyond AD 70 to every people group and remains the church's unfinished mission.
Persecution continued through Roman, medieval, Reformation, modern totalitarian, and present-day contexts, so believers must reject easy Christianity.
Christians should prepare to give a gentle defense of their hope, pray for persecuted believers, and value evangelism above end-times argument.
Those hated for Jesus' name must not give up but endure by God's preserving grace to final salvation.

Why does Jesus call repeated disasters signs that the end is not yet?
How did Acts fulfill Jesus' warning to the four disciples?
What does “all nations” require beyond the gospel's first-century spread?
Why is persecution a recurring feature of faithful Christian witness?
How does easy Christianity contradict Jesus' warning?
What should a believer know well enough to testify under pressure?
Are we more invested in arguing timelines or taking the gospel to unreached peoples?
How can a church support persecuted brothers and sisters?
What enables Christians to endure to the end?

Persecution: Hostility or suffering directed at believers because of faithful allegiance and testimony to Jesus Christ.
Olivet Discourse: Jesus' Mount of Olives teaching about Jerusalem's fall, ongoing tribulation, watchfulness, and his return.
People groups: Distinct ethnic and linguistic communities included in Christ's command that the gospel reach all nations.
Apologetic: A reasoned, gentle defense of Christian hope when questioned or accused.
Perseverance: Continuing in faith and allegiance to Christ through suffering until the end.
Spirit-given witness: Testimony empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit when Christ's servants face opposition.