Sermon: "Jesus: The Gift of the Future" by Randy Roberts 
Part 7 — Jesus: First, Last and Best

Prayer: Darold Retzer

Pastoral Welcome: Timothy Gillespie

Child Dedication: Grant Putra Hatigoran Hutagaol - Randy Roberts
Audrey Nicole De Brun, Ashley Elizabeth Anne Seheult, Canela Joy Smith - Randy Roberts

Meditation:

Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love, and the future to his providence. – St. Augustine

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. – Corrie Ten Boom

The future is as bright as the promises of God. – Adoniram Judson, Sr.

We should allow the name of Jesus to be engraved deeply on the heart, written there by the finger of God himself in everlasting characters. It is our sure and undoubted title to present peace and future glory. – William Wilberforce

Responsive Reading: Christ’s Second Coming (SDA Hymnal #747)- Marlin and Sharon Dolinsky

Note: Child dedications and baptisms are in the extras section of the DVD

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERMON

This week we return to our sermon series, “Jesus: First, Last and Best.” Our focus this week is on what happens with reference to our future when Jesus becomes a part of our present.

We human beings seem to have a need to understand, predict and even control the future. From the annual predictions made by the magazines we see in the grocery store checkout lines to the serious scholarship done by futurists, we reveal a consistent desire to know what’s up ahead. Part of the reason we do that, I suspect, is in the hopes that what is up ahead will be positive or that it will (at least) be something that we can handle.

In addition to that, there are the very pragmatic questions about the future that come at certain key points in our lives. If we have failed at something, there is the question ofWhat next? If we have received a bad diagnosis, there is the question of How long? If we have lost a relationship, gone through a divorce, or had an important era of our lives come to an end, there is the question, How will I handle this? In other words, there are key points in our lives where questions about the future require answers.

In addition to these personal questions, there are the much larger questions about the future of our planet. At a time when it seems that nature is angry and in rebellion, the future seems compromised. How are we to view such things?

And then along comes Jesus with his invitation to surrender our lives to him, and we respond. We give ourselves to him. We become his disciples. My question is, What does that mean for our future – both personal and collective. What does Jesus do for us when in comes to the issue of the future? Such is the theme of this week’s sermon.

Wishing you the richest blessings of the God of the future.

Randy Roberts
Senior Pastor

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