Preparing for the Second Coming
This morning, I would invite you to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 12. We've been slowly making our way through this chapter over the past few weeks as we see Jesus preparing the disciples for the future. He knows that his time with them is short, and as they're journeying from village to village in Palestine, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, he's taking time to invest this message in his disciples.
He wants his disciples to live not just by every word that he says, but he wants them to live with the knowledge that those words will endure forever. And as Jesus is teaching, he's not simply a miracle worker or a dynamic speaker, but he's none other than the Son of God, the Son of Man. He is the one that had been promised long ago to Israel that would deliver Israel from their sins.
And now Jesus is in their presence. Some, like the disciples, have recognized who he is and they are following him with the hope of salvation. Others are following him out of curiosity, wondering, "What is this man up to? What is his agenda? And who really is he?" They are some skeptic and some curious. But in either case, they want to know more and they're following Jesus to learn what he has to teach.
And then there are a few, specifically the scribes and the Pharisees, who are following Jesus not because they want to become his followers, but they're chasing after him looking for an accusation, looking for an angle to bring him down and to accuse him of blasphemy or heresy or anything that might stop him. You see, the scribes and Pharisees were intent to listen to Jesus not because they were considering him Messiah, but because they considered him a threat, and he was a threat to their authority.
But Jesus knew the hearts of all people. John's gospel tells us that he didn't entrust himself to people because he knew what was in their hearts. He knew what truly motivated them. And as he spent time preaching from village to village, he spoke as clearly as he could, knowing that some would respond and become his disciples unto death and eternal life, but also knowing that there would be others who would hear him and think, "That's interesting," or they would hear him and say, "Meh," and move on. And there would be a few that would oppose him to the point of his crucifixion. And yet God would use all of that to bring glory through Jesus through his death and resurrection for our sins.
Well, as we have that context and background, Jesus is teaching the disciples in chapter 12 that if all of this is true about him, then it would change the way they live. It would prevent them from being hypocrites like the religious leaders that he confronted in the beginning of this passage. It would limit them from being covetous and living their lives to pursue things that might own them. And it would also guide them to be rich toward God.
Values of the Kingdom
And in all these ways, Jesus is teaching his disciples the values of his kingdom and how to live. And now as we look beginning in verse 35, we'll see Jesus saying, not only should you avoid the sin of hypocrisy and avoid covetousness and be rich toward God, but you should also be alert, ready for the second coming.
Every one of us makes plans in the present based on what we believe might happen in the future. Just this weekend, as the forecasts of the hurricane were coming, the news channels talked about it incessantly. They didn't have a lot of information because there are variables that go into the forecasting, but they knew a storm was coming. They were predicting the hurricane, even the path of the hurricane. And people who listened and took them seriously prepared for the storm and left the area if they were able to.
Likewise, a person who thinks they know something about the future related to an investment or a stock or some strategy for their retirement will put their money and their resources in that direction. Or negatively, think of a person who receives a bad medical report; they may adjust their diet and their exercise in response. Whatever the case, we make plans based on what we know now and what we think will happen later.
Jesus taught his disciples to plan in light of his second coming, that they would be alert, that they would be watchful and ready for his imminent return. In this context, they may have been a little bit confused by that because he was with them as he was teaching them this. Yet Jesus was preparing them because he knew the day would come when he would not be with them, when he would be crucified and they would observe his death, and then he would be resurrected, raised to the right hand of the Father, and they would observe this ascension.
So they needed these words that they would remember in those moments of confusion. Jesus wanted to prepare his disciples to live now in light of what was going to happen next. And he knew his disciples needed this comfort. This is why he was teaching them about the second coming.
Parables of Readiness
And he used in this chapter, in this middle section, some parables that would illustrate how the disciples ought to live here and now. The first two parables that we're going to study this morning show that we must stay alert and ready because Jesus' return will be sudden. And the next parable, the third one in this passage, will show us that the disciples must remain faithful while we wait for Jesus' return, not knowing exactly when it will be. They're overlapping ideas, but the point is Jesus wants us to live in view of his second coming.
So read with me beginning in verse 35 through verse 48. The text says, "Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table, and will come wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, and the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?" And the Lord answered, "Who then is faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly, I tell you, he will put him in charge of all of his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming.' And then he begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and in an hour when he is not aware of it. He will cut him to pieces and assign him to a place with the unbelievers. The servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready, or does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Amen.
So in this passage, we have Jesus teaching his disciples that they are accountable for what they know.
Preparing for His Return
And he expects them to live in light of his second coming. So first, we see in this passage this morning that Jesus prepares us for his second coming. He prepares us for his second coming. Jesus was exhorting his disciples here to be vigilant and to be ready.
It says, beginning in verse 35, that they should be dressed, ready for service, and keep their lamps burning. The NIV says "be dressed and ready," while the ESV says "stay dressed for action." But either way, the original conveys the idea of keeping prepared for what's coming next. Whether awake or asleep, Jesus' disciples must prepare for their master's return and be ready for him at a moment's notice.
It's sort of the idea that they were sleeping with their clothes on. They weren't in their pajamas. They weren't in their nightgown. They were ready for action and spring into service. To illustrate this, Jesus compared being ready to servants who were waiting for their master to return from a banquet in verse 36.
Jewish weddings were normally held at night, and there were celebrations that went on for at least a week after the wedding. There were celebrations leading up to it, celebrations after it, and it was a whole thing, and it just went with the flow to some degree, and it depended on the wealth of the master for how long they celebrated. Whatever the case, the groom's household servants would be waiting for their master to come home with his new bride. They wouldn't know the exact day or the exact hour, but the groom would absolutely hate to be kept waiting at his door. With his new bride, if his servants were not ready, he would want them instead to be immediately ready and able to open the door for him.
And for servants who stayed ready for their master's return, Jesus said it would be good for them. They would be blessed because the master would find them watching, he says in verse 37. And it would further be good for them in verse 38 because even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak, they would be found faithful.
Jesus wanted his disciples to expect his second coming at any time and stay ready for his sudden arrival. It could happen late at night, in the middle of the night. But they must keep watching. They should have themselves prepared for any possibility.
The Master's Grace
And when the master does come back, Jesus says he will honor his servants for being prepared. This is where our text takes an unusual turn. Rather than expecting his servants to attend to his needs as the master, it says the master will remove his wedding clothes and dress himself to serve them.
The master will reverse roles with his servants and attend to their needs. He will wait on them while they recline at his bountiful banquet table. It is a beautiful picture of the grace that we have in Christ, that we come to Christ with our sin and we confess our transgressions and he gives us his mercy and grace. We come because we're desperate for Christ. We want to please God, and yet God blesses us with his grace.
This is exactly what Jesus did for his disciples at the Last Supper. So as he was preparing to go to the cross where he would die for our sins, it says before the Passover meal, Jesus wrapped himself with a towel and washed his disciples' feet in John chapter 13. And when he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place at the table.
By serving his disciples, Jesus modeled a kind of humility that he wanted them to replicate, a humility that would prompt them to serve one another rather than seeking to be served.
The House Robbery
But back to Luke chapter 12. Before the master returns, the disciples must stay alert and always be ready for their master to come back. Jesus illustrated this readiness with a home robbery. He says, if the owner of a house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. That means if there was a homeowner who received a tip about a possible robbery, he would have done everything in his power to defend his house and protect his property.
In the same way, Jesus was telling his disciples about his second coming so they could be ready and not surprised when he came. This is why he says in verse 40, "You must also be ready like the servants who were waiting for their master to return from his wedding and like the homeowner who was defending his house from a thief." That meant they should have a sense of expectation that it wasn't a matter of if He was returning; it was when he was returning. It says verse 40, "because the Son of Man, this is Christ, will come at an hour when you did not expect him."
Jesus' teaching probably confused the disciples at this moment. They were, again, in a context where he had pulled them aside from the crowd that was thronging against them, pressing in, trying to get near Jesus. He was also confronting the Pharisees and the scribes for their hypocrisy and their duplicity. And now he's giving them a teaching about what would happen next.
Before it happened, what did Jesus mean when he said he would come at any hour or an hour they did not expect? After all, he was sitting with them right now. He had not left, so what does he mean that he's coming back? His second coming only made sense to them after he died and rose again. His return was certain. And as they reflected over their time with Jesus after he left them, no doubt this conversation came back. And this is why Luke records it for all of us to benefit from.
Because Jesus assured his disciples, he promised them that he would be returning. It would be unexpected, but certain. And he promised that he would do it, and it would come suddenly. Jesus guaranteed his second coming, but he also says in Matthew that no one knows the hour or the day when he is coming back. Even now, we must stay ready to meet our Master. He will come when we least expect him. And if we're not prepared, Jesus warns we will suffer great loss.
Therefore, since we know Jesus will return suddenly, we should be ready when he comes. And being ready is not studying Bible prophecy to try to read the times and say it's going to be in 2026. There have been people in every generation that have tried to predict the second coming of Jesus and they've missed it every time.
I was in New York City several years ago, I believe it was 2011, when there was a group of people that sold everything they owned. They drove to Times Square and camped in RVs because they were confident that Jesus was coming again in the month of May, and they even had an exact date that they predicted. Well, you can imagine the media circus surrounding this group of people because they put themselves out there right in the center of Times Square. And that day came and went. And then their leader said, "Well, I miscalculated. Let me revise that. There's another date." And of course, the new date was just a few days from then, and it came and went too.
That is not the picture that Jesus is painting of being ready. That's foolish because those individuals were putting their confidence in their ability to calculate something that Jesus said they could not know. What we are supposed to prepare for is his return on his timeline. That means we should live ready for him and not sell our possessions, check out of this life, and just go camp until Jesus delivers us.
It's similar to military families. When military husbands leave on a deployment, their wives know when their husband is supposed to come home. If he has orders for a six or a nine-month deployment, she can expect him to come home around that time. However, there are a lot of things that can change when a soldier actually arrives home. He might get emergency leave in the middle of his deployment. He might get an extended deployment. His exact return date is variable.
But some of the best videos on the internet involve military husbands surprising their wives when they come home. This is a doom scroll if you want to do it this afternoon. There are soldiers who surprise their wives at work. They come to restaurants and appear suddenly out of nowhere, it seems. They show up to their children's birthday parties. They are in the back of a truck or a trunk and all kinds of other scenarios. And no matter what it is, the wife is always surprised. She's eager. She knows that her husband is coming home soon. She just didn't know the exact day or time.
And when he appears, they always do a double take. They're always jaw-dropped, shocked, and they just naturally react by hugging their husband tighter than they've ever hugged him before. She knew that her husband would come home from his deployment, but she didn't know when. She lived ready for him, and when he came, she was thrilled.
That's the idea that Jesus has for his disciples and for us: that like a military wife who's eagerly waiting for her husband to return from his deployment, we should confidently live waiting for Jesus to come back. Although we don't know the exact day and we don't know the time, we must be ready. We must keep watch. That's the point of verse 35. And we know that Jesus will do this.
And while we're waiting, we must submit to the Spirit of God, continue to do our Father's will, and please our Savior. And that leads to the second thing that Jesus is teaching in this passage. And that is, first, he's saying, "Be ready for my second coming." And then secondly, he says, beginning in verse 41, that he expects us to remain faithful while we wait. Jesus expects us to remain faithful while we wait.
Immediately after Jesus exhorted his disciples to prepare for the second coming, Peter asked him a question. He said, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, meaning the 12, or to everyone, the crowd that is gathered around us, that's pressing in, trying to hear you?"
Peter's question revealed that the disciples were somewhat confused. And he spoke up for the others and asked Jesus what he meant. Were these parables about his second coming just for them? Or was it for everyone that could hear him? But notice, Jesus does not answer Peter's question directly. It says the Lord answered, and he answered Peter with a question of his own, verse 42.
The Faithful and Wise Manager
Who, then, is the faithful and wise manager whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? Jesus answers Peter's question with another parable, another illustration of their readiness. He says the faithful and wise manager was a steward. He was someone who was responsible for managing his master's business affairs.
No doubt Peter was probably more confused because this seems like Jesus is ignoring him, but Jesus actually is answering him, and his conclusion will land on Peter and the other disciples very clearly by verse 48. Jesus wants the disciples to understand that a faithful and wise manager was obligated to fulfill all of his duties, especially when his master was absent. He made sure that everyone in the master's household was taken care of. That meant that this servant, this steward, or this manager was responsible for the other servants. He was to provide their daily meals and their provisions. And their ability to work and please the master depended on his stewardship. So the master depended on this faithful and wise manager to fulfill all of these life-giving responsibilities.
Then, when his master suddenly returns and finds him working, it says in verse 43, it will be good for that servant. His master will reward him and put him in charge of all of his possessions. The good manager will be promoted from being his master's business administrator to being his wealth manager. He will be given oversight of everything that belongs to his master.
I can't help but think of Joseph in the Old Testament. When Joseph, who was a Hebrew slave, found himself in Potiphar's house, the Egyptian governor, Potiphar put him in charge of everything that he owned. He entrusted him with his entire household, it says in Genesis 39. And the Lord blessed Joseph and gave him success in everything that he did for Potiphar. Joseph was a man who was faithful and a wise manager, and the Lord blessed Potiphar because of Joseph. And yet Joseph feared the Lord with every responsibility that his master gave him. He honored Potiphar whether Potiphar was present or whether he was away. And when Potiphar's wife repeatedly tried to seduce him, Joseph refused her advances. And this is what he said to her. He asked her a question: "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
Joseph feared God more than Potiphar. He didn't say, "How could I do such a wicked thing and displease your husband?" He said, "How could I sin against God?" He knew that God was more important than Potiphar, and certainly more eternal than the fleeting pleasure of sexual sin with Potiphar's wife. And ultimately, though Joseph suffered for his decision to refuse Potiphar's wife, God eventually gave Joseph Potiphar's job. This governor of Egypt was supplanted by his servant.
But back to our passage in Luke. There is a contrast between the faithful servant, like a Joseph, and an unfaithful servant. An unfaithful servant might exploit his master's extended absence, just as Joseph could have exploited Potiphar's wife. An unfaithful servant might reason, as Jesus suggests in verse 45: "Master is taking a long time in coming, therefore I can abuse his servants and eat and drink all of their food until I am drunk." But this corrupt manager will one day be surprised when the master comes back and casts him out of his household. He won't come back and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." He'll say, "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity."
The result will be severe punishment. Jesus used Old Testament language to describe the corrupt manager's fate. He said that the master will cut the manager to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. The phrase "cut to pieces" means cut in two, and it was the severe punishment God required for breaking his covenant. It's unclear whether the phrase "cut to pieces" serves as a picture of capital punishment—that this unfaithful manager would be killed—or whether it simply means that he will be cut off from God's people. But I believe the next phrase makes this clear. It says, "and he will assign him a place with the unbelievers." This suggests that "cut to pieces" means that the corrupt manager will be cut off from God's people forever. This is not only death; this is what is described as the second death of eternal punishment in the book of Revelation. This person receives eternal punishment along with the religious hypocrites who said they were honoring God when, in fact, they were elevating themselves.
In this parable about the faithful and wise manager, Jesus is encouraging his disciples, including you and me, to be working for our master so he finds us faithful when he returns. If we're living a life contrary to the gospel, and if we are living a life that undermines what we say we believe, then we risk being cut off from the people of God for eternity. It's not simply a matter of having fire insurance that we confess Jesus as our Savior so we get out of jail free. No, we must not take advantage of our master's generosity. We must respond to his generous grace by giving our lives in sacrificial service.
We don't do this to earn salvation. We do it because we have salvation. Over the years, many children have attended church programs such as Vacation Bible School, Iwana, Youth Group, and others. Many of these children have professed some kind of faith in Jesus Christ. However, as they grow older, a lot of them move away from Christ and the church.
And some continue to consider themselves Christians. They'll say, "Well, I made a decision when I was six years old," and yet they haven't darkened the door of the church since they were 16 years old. And now in midlife, there is no reason to believe that they are a Christian. They're not living like believers. They're living for themselves. They have all kinds of other things to do with their life other than honor God.
This passage is a sober warning, a sober warning not to live like that. We cannot profess faith in Jesus and live for our own pleasure. We cannot profess faith in Jesus and have no relationship with the church of the living God. A Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ for their salvation and who lives in obedience to his commands.
If we're not living in light of the gospel and Jesus' second coming, then I would exhort you to align your life with the gospel. Don't give yourself or your family member a pass or a hall pass because they're nice people or because you consider yourself a good person. That is not good enough for eternal life. We must accept Jesus on his terms and live according to his commands.
Jesus instructed his disciples to remain faithful and to keep working while he was away from them. Again, this was him predicting what they would need to do next, not what they were doing then. And Jesus wants us to also live in a constant state of readiness for his sudden return.
We don't need to be cynical and say, "Well, if he didn't return in the first century and he hasn't returned since then, then what difference does it make? Is he ever going to come back?" If we have that attitude, then we're like the unfaithful servant who presumes upon his master and says, "Well, my master is taking a long time. So while he's gone, I'll indulge myself." And that is the servant that gets cast out of the master's home.
Instead, we want to be the servants that say he could come back anytime. So we want to be found faithful. Not because we're trying to earn our salvation, but we want to be found faithful because we love our master and we want to please him. We don't want to be the child who made a profession of faith and walked away from the church presuming that we will be saved. We want to be the believer who made a profession of faith and it changed our lives and it impacts the way we live.
Jesus expects us to live in view of his second coming, not simply for the here and now or for ourselves, but for eternity. He prepares us for this coming and he expects us to remain faithful. And finally, in this passage, he holds us accountable for our obedience. He holds us accountable for our obedience. Beginning in verse number 47, Jesus shows the level of accountability. He finished his teaching and parables about his second coming with a very strong warning.
Accountability for Obedience
Not only will an unfaithful manager be cut off from the people of God, but everyone will be held accountable for their obedience. So, in answer to Peter's question, "Lord, are you telling this to us or to everyone?" Jesus' answer is everyone.
First, he says, the servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. Anyone who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and disobeys God's commands will suffer punishment, eternal punishment for their disobedience. And this punishment is not simply for doing wrong, but it's for failing to do what we know is right. It's taking what we know and ignoring it. It's taking what we know and doing the opposite of it. It's like a defiant child who is asked to do one thing and he does the exact opposite. This kind of person is that defiant child that says, "I know, but I'm the exception." And there are all kinds of examples of the ways people do this in life.
But Jesus addresses a second category of people who are found unfaithful. He says, the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with fewer blows. Essentially, Jesus is saying someone who has received less information will be given a lesser punishment. But the results of his ignorance will still have consequences. Jesus is not saying here that there will be people who get eternal life even though they didn't know the gospel or hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus is instead talking about our response to this good news and gospel, and that we should know to do his commands and to please him.
But there may be some commands and some of his expectations that we don't know. And if we don't know them, he will not hold us to the same standard as those who knew them and ignored them. But this also is not a justification for us to remain ignorant and to say, "Well, what I don't know won't hurt me. That's why I'm not going to study the Bible too seriously because it might require too much of me." And friends, I know people that have said that. I've had conversations one-on-one over meals and hot drinks and in my office where people have told me, "I don't want to know what the Bible says about that." And even in that statement, they reveal that their conscience is telling them that they're not doing the right thing. Their conscience is working against them.
I would say a Christian studies the Bible to know how to please God. It's not a rulebook of "do this" and "don't do that." It is the guideline for how to live a life that pleases our Master. We must actively obey Christ's commands while we wait for Christ's return. Our obedience flows out of his grace for us. We obey not to avoid punishment, but to delight our Master and our Savior. When we receive the mercy of Christ and the forgiveness of our sins, it motivates us to learn our Heavenly Father's will and to do it.
After all, Jesus concludes this passage in verse 48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Those who believe the gospel and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ must live according to what they have been given. God richly rewards his faithful servants unto eternal life, and he disciplines everyone who ignores or disobeys him.
The author of Hebrews wrote to a group of Christians that were scattered and suffering for their faith, and he encouraged them to persevere in their knowledge of the gospel and their confidence in their future reward. By keeping their focus on eternity, they can effectively do the will of God and look forward to receiving all of his promises. Hebrews 10:34 says it this way: "You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded." You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Christ will hold everyone accountable when he returns. No one gets a free pass or a get-out-of-jail card apart from Christ. This accountability should terrify us if we've rejected the gospel. We should be afraid of the judgment of God if we are living contrary to his revealed will. But if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we should be living to please our Master. And there is no fear in that because the judgment of God has been passed from us to Christ. He has borne our sins and transgressions on the cross so that we can have deliverance and freedom and joy as we live under him. So believers can live according to the will of God, and we have nothing to fear when Christ returns. Instead, Christians are those who are prepared for the second coming.
We're eagerly awaiting Jesus to return, and we're faithfully working for him until he does, because we know that he takes our obedience seriously. Think about this like a child who wants to please his parents. When little kids are very young, it's fascinating how they always want mom and dad to come and see. I'll never forget these times when our kids, when they were young, would say, "Dad, come here, come here. I want to show you something. Hurry up. I want to tell you what happened." And we would go into their room, we'd meet in the living room, the kitchen table, all kinds of places, and have incredible conversations because they wanted to please us.
But as time goes on, those same children become teenagers. And rather than say, "Come and see," teenagers tend to say, "I don't want you to see. Go away. I'm going to close the door to my room. I'm not going to talk to you about that." And something changes. What changes is their awareness of their identity and their awareness of their struggle with sin. It's not to say that teenagers can't close their room, close their doors. They can. They can have privacy. But it is to say that we naturally hide when we're not doing things that are right.
When we're living in a way that honors those who are above us, we want to invite them into our lives. We want them to see what we're doing. And when we live before God in such a way that we desire to please him, we don't have to live in fear with the door closed and say, "I don't want you to see this. Get away." Instead, we can say, "Come here, come here. I want to show you something." Not because we're trying to earn God's favor, but because we have God's favor. We know that he's delighting in us and we are delighting in him. So we invite him into our lives and we live for him.
This passage, Jesus is reminding the disciples to live in light of eternity. If you know what would happen next, then you would adjust your life now to match what's going to happen. And Jesus tells us what's going to happen next. He will come again. We must be ready and live like we believe it, in obedience to all that he commands, so that we please him when he returns.
Are you living this way or are you living for yourself? Are you the child who attended a program at church when you were young and made a confession and that was it? Or are you someone who made a confession and now you live all in for Jesus? This passage calls us to be all in for him until his second coming.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we commit this to you, we ask for your help because we all struggle. It's so easy to get bogged down by what we see here and now. We're easily distracted by the responsibilities of our lives and we can let everything else crowd you out. In fact, as different people put demands on us, whether it's at work or youth sports or school, whether it's relationships that we have with our immediate family, extended family, or friends, we can allow all those things to press you out because we see them and we feel the urgency of those things.
So God, help us to lift our gaze beyond the here and now. Help us to live in light of our confession that we have made our profession of faith in you, confessing our sin and trusting your forgiveness, and we want to live out of that. So guide us as a church to know what that looks like. Help us to live faithful and obedient lives in greater and greater service to you and less and less service to ourselves.
Father, forgive us for being narcissists, for living in ways that are simply selfish and self-serving, for wanting what we want when we want it and wanting it to make us happy. When you've called us to live for something so much bigger, help us not to limit our lives to the size of our life, but help us to expand our lives to the size of eternal life. And we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.