Acts 1:6–11 + 1 Thessalonians 4 | Jesus as Coming King

Series: Jesus Changes Everything
Driving Question: What hope do we have that Jesus is a Coming King—and how does that hope shape the way we live today?

1. What Jesus Brings When He Returns

It’s hard to untangle what we think about Jesus’ return from the images we’ve absorbed—from Left Behind books, movies, and cultural depictions filled with fear, rapture, and chaos. But Scripture paints a very different picture: a returning King who brings restoration, not panic.

When Jesus returns, He brings:

• Reunion – “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
  Our hope is not in escaping the world, but in reunion—those we’ve loved and lost will rise to meet Him. Death will not have the final word.
• Our truest selves – When He appears, “we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” In that moment, every part of us that feels incomplete or unknown will finally be made whole. We will finally become who we were always meant to be.
• A world remade – Heaven and earth will be joined together again. What was lost in Eden will be restored in full—God and humanity dwelling together in unbroken communion. The story ends not with escape from the world but with renewal of it.
• Himself – The greatest hope of all is not just reunion or renewal—it’s relationship. Jesus will be with us face to face. Every longing, every ache for home, will find its answer in Him.

2. When Will It Happen?

Jesus’ disciples asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus responded not with a timeline but with a mission: “You will be My witnesses.”

N.T. Wright says, “When Scripture talks about the future, it gives us signposts, not snapshots.” The point is not prediction, but preparation. The kingdom has already begun—Jesus reigns now through His Spirit in His people—but the fullness of His reign is still to come.

No one knows the day or hour. Don’t get lost chasing predictions or online theories. The truth is: we’re called not to speculate but to live faithfully in light of His coming.

3. Why This Hope Matters Now
Believing that Jesus is the Coming King gives us everyday hope—for when life feels unsure, unfair, or uneven.

• When life feels unsure
   Hope reorients us. Even if we don’t know when Jesus will return, we live with the future in view. We aim our lives toward heaven.
   As C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you’ll get neither.”
   This hope doesn’t make us escapists—it makes us dream bigger, live bolder, and bring glimpses of the coming kingdom into today.
  
  
• When life feels unfair (Luke 18:1–8)
   The persistent widow reminds us that God’s justice is coming. When Christ returns, the world will be truly just—the wrongs made right, the oppressed restored, and the righteous vindicated. Until then, we keep praying and pleading for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
  
  
• When life feels uneven
   “No one gets the life they want,” Tim Keller said. Life feels uneven, unpredictable, and fragile. But even in the unevenness, we trust that when Christ appears, transformation begins—the renewal of all things, the restoration of Eden.
   There is One greater than Brady, whose hands are sure and whose victory is certain. Because Jesus reigns, the final outcome is not in doubt. Heaven on earth will become true again.

Pray
Lord Jesus, our Coming King, thank You for the promise that You will return to make all things new. When life feels unsure, unfair, or uneven, help us to live with heaven in view. Strengthen our hope, renew our hearts, and teach