The Return of Jesus

In one paragraph

This was the final week of Tribe's series "Hanging Your Hat on God's Truth," with Pastor Brian walking the congregation through Matthew 24 and what Jesus himself says about the events leading up to his return. The conversation-style service drew in voices from around the room, and the message moved from the series' central image of a hat rack toward a practical framework for understanding the end...

Read together

1. Matthew 24:1-43 primary text read aloud in full by congregation members, covering signs of the end times and the return of Jesus
2. Colossians 3:2 quoted by a congregation member: 'set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth'
3. Revelation 3:10 cited to support the idea that the righteous will be protected through days of great anguish, not removed from them
4. Daniel 9, 10, 11 referenced as the source for the seven-year tribulation timeline and the abomination of desolation
5. Ezekiel 38-39 mentioned alongside Daniel as additional biblical grounding for the tribulation season
6. Jeremiah 31 mentioned as a passage some people avoid because it raises anxiety about end times
7. 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians cited as Paul's discussion of the abomination that causes desolation midway through tribulation
8. Hebrews 12:27-28 quoted by a congregation member about God shaking earth and heaven so only the unshakable remains, and receiving an unshakable kingdom
9. Matthew 25 congregation member referenced the parable of the ten virgins in connection with being ready and having lamp oil full
10. Revelation 22:17, 20 quoted at close: the Spirit and the bride say come, and the faithful witness says yes I am coming soon

What was said

• Open Matthew 24 this week and read it slowly, sitting with the three phases Brian walked through: birth pains, tribulation, and great tribulation.
• If the end-times passages have brought you anxiety before, do what Brian described: read a commentary, find a podcast, or ask someone at Tribe to study these scriptures with you until clarity starts to replace the unease.
• Take a few minutes to ask the Lord honestly what is numbing you or dimming your light, the way the woman who shared during the service described doing, and write down what comes to mind.
• Fill out the connect card from your seat, including any prayer request on the back, and drop it in the box by the saloon doors so the staff team can pray over it Monday.
• If something is weighing on you and you did not stop to pray with someone at the back of the room today, reach out to someone from Tribe this week and ask them to agree with you in prayer.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the principle of the biggest hook, the idea that whoever has the most compelling narrative is most likely to get your belief. Where in your own life have you noticed a loud or repeated voice shaping what you believe, even when you had not consciously chosen to listen to it?
2. April described staying away from passages about the end times because they brought anxiety rather than peace. Have you had a similar reaction to these kinds of scriptures, and what has helped or might help you move toward the confidence Brian described?
3. Brian walked through three phases Jesus outlines in Matthew 24, birth pains, tribulation, and great tribulation. Which of those phases feels most real or recognizable to you when you look at the world right now, and why?
4. Brian made a point of saying the command in Matthew 24 is not to know the day or hour but to know the season, and that no man knows the day or hour is sometimes used to make people dismiss the topic entirely. How do you personally hold that tension between not setting dates and staying awake and alert as Jesus instructs?
5. The woman who spoke during the message shared that God told her her lamp oil was not full, and she asked what was numbing her and getting in the way of being ready. What is one thing in your own life right now that you sense might be dimming your readiness or your awareness of what God is doing?