This Same Jesus Will Come Again
Month 12: Risen & Sending · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Acts 1:10-11
10 They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
Memory Verse
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””— Matthew 28:19-20 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Revelation 17-19
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 364 of 365 — the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the King who is "Faithful and True.")The Heart of It
The disciples are standing there, staring up into the sky where Jesus disappeared. Suddenly two men in white appear beside them. They are angels, and they bring a promise that has carried the church for two thousand years. "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." The story isn't over. The One who went up bodily will come back bodily. He will come visibly, gloriously, in person. Not a different Jesus. Not a feeling or a force. But "this same Jesus," with the same wounded hands and the same loving heart. His leaving is a promise of His return.
This is the Christian's living hope. We don't only look back to an empty tomb. We also look forward to a returning King. That hope changes how we wait. The angels nudge the disciples not to stand there frozen, gazing upward. They are to get on with the mission until He comes. Jesus told us that no one knows "that day and hour" (). So we don't set dates. We don't chase wild predictions. We stay ready and faithful, and we stay busy with the work He left us. We tell people about Him precisely because He is coming back. The best way to wait for the King is to keep making disciples until He arrives.
Around the Table
The angels made a promise. Jesus is coming back one day! He went up, and He will come down again. What a happy day that will be!
Let's do it: Point up, then bring your hands down. Say, "Jesus went up, and Jesus is coming back!"
The "same Jesus" who left will come back. He will return really and truly, in person. We get ready by following Him and telling others.
Let's talk: If Jesus could come back any day, how would you want Him to find our family living?
The angels promise a bodily, visible return, "in like manner as you saw Him go." We don't set dates. We simply stay faithful and ready.
Let's go deeper: Why does Jesus' promise to return give us more reason to share the gospel now, not less?
💬 Conversation Starter
Imagine a very important, very loved guest was coming to our house. But you didn't know exactly when. How would we keep things ready?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says… "Christians have predicted the end a hundred times and been wrong — so the 'second coming' is nonsense." Gently: those failed predictions actually disobey Jesus. He plainly said that no one knows the day or hour (). Setting dates is a human mistake, not a Bible promise. Here is what Scripture really teaches. The same Jesus who rose and ascended will return. Those events rest on eyewitness testimony. And we should live ready instead of guessing at calendars (). A promise isn't proven false by the people who twist it.
For Dad · Go Deeper
The second coming is meant to work as hope that works. It isn't a chart to decode or a fear to manage. It is a horizon that keeps a family faithful. Notice the angels' correction: "Why do you stand gazing up into heaven?" A view of the end times that leaves you paralyzed or obsessed with timelines has missed the point. The blessed hope is meant to make us watchful and useful. We are "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (). And that same passage says this hope teaches us to live "soberly, righteously, and godly" now. As you near the end of this year, let your kids see that you believe Jesus is really coming back. And let them see that it makes you kinder, holier, and bolder today.
Draws on: Stanley Horton, Our Destiny: Biblical Teachings on the Last Things.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, thank You for the promise that You are coming back. You are the same Jesus we love. Help our family wait well. Help us stay ready and faithful, and busy telling others about You. Come soon, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen."
The same Jesus who rose is coming back. So I'll wait by staying ready and telling others.