This Sunday we will study Mark 13, which is all about “Staying Spiritually Alert.” It is an amazing prophetic passage, in which Jesus preaches about the coming destruction of the Temple in 70AD, and His own coming in the future. Mark 13 is a fascinating text!

But more than telling us what is going to happen, Jesus is focused on helping us be prepared for what is going to happen. He tells us to be “watchful” and “alert.”

One thing we have to battle constantly as Christians is the tendency to let down our spiritual guard. We so easily forget that we are in a spiritual war, and that we have a supernatural enemy who wants to take us out. The moment we get spiritually lackadaisical, we are in trouble!

1 Peter 5:8-9a says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.”

And when we think about the return of Christ, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 says, “But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to the darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.”

That’s what we will talk about this Sunday. I can’t wait!

Also this Sunday we will welcome a dear brother to our services. He will share briefly in the morning service, and then at length in the evening. It is so exciting to know that our church is a part of reaching people in the hardest to reach places. We’ll hear a report this Sunday. It’s going to be a good one. See you then.

By His Grace, For His Glory, To The Nations,

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.