Trying to Organize my Thoughts

So, I don't really have a topic for this blog post, but I've got to blog about something, so I'll just start typing and see what comes up.

I'm teaching a lesson on the Second Coming today, but the basic lesson plan is the stuff I've been covering over the last week. I might start with "Looking Forward to the Second Coming," or I might finish with it, or I might not cover it at all. It was kind of personal, after all. But I'm definitely covering what Jesus will do when He comes again, possibly bringing up the question of chronology, and most likely mentioning the timeline of resurrection. I think some people will be interested in that.

I don't want to cover the Millennium too much because there will be a whole class on it next week, and there's also a section in this chapter about "How Will We Know When the Savior's Second Coming is Near?" But we had a lesson on the signs of the second coming last week. I might throw in some review, especially pointing out that only God know exactly when the second coming will happen, so we need to be prepared for it to happen any time.

Speaking of being prepared, I want to spend maybe about half of the lesson time talking about HOW to prepare for the second coming, repeating those four "Quick Tips" from yesterday. I think they'll like that.

Also, I'll want to mention the connection between celebrating the Savior's birth, or "First Coming," and anticipating His second coming. I've seen it in a New Era magazine, at the Elk Grove Nativities Festival, and this morning on Facebook. If that's not a nudge and a hint, it, at the very least, is still a good idea. Maybe I'll open with that, linking the birth of Christ to another exciting and well-prophesied event that we, like the shepherds, may be lucky enough to witness, assuming that we, like the wise men, are wise enough to prepare for it.

I might even throw in the contrast that the manual makes obvious: that though Jesus came quietly and humbly the first time, and not many people took notice, everyone will notice the second coming, as it will be (I'm estimating) the biggest event in the history of the earth. But if that distracts from the Christmas theme, I might have to leave it out. I don't want to try and upstage Christmas ten days prior.

This'll be a good lesson for this time of year. Refreshingly different, but with enough similarities to fit. Many of us have spent months preparing for Christmas and the application point of my message is to prepare for the second coming. I think it fits. I'll need to polish it a little more, I think, and maybe draw up a list of symbols and similarities, before I'm ready to present the concept to the class, but I'll have to wait to do that after I've gotten ready for church. I'm running out of time.