40 to 50 minutes for personal study; 60 to 75 minutes with a group Understand mission as participation in God’s work through witness, disciple making, mercy, justice, and service. Speak about Jesus with truth, humility, and dependence on the Spirit. Describe Christian hope through Christ’s return, resurrection, judgment, eternal life, and new creation. Allow future hope to produce present courage and faithfulness. The Christian life does not end with private spiritual security. The risen Jesus turns his disciples toward the world. He sends them to bear witness, make disciples, serve their neighbors, care for the vulnerable, and embody the life of his kingdom. He also turns their eyes toward the future. Jesus will return. The dead will be raised. Evil will be judged. Creation will be renewed, and God will dwell with his people. Christian hope is not the hope that our souls will escape a world God intends to abandon. It is confidence that the God who raised Jesus will complete his work and make all things new. The risen Jesus sends his Spirit empowered people to bear faithful witness among the nations while they wait for his return, the resurrection, final justice, and the renewal of creation. Matthew 28:18-20 2 Peter 3:8-18 Revelation 21:1-8 Mission begins with God, not with the church's ambition. The Father sends the Son, the Father and Son give the Spirit, and the risen Jesus sends his disciples. We participate in a work that belongs to God. Christian witness includes words. The gospel announces Jesus as crucified, risen, and Lord and calls people to repentance and faith. Witness also has a manner. Peter tells believers to speak with gentleness and respect. Paul refuses manipulation and describes himself as an ambassador of reconciliation. The credibility of our words is strengthened when churches practice mercy, justice, hospitality, integrity, and sacrificial love. Making disciples is larger than gaining decisions. Jesus speaks of baptizing and teaching people to obey everything he commanded. Mission therefore includes patient formation within community. The Spirit gives courage, opens doors, distributes gifts, and sends people across social, cultural, and geographic boundaries. Christian hope gives mission its horizon. Jesus will return personally and visibly. Scripture speaks of resurrection, judgment, eternal life, and the defeat of death. Judgment means evil will not be ignored forever and every human life matters before God. For those who belong to Christ, judgment is faced in hope because the Judge is the Savior who gave himself for us. The final vision is new creation. God dwells with humanity; death, mourning, and pain are removed; the river of life flows; and the nations are healed. This hope does not make present creation disposable. Because God will renew his world and raise the body, work done in the Lord matters now. We seek justice, care for creation, serve our neighbors, endure suffering, and proclaim Christ because our labor in him is not wasted. Matthew 28:16-20: Make Disciples Mission rests on the risen Jesus’ authority. It includes going, baptizing, and teaching people to obey his commands. The goal is not merely a moment of agreement but a life of discipleship. Jesus closes with the promise of his presence, so the church never goes alone. Acts 1:6-11: Power to Be Witnesses The disciples ask about times and kingdoms, but Jesus directs them toward Spirit empowered witness. Their calling moves from Jerusalem outward to the ends of the earth. The angels’ promise that Jesus will return keeps mission between gift and hope: the Spirit has come, and the Lord will come again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 and 1 Peter 3:15-16: Message and Manner The love of Christ compels believers to live no longer for themselves. God entrusts the message of reconciliation to ordinary people. Peter adds that hope should be explained with gentleness, respect, and a clear conscience. Christian witness must reflect the Christ it proclaims. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 50-58: Resurrection and Faithful Work Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits of a coming harvest. Death will not have the final word. Paul ends this great resurrection chapter by calling believers to steadfast work because labor in the Lord is not in vain. Future hope gives weight to present faithfulness. Revelation 21-22: God Makes All Things New The Bible’s final vision brings heaven and earth together. God dwells with humanity, tears and death are removed, and the river and tree of life nourish a healed creation. The closing invitation remains open: the Spirit and the bride say, “Come,” and all who are thirsty may receive the water of life. Mission Participation in God’s sending work through gospel witness, disciple making, mercy, justice, service, and the life of the church. Witness Speaking and living truthfully about Jesus in the power of the Spirit. Second coming The promised personal return of Jesus Christ to complete his reign and renewal. Resurrection God’s raising of the dead into transformed embodied life, grounded in the resurrection of Jesus. New creation God’s promised renewal of heaven, earth, and human life under his presence and reign. Pray for one person by name and look for a natural opportunity to listen, serve, and speak honestly about Jesus. Let gentleness and respect shape witness without hiding the call to repentance and faith. Refuse both panic and passivity about the future. Christian hope produces steadiness, courage, holiness, and love. Treat care for people, justice, work, and creation as meaningful because resurrection and renewal are coming. Write a three minute account of what Jesus has done and why you trust him. Avoid religious performance; speak simply and truthfully. Share it with a trusted believer, then prayerfully look for an appropriate opportunity to share it with someone who is open. Also choose one act of mercy or justice that makes the hope of God’s kingdom visible this week. Risen Lord Jesus, fill us with your Spirit and send us with courage, gentleness, and truth. Keep us faithful while we wait for your return. Comfort those who suffer, awaken those who are far from you, and let our lives point toward the day when you make all things new. Amen. How is making disciples larger than seeking a one time decision? What makes Christian witness both truthful and respectful? How do resurrection and new creation change the meaning of present work? Which truth from this course now needs to become a practiced part of your life? Invite participants to summarize the gospel in their own words: creation, sin, covenant, Jesus, cross, resurrection, Spirit, church, mission, and new creation. Keep the shared Christian hope central rather than ending with speculative timelines. Give each learner time to identify one next step, one person to pray for, and one practice to continue. N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope. Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People. According to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), what is the mission of the church? To conquer nations by military might To make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded To stay hidden inside buildings and ignore society To accumulate land and political titles To make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded Jesus commissions his church to take the gospel to all peoples, making disciples under his supreme authority. What is the blessed hope of the Christian faith (Titus 2:13, Revelation 21:1-4)? Endless reincarnation into different animal species The glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection, final judgment, and the renewal of all creation The permanent destruction of the universe into eternal nothingness A gradual human political utopia achieved without God The glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection, final judgment, and the renewal of all creation Christian hope is anchored in Christ's triumphant return to banish sorrow, death, and evil, creating a new heaven and new earth. How does the promise of Jesus' return empower believers in present suffering? It teaches that suffering is not real It provides unshakable endurance, knowing that present light and momentary afflictions are preparing an eternal weight of glory It encourages laziness and abandoning daily duties It causes panic and irrational fear It provides unshakable endurance, knowing that present light and momentary afflictions are preparing an eternal weight of glory Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that future glory far outweighs present difficulties, anchoring believers in hope. How should disciples live while awaiting the return of Jesus (2 Peter 3:11-14)? By engaging in setting dates and sensational speculation In holy living and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, being diligent to be found spotless and blameless By compromising with worldly corruption By withdrawing from all social and family relationships In holy living and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, being diligent to be found spotless and blameless Future hope does not lead to escapism, but inspires holy, compassionate, and faithful witness in the present world. Eschatological and Missional Essay on the Great Commission and the Blessed Hope Write 700 to 900 words exploring the relationship between Christian mission and eschatological hope. Analyze the Great Commission in Matthew 28, the apocalyptic vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, and how the promise of Christ's return shapes present discipleship. Examine the authority, command, and abiding promise of [Jesus](/bible/explorer/person/jesus) in Matthew 28:18-20. Analyze Revelation 21:1-5 regarding the ultimate renewal of all creation and the banishment of death and sorrow. Critique unbiblical escapism, articulating how future resurrection hope drives energetic present service, mercy, and justice. Formulate a theological reflection on living with urgency and patience while awaiting Christ's second coming. The essay must be 700 to 900 words, cite biblical references accurately, engage the designated Bible Explorer links, and adhere to pastoral clarity without prohibited compound hyphens. Millennial perspectives regarding the sequence of Christ return and reign. Continuity and discontinuity between the present physical creation and the resurrected new creation. Revelation 21:5 declares Behold, I make all things new, indicating renewal rather than annihilation. Titus 2:13 uses the Granville Sharp rule linking our great God and Savior to Jesus Christ. Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation. NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999. Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979. Wright, N. T. Surprised by Hope. New York: HarperOne, 2008.