The End of the Age

Audio Recording

Sermon Outline

Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Parables of the Kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 13:47-50 (ESV)
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Sermon Outline

1. Everyone will be gathered (v. 47)

2. Everyone will be sorted (v. 48-49)

3. Justice will be served (v. 49-50)

Prayer of Confession
Holy and righteous God, in your kingdom, there is no room for evil; only righteousness. Yet, we confess that we are not righteous, though, in our pride, we presume we are. We easily judge others but excuse ourselves. We wrongly assume that we deserve salvation. Forgive our sins. Thank you for you Jesus, who rescued us from the fiery furnace and who endured the judgment we deserved, so that we would not be cast away. Help us to cling to his righteousness alone. Lord, have mercy on us. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?

2. How would you describe someone who is “inside” or “outside” the kingdom of heaven?

3. Jesus says that the net gathered fish of every kind. What implications do you see for your own life, your friendships, your calling to be an ambassador of Jesus?

4. The final judgment will happen “at the end of the age.” Why not have judgment in real time? What difference(s) does this make?

5. In what ways does this passage inform your understanding of “righteousness”?

6. In what ways does this passage make you unsettled about the final judgment? How can there be assurance of our own salvation?

7. How might you see aspects of God’s compassion and love in this passage that appears to be focused only on judgment?

8. What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?