A Meeting In The Sky
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Sermon text: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
I remember the first time I read these Bible Verses in the 5th Grade. I was in Mrs. Woods Sunday School class, and as she read these verses and explained that Jesus was coming back and all of the imagery that we will be considering today, I raised my hand and said very confidently, "Mrs. Woods. I firmly believe that is going to happen in my lifetime!" So, I don't want to freak you out, but I have always believed this would happen in my lifetime. But I think that we are all supposed to think about the return of Jesus in that way. God says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The things we are going to consider today should be viewed as though they can happen at any moment.
So, what specifically are we anticipating?
"Your eschatology will inevitably shape your ecclesiology." That is just a fancy way of saying that what you believe about the "end times" will impact your view of how the church is supposed to operate until Jesus comes back. There were some in the Thessalonian church who were hopeless because they had loved ones who had already died. There were others that didn't see the purpose of work if Jesus was coming back soon, and they became a burden to their community. Others were uncertain about their own resurrection. Zooming out, there are some who don't think Jesus is coming back at all. There are some who take the approach to life that we should give way to the flesh because the flesh is temporary and we only have so much time to enjoy it. Others become so burdened about the reality of death, that they fall into despair and hopelessness. I remember the moment when I was about 10 years old that I realized that one day my parents would die.... Field of Dreams... And they used these words to encourage me... that one day Jesus is coming back and those who have put their faith in him will rise from the graves and, as followers of Christ, we will be together with Jesus FOREVER!
So let's look together at these encouraging words and figure out how to use them to encourage one another, so that we don't grieve without hope and so that we are not uninformed!
1.) Jesus will RETURN!
16 "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."
• This is meant to encourage and inform the fainthearted
• He will descend from heaven with a cry of command
• With the voice of an archangel
• Personal and Powerful "visitation"
2.) Jesus will RESURRECT the dead in Christ!
"And the dead in Christ will rise first. "
• Rather than bodies with souls, we are souls with bodies... embodied souls.
• Graveyards Empty! A meeting in the sky!
• Consider some population data...
3.) Jesus will RAPTURE those alive in Christ!
17 "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds"
• Imagine the spectacle and joy.
• The moment we transition from anticipating Christ's return to experiencing it.
4.) Jesus will REUNITE all of His children with one another and Himself!
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
• "together with them"
• "to meet the Lord"
• "so we will always be with the Lord"
Application:
If you found out that Jesus was coming back next week, what would you change? Consider your time, resources, efforts, discussions... The idea is that you are always living as though Jesus could return at any moment.
Mystery and Victory
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood vcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the wimperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last ytrumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and athis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
b“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and dthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the evictory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be fsteadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
I remember the first time I read these Bible Verses in the 5th Grade. I was in Mrs. Woods Sunday School class, and as she read these verses and explained that Jesus was coming back and all of the imagery that we will be considering today, I raised my hand and said very confidently, "Mrs. Woods. I firmly believe that is going to happen in my lifetime!" So, I don't want to freak you out, but I have always believed this would happen in my lifetime. But I think that we are all supposed to think about the return of Jesus in that way. God says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The things we are going to consider today should be viewed as though they can happen at any moment.
So, what specifically are we anticipating?
"Your eschatology will inevitably shape your ecclesiology." That is just a fancy way of saying that what you believe about the "end times" will impact your view of how the church is supposed to operate until Jesus comes back. There were some in the Thessalonian church who were hopeless because they had loved ones who had already died. There were others that didn't see the purpose of work if Jesus was coming back soon, and they became a burden to their community. Others were uncertain about their own resurrection. Zooming out, there are some who don't think Jesus is coming back at all. There are some who take the approach to life that we should give way to the flesh because the flesh is temporary and we only have so much time to enjoy it. Others become so burdened about the reality of death, that they fall into despair and hopelessness. I remember the moment when I was about 10 years old that I realized that one day my parents would die.... Field of Dreams... And they used these words to encourage me... that one day Jesus is coming back and those who have put their faith in him will rise from the graves and, as followers of Christ, we will be together with Jesus FOREVER!
So let's look together at these encouraging words and figure out how to use them to encourage one another, so that we don't grieve without hope and so that we are not uninformed!
1.) Jesus will RETURN!
16 "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."
• This is meant to encourage and inform the fainthearted
• He will descend from heaven with a cry of command
• With the voice of an archangel
• Personal and Powerful "visitation"
2.) Jesus will RESURRECT the dead in Christ!
"And the dead in Christ will rise first. "
• Rather than bodies with souls, we are souls with bodies... embodied souls.
• Graveyards Empty! A meeting in the sky!
• Consider some population data...
3.) Jesus will RAPTURE those alive in Christ!
17 "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds"
• Imagine the spectacle and joy.
• The moment we transition from anticipating Christ's return to experiencing it.
4.) Jesus will REUNITE all of His children with one another and Himself!
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
• "together with them"
• "to meet the Lord"
• "so we will always be with the Lord"
Application:
If you found out that Jesus was coming back next week, what would you change? Consider your time, resources, efforts, discussions... The idea is that you are always living as though Jesus could return at any moment.
Mystery and Victory
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood vcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the wimperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last ytrumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and athis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
b“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and dthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the evictory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be fsteadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Discipleship Questions:
- Do you anticipate the return of Jesus regularly and accurately?
- Were there any details about the return of Jesus that surprised you?
- If you knew Jesus was coming back in 3 days, what changes would you make in your life? Why?
- Are we bodies with souls or souls with bodies? Why does it matter?
- “So we will always be with the Lord”. How will that be better than your life now?
- Why do you think we are not allowed to know when Jesus will come back?
- These words were meant for encouragement. Who do you need to encourage with these words?
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