Defining Moments

Join us at the Conejo Creek North Park this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. for our annual Celebration and Picnic in the Park. Enjoy the teaching, great music, sumptuous food, games, fellowship and more!


That Will be the Day

In Luke chapter 21, the Disciples ask the questions we would all like answered: “When will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7). The “things” are the events of the last days; the apocalypse.

Jesus proceeds to give the Disciples several indicators of history winding down and His imminent return. Do you find it coincidental that most of these indicators are present today? Or, that the vast majority of TV minutes and the paper and ink dedicated to news concern the very place where the disciples asked their questions? Is it mere coincidence that the ground upon which they were standing would be the focus of the world, 2,000 years later? Is it just coincidental that the same place Jesus pegged as being crucial to the events of the last days is center-stage on the world scene today? Coincidence? Not!

There are many end times scenarios which appear in various faiths and in different cultures. But there is none that so closely matches the actual current events and other factors we find as part of contemporary life. No account of last things can compare to that recorded in Scripture. We live in exciting times!

With the current heating up of strife in the Middle East, we’re reminded to be aware of Christ’s coming. It might be soon and definitely sooner than most people think! But that awareness is not simply for curiosity’s sake. Millions of books on the subject are purchased by the curious. What are all those people doing about what they’re reading?

Jesus encourages action in light of His coming re-entry and touch-down on planet earth. He doesn’t share the facts surrounding His second coming for entertainment purposes only. As goose-bump-producing as the information may be, end times teaching is not simply presented for the sake of drawing a crowd. Jesus intended that those of us who may very well be the generation to which He referred; the generation that would produce the final harvest of souls before the rapture of the church, would get busy. In other words, talk fast; He’s coming!

One of the most fascinating elements surrounding Christ’s return is the fact that Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple, yet there must be a temple standing in Jerusalem when the events Jesus describes take place in the end. Since the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered from their land in A.D. 70, there could have been no rebuilding in the first century. Nothing had changed by the second century, or third, or fourth, or fifth…or nineteenth! Then suddenly, during or just prior to our lifetimes, in 1948, everything changed! The Jews returned to their land and subsequently, Israel was recognized as a nation again. The countdown began in earnest!

That makes us the first generation since Christ’s earthly ministry that could possibly see His predictions fulfilled. Talk about goose-bumps! Wow!

As Jesus described the last days to His disciples, it sounded scary. It sounds scary today. However, Jesus assured them (and us): “But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony” (Luke 21:13). Do you take advantage of the opportunity?

Who needs to hear your testimony in light of the fact that it may be your last chance to share it? If Jesus were to snatch the church away today, who would you be wishing you had told? Well, what’s stopping you? Get past the goose-bumps and get busy! Talk fast—real fast; He’s coming soon—real soon! Bring someone to LOCC who needs to hear this important message this Sunday.


“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” ─2 Peter 3:13