THE KING HAS RETURNED | Pastor Jay Rice | I Love to Tell the Story

Devotional

Day 1: While They Were Gazing Up

The disciples stood frozen on the Mount of Olives, necks craned as Jesus vanished into clouds. Two men in white broke their trance: “Why stare at the sky? He’ll return the same way you saw Him go.” Their words hung like a promise—not a farewell, but an intermission. The risen Lord would come back to finish His story. [31:36]

Jesus’ ascension wasn’t abandonment. He left visibly to return visibly. The disciples’ hope wasn’t wishful thinking—it was rooted in the physical reality of His resurrected body ascending, guaranteeing His bodily return. Angels interrupted their gazing to redirect them toward active waiting.

Many of us fixate on heaven while neglecting our mission here. We spiritualize Christ’s return instead of letting it fuel urgent obedience. What earthly distraction have you let replace your readiness for His coming?

“While they were gazing intently into the sky as He was going, suddenly two men in white clothes stood with them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.’”
(Acts 1:10-11, HCSB)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to shift your gaze from passive sky-watching to purposeful preparation.
Challenge: Write down one area of complacency you’ll surrender today.

Day 2: Groaning for Glory

Paul compared our bodies to worn tents—aching joints, fading strength, mortality’s weight. Yet he called these groans “birth pains,” not death rattles. Resurrection isn’t escape from flesh but redemption of it. The same power that raised Lazarus’ decaying body will remake ours imperishable. [44:21]

Jesus didn’t discard His scars after rising—He made them proof of victory. Our resurrection bodies won’t erase our stories but perfect them. Back pain, cancer scars, and aging knees will exchange frailty for indestructible glory—not less human, but fully human as God intended.

You groan when stairs feel steeper or sleep brings no rest. But what if your body’s fragility isn’t failure—it’s a reminder of coming wholeness? Where do you need to trade resignation for resurrection hope today?

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.”
(1 Corinthians 15:42-44, HCSB)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific ways your body points to future redemption.
Challenge: Touch your knee or shoulder while praying—bless it as future glory in process.

Day 3: Creation Holds Its Breath

Thorns choked the ground after Eden’s curse. Storms erode coastlines; deserts swallow fertile land. Yet Paul says creation itself “waits with eager longing” for Christ’s return. The earth isn’t doomed—it’s pregnant, straining toward deliverance. Even volcanoes and hurricanes whisper: “Not like this forever.” [48:47]

Jesus’ redemption plan includes dirt and DNA. The same voice that calmed storms will silence earthquakes. The hands that multiplied loaves will restore soil’s richness. When He returns, nature won’t be destroyed but detoxified—every leaf reflecting God’s original design.

What brokenness in your environment—blighted parks, polluted rivers, concrete sprawl—makes you sigh for restoration? How might tending creation today declare hope in its renewal?

“For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
(Romans 8:20-21, HCSB)

Prayer: Confess ways you’ve exploited creation; ask God to make you a healing gardener.
Challenge: Plant seeds or pick up litter while praying over that ground’s future redemption.

Day 4: Purified by the Promise

John didn’t scold believers for impurity—he anchored their holiness to hope. “When He appears,” he wrote, “we’ll be like Him.” The certainty of Christ’s return isn’t just comfort—it’s a refining fire. Farmers don’t polish barns before hurricanes, but brides scrub homes awaiting grooms. [51:33]

Jesus’ first coming required a manger; His second demands a throne room. Our preparation isn’t earning approval but aligning with His worthiness. Every forgiven sin, every resisted temptation, polishes our wedding garments for the Bridegroom’s arrival.

What habit or attitude would embarrass you if Jesus walked in today? Not to shame you—but to spotlight what He’s eager to burn away.

“Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.”
(1 John 3:2-3, HCSB)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to replace one compromise with His purity before nightfall.
Challenge: Delete one app/song/contact that dulls your readiness for His appearing.

Day 5: Trumpet Over Traffic

Matthew recorded Jesus’ return as global headline—not conspiracy theory. Tribes will mourn, stars will fall, and every eye will see Him. No secret rapture, no hidden codes—just undeniable glory rupturing the sky. The King’s arrival needs no viral marketing campaign. [39:07]

Jesus’ second coming transcends end-times debates. It’s the ultimate invasion of light—no darkness, doubt, or death will survive it. Our task isn’t predicting dates but proclaiming hope to those still hiding in caves of fear.

Who in your orbit lives like the King isn’t coming? How can your words or actions today disrupt their despair with His certain victory?

“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.”
(Matthew 24:14, HCSB)

Prayer: Name three people who need to hear about Christ’s return; ask for boldness.
Challenge: Share one verse about Jesus’ second coming in a text conversation today.

Sermon Summary

God will return in a definitive, world changing way. Scripture saturates the hope of Christ coming again, and that hope grounded the earliest Christian communities. The coming will not be hidden or symbolic but visible and cosmic, accompanied by trumpet calls, the raising of the dead, and the gathering of God’s people. That return brings real, bodily resurrection and everlasting life for the redeemed, while also carrying final judgment for those who reject God. Redemption extends beyond people to the created order so that the earth itself will be liberated and restored to the intent of the Creator.

This future reality shapes present behavior. Expectation of Christ’s appearing trains believers to renounce ungodliness and to pursue self control, uprightness, and godliness now. Holiness becomes not a checkbox for gaining salvation but a grateful response to the promise of being like Christ when he appears. The promise comforts in grief, because death will not have the last word; it also provokes urgency in evangelism and practical holiness because some will face separation from God. Communion and repentance serve as concrete practices that orient life toward that day: remembering Christ’s sacrifice should move hearts to prepare, to confess, and to live with eyes fixed on the coming kingdom.

Finally, the return of Christ offers both assurance and sober warning. Assurance in that God will raise and transform bodies, make all things new, and bring heaven to earth. Warning in that God honors human freedom; persistent rejection of the gifts already offered results in exclusion from the fullness of life he brings. The truth of Christ’s return intends to kindle longing, to steady faith in suffering, and to sharpen moral formation so that when the trumpet sounds, God’s people will greet him with joy.

Key Takeaways

1. The return of Christ is central This event anchors the biblical story and fuels Christian hope. More than prophecy trivia, the expectation of Christ’s return frames worship, suffering, mourning, and mission. Remembering that history moves toward his appearing brings perspective to present troubles and motivates patient endurance. [32:23]
2. The coming will be unmistakably public Scripture describes cosmic signs and trumpet calls that make the return impossible to miss. That clarity removes any comfort in secret schemes or date setting and calls believers to steady vigilance instead of sensationalism. Expectation becomes a sober readiness, not anxious speculation. [37:48]
3. Resurrection transforms body and creation The promise covers renewed, glorious bodies for believers and the liberation of creation from corruption. Redemption is holistic: souls restored, bodies glorified, and the world itself renewed to God’s design. This hope reorders care for the body and creation as part of covenantal hope. [43:31]
4. Anticipation fuels holy living now Longing for Christ’s appearing trains Christians to renounce ungodliness and practice self control. Hope is not passive; it disciplines desire and reorients daily choices toward righteousness. The expectation of standing blameless before Christ becomes motive for repentance and perseverance. [53:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:20] - Church life and testimony
[23:01] - Memorial Day single service note
[30:18] - Why discuss the return of Christ
[32:23] - Biblical prevalence of prophecy
[37:48] - The return will be unmistakable
[40:32] - Resurrection and everlasting life explained
[43:31] - Physical resurrection and new bodies
[47:58] - Creation restored and heaven on earth
[50:28] - How hope drives holy living
[60:20] - Communion and invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Titus 2:11-14 (ESV)
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."

1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)
"Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."

Observation questions

According to Titus 2:11-14, how does the hope of Christ’s return shape the way believers are called to live in the present?
What specific cosmic signs does Jesus mention in Matthew 24:29-30 to emphasize that His return will be unmistakable? [37:48]
How does 1 John 3:2-3 connect the promise of being “like Christ” at His return to the pursuit of holiness now?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, what sequence of events accompanies Christ’s return, and what assurance does this give believers? [41:53]

Interpretation questions

Why might the public, cosmic nature of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:29-30) matter for how believers view His ultimate authority and the finality of His judgment?
How does the promise of a physical resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) challenge common misconceptions about eternal life being only a “spiritual” existence? [43:31]
Titus 2:12 says God’s grace “trains us” to live godly lives. What does this imply about the relationship between grace, effort, and hope in the Christian life?
The sermon emphasized that Christ’s return is both a comfort and a warning. How do these two aspects work together to shape a balanced view of the gospel? [55:23]

Application questions

If the return of Christ is meant to fuel urgency in holy living, what is one area of “worldly passion” (Titus 2:12) you feel challenged to renounce this week? How can you take practical steps to replace it with godliness?
The sermon mentioned that procrastinating spiritual growth is like ignoring retirement savings at age 17 [27:05]. Where have you been “kicking the can down the road” in your walk with God, and what would it look like to address it now?
How might your daily choices (e.g., care for your body, stewardship of creation) change if you fully embraced the hope of a renewed physical world and resurrected body? [47:58]
The early church found comfort in Christ’s return amid suffering. What current struggle or grief could you entrust to God today, remembering that “death will not have the last word”?
The sermon urged believers to share the gospel urgently [56:46]. Who in your life needs to hear about the hope of Christ’s return, and how could you start that conversation this month?
Communion was described as a practice that “orients life toward that day” [01:00:20]. How can regularly reflecting on Christ’s sacrifice deepen your readiness and longing for His return?

Sermon Clips

47s

#ReadyForHisReturn

“I cannot wait for that day. When we stand in that place and declare to Christ face to face, you alone are worthy. There's no one else who's worthy but you. And we get to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. I long for that day. But in between now, this day, and that day, I pray, I hope that this understanding, this knowledge that Christ is coming, and that it's sooner today than it was yesterday will be fuel to the fire. It'll challenge you to get rid of all that other stuff. To stop kicking the can down the road, to start saying, okay, I'm gonna live for Christ now. I'm gonna go out and tell everybody else now.”

45s

#GodHonorsOurChoice

“How could a loving God send somebody to to punishment? How could how could a loving God he says he loves us. It's his his kindness that brings us to repentance. Like, I don't see that as very kind. How could how could someone who claims to love how how could God do something? Like, how could he send people to hell? I remember struggling with this years ago, and a wise old professor of mine, he's probably 40. Right? So I was a wise, wise old professor. He looked at me and he said, Jay, it's not so much that God sends people there. It's that God chooses to honor their choice because that's what they chose.”

52s

#GloriousNewBodies

“I'd say this every single memorial service I'm at, every single funeral that I I get the privilege and the honor of of performing. I tell people, listen. In the new heaven, new earth, there's no sickness anymore. There's no pain anymore. There's no crying. There's no grief. There's no back pain rolling out of bed when you're 51 years old. There's no exhaustion. There's no knee surgeries needed. Then then we get these glorious, amazing, new, perfected bodies just like we're supposed to have all the way back in the beginning when Adam and Eve were created. It was perfect. It was not just good. It was very good. That's what we get to look forward to at the return of Christ.”

44s

#CreationRestored

“It's this idea that the earth itself gets put back. Because remember, we talked about this. When God made the world initially, it was perfect. Everything was perfect. We didn't have to deal with earthquakes and famine and flood and drought and, any of that kind of stuff. We didn't have to deal with that. We didn't have sickness. We didn't have viruses. We didn't have any of these other problems that are just part and parcel with with with life on this planet. When Jesus comes back, all of it gets restored. All of it gets redeemed. All of it gets put back the way it was supposed to be. All the way in the very very beginning in the Garden of Eden. Even creation itself is transformed and perfected.”

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