NOTES:
1] The omission of vv.12-13 panders to modern sensibilities. Should we 'rate' bits like this, prefacing them with a: 'Some viewers / listeners / readers may be disturbed....' tag?! 2] The passage has an 'apocalyptic' (revealing hidden things) flavour, but is earthed by Jesus' matter-of-factness. He sees that Jewish politicking will inevitably lead to the kind of destruction he talks of, the end of the Jewish world they know.

WARMING UP: Are we optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the world?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

1-2        Do we ever sense that our own church buildings have become the centre of attraction, & replaced God at the centre of faith & life? How do we feel about the fact that the 'grandest' of our buildings too easily become tourist destinations / family history centres, etc., more than places of worship? Or isn't that a problem? If our church building was destroyed in some manner, would we want to rebuild it exactly as it is now / build it somewhere else / build it differently / ..........? How are we - as Christians - to prevent getting ourselves bogged down in buildings & property, & become free to get on with our mission? Or has 'mission' become lost among the demands of property?

3-8       If by some means you had the opportunity of a 'private audience' with Jesus as Peter, James, John, & Andrew do here, would 'When will all these things take place?' be high on your agenda? Does 'living for today' mean we've lost too much concern for what God's 'tomorrow' might bring?
           Are we 'watchful', 'on our guard' etc., enough against those who deliberately or carelessly delude us as to the things of human beings & of God? Alert enough to cranks flourishing round us? Has fear of, say, terrorism pushed concerns / fears about life's eternal dimensions too far onto the back burner?
           If, as many believe, Jesus' focus is on what's going to happen in Palestine 40 years after he's speaking, how are we to take seriously what he says about wars, earthquakes, famines, etc., without falling into the trap of extremist / fundamentalist teachings about these being signs of an imminent end to this world? (In the Greek, Jesus speaks of these things as 'the beginning of birth- pangs'. See also Paul in RO 8:22-23) Does that imagery help us sort things out at  all? How can we live in our time & God's time at the same time without trying to force one onto the other?

9-13   'Religion' is commonly blamed today for wars & many other ills. How can we both take the truth of that seriously, yet at the same time move on to offer at least our own little world the Good News of God in Jesus Christ through his Spirit?
          Are we taking seriously enough the persecution of fellow Christians in many parts of the world & under different religions, regimes, etc.? Or do we hear so much / see so much on the news that the seriousness of the situation goes over our heads? Is it just God's problem? How do we feel about being so irrelevant today that we're not worth persecuting anyway?
          What steps are we actively taking to 'endure to the end'? The end of what?