November 16, 2025 Sermon
Sermon Title: “Wars and Rumors of Wars”
Scripture: Luke 21:5-19
(Other lectionary suggestions include Isaiah 65:17-25, Isaiah 12, and II Thessalonians 3:6-13.)
Luke 21:5-19
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
Signs and Persecutions
7They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. 9“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Whenever today’s Scripture lesson comes up, I’m glad, because it’s good to hear the words of Jesus (as reported by Luke) telling us NOT to go after those who say the end is near. I think the Gospel of Matthew has a similar passage. As far as the first part of the reading is concerned, when Jesus says, “one stone won’t be left upon another,” speaking of the Temple, remember what happened in 70 A.D. This was after the time of Jesus, and we know that the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion against their occupiers. Now Jesus was either very smart - and I believe he was! - or Luke wrote about these things after the fact. Both could be true: Jesus being smart and Luke writing stuff down after the fact. Both Jesus and Luke want people to know that after Jesus is gone, there will be tribulations. Jesus says, “They will arrest you and persecute you,” and they DID! But that does not mean the end is near. There will be wars and rumors of wars, which is today’s sermon’s title. There will be earthquakes and famines, and we have certainly had those! But that doesn’t mean the end is near. So don’t follow after some bozo who says he knows the end is near. It’s NOT!
Says N.T. Wright, the British scholar, “Wherever Christians are persecuted for their faith .....they need not only the prayers and support of their fellow believers in more fortunate places, but also the comfort and encouragement...” of the words of Jesus, who said, “Don’t let anyone deceive you.”
Once again, I discovered a Sermon Resource, and a preacher named Brian Conklin preached a sermon two years ago on the topic of Wars and Rumors of Wars. Here is part of what he said.
“Wars are happening all around the world and even more are rumored about to start.” What should the Christian response be?
Says the Rev. Mr. Conklin: “Remember, despite the wars and rumors of wars that we face, we can still choose to be instruments of peace. We can still choose love over hate, compassion over cruelty, and understanding over ignorance. We have the power to turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. We have the power to bring peace to our world. We have the ultimate answer to all of the strife in this world, and that is Jesus.” Amen. Do you believe that?
Pastor Skip
