Jesus is coming back. Maybe soon. Maybe even today. Perhaps last Sunday was my last chance to preach the Gospel from the pulpit and maybe, just maybe, it was the last chance for somebody to respond to it. The date of the promised day when Jesus returns has been set and is even now fast approaching. Although no one knows the day or the hour of His appearing the Bible has told us that the day is coming like a thief in the night, at a moment we do not expect. In Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus instructs his disciples concerning His appearing at the end of the age, and nestled in the midst of that teaching are three parables told in quick succession. Taken together they instruct us powerfully on how we should live in light of Jesus’ promise that He would come back for us. Between now and Sunday please try to find time to read both chapters in their entirety. We’ll be zeroing in on the parables, but the surrounding context will help us understand them better. So, if you can find the time, read chapters 24 and 25. The specific verses where we find the parables are Matthew 24:45-51 (The Parable of the Wicked Servant), Matthew 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins), and Matthew 25:14-30 (The Parable of the Talents). We could easily devote a morning to each of these, but Jesus presented them together as a unified whole so we will try and tackle them that way.