Ticket to Ride

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Prop: an airline ticket or poster of Homecoming by Danny Hahlbohm.

Summary: When Jesus returns believers will meet Him in the air.

Look what I brought with me today. It is an airline ticket. Have you ever flown on an airplane? To fly on a plane you must first buy a ticket. Shortly after takeoff the plane climbs higher and higher until it passes through the clouds. On a cloudy day once you pass through the clouds, suddenly you see the sun shining brightly above the clouds. If you glance out the window you look down below and see the clouds. It looks like a sea of puffy marshmallows. It is a beautiful sight.

Now we are not eagles and we have no wings to fly. We can’t soar through the clouds like Peter Pan. But did you know that the Bible says that one day we will be caught up in the clouds and meet Jesus in the air?

(Read 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) The Bible says that every one who has already died that trusted Jesus as their Savior will be raised from the dead first, and then everyone that is alive that believes on Jesus will suddenly meet Jesus in the air! Jesus himself spoke about a day when he would return from heaven to get us in Matthew 24:31 saying And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

But that’s not all. The Bible says we will be given a new body when this happens. It won’t be made of flesh and blood like we have now, but it will be a spiritual body that will last forever. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-53] Can you blink your eyes really fast? Let’s try it. [Get the children to blink their eyes as fast as possible.) A twinkling of an eye is even faster than a blink I think. So Jesus is going to change our bodies very fast. The new body will not grow old and die anymore.

When will all this happen? I don’t know. It could happen at any moment. Only God the Father knows of the day and hour He will send Jesus to meet us. It will surely happen and all you need is a ticket for the ride of your life. And the ticket is this: Ask Jesus to be your Savior. He has already paid the price for your ticket when he died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead three days later. He is God’s Son and is alive forevermore. One day he is coming back. I hope you will ask Him to be your Savior so you can be picked up by an angel to meet Him in the air!

©1999 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

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