The Kingdom of God
One of the greatest themes of the Bible is the kingdom of God. That theme weaves throughout the entire Bible, tying the Old and New Testaments together around the reality that God is King. Jesus began his ministry in Mark’s Gospel by proclaiming: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).
But what does the kingdom of God mean for us today where we live and with what we face? Particularly, how do we navigate being “in the world” but not “of the world” (John 17:14-18) when it comes to living the kingdom in our everyday lives and the world around us? With our present cultural moment more polarized than ever, we need to regain our footing in the fullness of God’s kingdom that orients us toward God as King, Jesus as Lord, and the Spirit as present in the church.
What does our faith mean in relation to the wide variety of publicly debated concerns in our society, like abortion, marriage, healthcare, economic models, and more? We will begin to construct a biblical framework for thoughtful Christian engagement with these various concerns. We also plan to consider what it means to live together and converse with one another as God’s people, even when we may not see everything from the same perspective as we engage in the public sphere. SERMON OUTLINE…
When Jesus proclaimed that “the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15), He declared the radical in-breaking of God’s rule and reign. Based on exploration of the nature of the kingdom of God, we now explore how God’s kingdom relates to the kingdoms of this world? We will explore some basic approaches to “Christ and Culture” over the history of the church. We will also consider what it means that Jesus is King in relation to our earthly citizenship.…
The basic declaration of faith for the Christian is “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9). This flies in the face of the declaration that “Caesar is Lord” at the heart of the Roman Empire during the time of the New Testament. What did it mean to live in God’s kingdom then and what does it mean now? We will look at Philippians as a kingdom citizenship guide and also explore guidance from Colossians on seeing the Church as a replacement of…
Jesus the Messiah and the kingdom of God/heaven. We will explore Jesus’ description of the kingdom, the nature of the gospel, kingdom parables, kingdom ethics, as well as conflict between Jesus and other kingdoms. We will touch on living in the “now” and “not yet” of the kingdom, with attention to the fullness of the kingdom in the New Testament as described in Hebrews and Revelation. Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 5-7; John 18:33-36; Hebrews 11:10, 13, 14; Revelation 7:9-10;…
The fundamental reality of Scripture is that God is king of the world. We will trace the theme of the kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament, with examples from Adam and Eve, Samuel and the judges, King Saul and King David, the prophets and exile, Daniel’s apocalyptic, and Messianic expectations. Genesis 1-2; 1 Samuel 8:1-9; Psalm 24; Daniel 2:29-49; 7:1-28 SERMON OUTLINE “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty.” (Psalm 24:8) God is King over…
