Gospel of the Kingdom

Introduction

Jump to:
Purpose & Process
Conclusion

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Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” - Mark 1:14-15

Have you ever heard someone in the church use the phrase Christianese? I look at this passage in Mark and see all sorts of Christianese (lingo that Christians use that can be confusing to someone inside and outside of the church) !

Gospel, fulfill, kingdom, repent, believe, gospel (again).

What do these words actually mean? It turns out that these words were extremely important in Jesus’ ministry! In some cases, these words were recorded as the first message of Jesus in his ministry.

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 4:17

But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose.” - Luke 4:43

Repent and believe in this good news of the kingdom of God!

Now, wherever you are, stop for a moment! Take a breath and think about the people around you. It could be someone right next to you, members of your family, your neighbors, your city, your state, your country, the world. Doesn’t Jesus’ message sound like something good we could all use in our culture right now?

I can sense that deep exhale of peace as you ran through this scenario in your mind! If you are a Christian, you know for certain how transformative a relationship with Jesus can be. Imagine how impactful it could be for the people around us!

Our cry for the lost is that they would repent and believe in the good news of the kingdom of God!

The reality is that Jesus has called you and me to be his representatives here on this earth to spread this gospel of the Kingdom! Jesus’ message becomes the message we share with others! His good news becomes our good news to the world! His gospel, our gospel!

So now I ask, would you be able to explain “the gospel of the kingdom of God”? Go ahead! Stop what you were doing, give it a try, and revisit your answer at the end of this series!

How did you describe the good news of God’s kingdom? Why should anyone repent from their ways in light of this kingdom? What is the good news that we are supposed to believe?

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. - 1 Peter 3:15

I have heard some say that the kingdom of God is a place in heaven, and all those who believe in Jesus will get there one day in the future.

I have heard others say that the kingdom of God is in the heart of those who believe in Christ and, therefore, they are given the ability to see life from God’s perspective.

I have heard some say that only a certain number of people will get into this kingdom of God. Others have said that everyone will someday be in the kingdom of God.

Surely, there are many other interpretations and understandings of God’s kingdom.

What if we took a step back and looked at the word gospel? As Jesus’ representatives, we are sent to share the gospel! Is there clarity in our hearts and minds about what the good news is?

Many of you are probably instinctively, and correctly, thinking about the cross right now! The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus! In no way is this series going to deviate from this core of the gospel message. Instead, the question we want to ask is what do the events of Jesus and the cross have to do with a Kingdom? In Matthew, why does the word kingdom appear 61 times while Jesus only explicitly outlines his death and resurrection only 3 times (Matt. 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19)?

Purpose

In this 10 week series, we have put together for you a “bird's-eye” perspective of the entire Bible. Over the course of our 10 week journey, you will receive a robust explanation as to why the Bible is trustworthy, then you will take a tour all the way from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation to explore the central message of the scriptures.

Our goal is simple: to equip you with clarity about the kingdom of God so that you might be able to go and share the gospel of Jesus and this kingdom!

At every step of the way, our intention is to illuminate Jesus through this “kingdom lens”. If you have never put on this lens or have never walked through the entire Bible, we hope that you will begin to see Jesus in a way that is beautiful, fresh, and vibrant so that your relationship might deepen with the living Jesus!

Process

Over the course of the next 10 weeks, you will be reading 4 entries per week written by various members of our 3Crosses staff. Each entry will take about 10 -15 minutes to read and includes passages primarily out of the ESV version of the Bible.

As you can imagine, we have a lot to cover over the next 10 weeks! The best way to think about this study is in the framework of a gospel conversation:

If someone approached me about the Bible or a particular passage in the Bible, could I use it to point them to the gospel of Jesus and the Kingdom of God?

Using this framework, each entry will navigate through selected passages of scripture. Some will stop at key locations, others will summarize points to keep the story moving forward. We know how easy it can be to skim through the readings, but we encourage you to slow down and soak in each verse for what the Holy Spirit might be saying to you!

There are no questions that follow each entry. Rather, we encourage you to approach these texts like you were reading a chapter in a novel. At the end of the entry, we welcome you to jot down your observations, reflections, and prayers so that you can refer to them in later group discussions.

On day 5, you will be given a brief summary of the week. You will also be encouraged to watch a fun Share the Gospel video that will help you navigate different objections that come up in gospel conversations! These are public videos and we encourage you to continue browsing different topics that interest you on your own!

You and your group will be given a set of Life Group questions alongside a short 2-3 sentence summary of each entry. These summaries were written so that you can easily remember what each section is all about! In your Life Group discussions, we invite you to point out any concepts that stood out to you or come up with your own questions based on your observations!

Finally, you will be assigned one major project and experience a couple of checkpoints along the way! More details coming in the weeks that follow!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:33

Personally, when I first heard verses like these, I thought that it meant that if I would learn to tithe, that God would teach me how to manage my money and that he would add to my earthly finances.

Sure, there may be some truth to what I believed about this verse when I first heard it, but over the years, I have come to believe that what Jesus was saying to those who sat at his feet and to every person today is that if we pursue righteous living and fully submit our lives to God’s will, that we could be assured that all necessary things would be given to us by God as demonstrated by his care for the birds and his concern for the grass:

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. - Matthew 6:26-32

With that being said, today as I share the gospel with others, I am reminded that the kingdom of God is not just a pie in the sky utopia on the other side of life or a kingdom here on earth with riches intended for just a certain few. I share with them that the kingdom of God is available now for everyone who believes in Jesus. They can be assured of God’s care and concern even in the midst of difficulty. I share with them that God’s kingdom expands from a life in Christ on earth to a heavenly kingdom where we eventually live with God throughout eternity!

We welcome you to join us as we (re)discover the central message of Jesus: Repent and believe in the good news of the kingdom of God!