The Kingdom
So lets talk about the kingdom of heaven. If you were not able to join us on Sunday we began our three month long journey through the Gospel according to Matthew. We will be discovering what the kingdom of heaven that Jesus often spoke about is.
Here are some stories told by Jesus and recorded by Matthew. Read one, read two, or even read them all.
Matthew 13.31-35 (page 586 in the Renovatus Bibles)
Matthew 18.21-35 (590)
Matthew 19.16-30 (590)
Matthew 20.1-16 (590-591)
Matthew 22.1-14 (592)
Lets teach eachother. Lets challenge eachother. Lets question eachother. What is this kingdom? What was Jesus teaching? How do you live it out? Do you have any insights, understanding, observations, or questions that should be shared with the community? Don't be shy...interact...discuss...
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7 comments:
Ok, I'll start.
Here's something cool I learned about the mustard plant. It grows like a weed. Actually, if it grows in the wrong place it is a weed. In the time period that Jesus was teaching everybody was familiar with the mustard plant. Though it was useful it was quite a nuisance. The tiny seeds could fall between cracks and the plant as it grew would split rocks in half. They grow rapidly and spread quickly. Imagine that as Jesus is teaching people are looking around and seeing that darn mustard plant growing out of cracks on the side of buildings, in gardens, and as a weed.
That might be the images that the early listener of Matthew 13.31-32 would immediately get from Jesus' words...
does that add or change the meaning or our understanding of his words?
I sorta like the idea of being a part of "The Weed Church of Christ!" I want to out-grow the gym! I want us to PERMEATE our community. I wanna spread!
I came across Matthew 11:12 that says, "And from the time John the Baptist began preaching that the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it."
Sometimes we wimp-out and whine about the attacks that we Christ-followers experience ... and maybe we ought to party instead, because the Kingdom is FORCEFULLY advancing, so naturally, violent people are attacking it! Maybe we start including into our verbage things like: "Sweet! Your life really stinks! That's awesome! You must be part of THE FORCE!"
Kevin
THE FORCE -- kind of counters the mamby-pamby label Christians often receive. There are many references to Christian soldiers in The Word; Philippians 2:25, II Timothy 2:3&4, Philemon 1:2, to name a few. Any Kingdom worth its salt must have soldiers!
Roy
I'm sorry, but I can only think of Star Wars...but...
warlike imagery, soldiers, spiritual warfare, attack, and the like always hit me wrong. Maybe it is because it would drum up images of the crusades or whatever. But it always made me nervous that people would get the wrong taste in their mouth by us using war imagery. ON THE OTHER HAND, the inherent problem I had/have with that is that it is often put in terms of "us" (christ followers) against "the world" (everybody else). But if our we spoke about fighting against darkness and hell...wait let me change that, if we didn't just talk about it but actually physically fought against darkness wherever we found it...that I like. I think that communicates to the universe better who Christ was/is. And my understanding of what fighting against darkness is, is both spiritual and physical.
Indeed - the warfare that Christians fight must NOT be Crusade-like - true converts are never won by the sword. Our enemy is not people, but the darkness which wants to consume us. That is what Kingdom people must fight against.
~roy
We work SO hard to STOP acting immature and childish, but Jesus frequently said we need to be MORE like children. What do you suppose He meant? What is it that we "mature grown-ups" need to recapture?
Matthew 18:3-4 (page 589)
Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 19:14 (page 590)
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Thank you for blogging this study. Renovatus is ministering to our family from 3 hours away!!!!
With recent developments in Hadley's health I've been doing a lot of wondering and worrying about the afterlife. What do I believe? What am I to teach she and the boys...etc.
This will be a very personal and emotional study for me. Thank you for the guidance!
With Love and HOPE,
Angela
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