“Nowhere in Scripture do we see sentimental wishful thinking. What we see is mankind’s devastating separation from God; the death of countless sacrificial lambs; the hard, agonizing work of Christ’s redemption; the tangible nature of His resurrection; and the promise of coming judgment. At last we see the restoration of God’s ideal universe, fulfilling His plan of the ages, culminating in a resurrected people living with Him on a resurrected Earth.
“In 1672, the East held a Synod to respond to the Protestant Reformation… At Jerusalem, the East condemned the core tenets of the Reformation, canonized a false gospel, and declared that salvation was impossible outside the Orthodox church.” - Christ Over All
“This change of citizenship, Paul continues, comprehensively reorients lifestyle for the sake of authenticating the gospel of Jesus Christ… whose call to a humble life of obedient sacrifice (Philippians 2:5-11) contrasts categorically with the ‘might makes right,’ ‘right of conquest’ global politic that dominated the ancient world’s successive global empires.” - Providence
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20–21)
“The kingdom of God is within you.” That’s what Jesus said. Do these words imply a spiritual kingdom? Did Jesus defy first-century expectations of a physical kingdom of God on earth by replacing it with a spiritual kingdom where He reigns in the hearts of men?
“Notice three things that Peter did in his evangelistic preaching that those of us who preach the Gospel can also do.” - Baptist Press
“Should Sunday sermons be evangelistic—or focused on believers? In this episode, Matt Smethurst, Ligon Duncan, and Garrett Kell tackle a false dichotomy: faithful preaching should do both.” - TGC
Preach the kingdom? Is that the same as preaching the gospel? What about the gospel of the kingdom?
The Great Commission is clear: preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). But when the early church obeyed this command, they also preached the kingdom of God (Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom as He offered the kingdom to Israel (Mark 1:14). Yet, He also spoke of the gospel of the kingdom being proclaimed in a future Tribulation (Matthew 24:14). What should we preach today? How should we preach it?
“At some point, the gold page moved from after the white page to the beginning…. the gold page starts with an introduction to who God is and then where He lives. 100 years ago, most children not only had some understanding of God, but also believed He existed. Today, the idea of God is foreign to most unchurched children.” - P&D
“Most people fall flat with their New Year’s resolutions because what they really want is to change the window dressing in their lives rather than things that are at the core of their being.” - P&D
A little more than 2,000 years ago, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4, NKJV). It was exactly the right time, as predicted by Daniel (cf. 9:25) and confirmed by Jesus (cf. Luke 19:41-44).
It was also the right place—Bethlehem, six miles south of Jerusalem. Seven hundred years earlier, Micah wrote:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting. (Mic. 5:2)
