Learning for Life: 9:30 am
Worship: 11:00 am

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Bulletin: January 22, 2012

Scripture: Zechariah 14:6-9, Psalm 145:10-13, Galatians 3:6,29, Matthew 10:1,7-15

Songs:
Praise: Rejoice, The Lord Is King! (lyrics & melody, video, history, 2)
Preparation: We Gather Together (lyrics & melody, video, history, 2, 3)
Response: Rise Up, O Church of God (lyrics & melody, men’s chorus, keaggy, baptists, devotional)

Rev. Mark McKim

In these early weeks of the New Year we are focusing on the concept of “the Kingdom of God” as we find it in Scripture. The Kingdom of God was the central theme of the preaching of Jesus. He talked about it all the time. And of course he gave a very simple definition of the Kingdom in the model prayer he taught to his disciples, what we call The Lord’s Prayer. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.” The Kingdom, in other words, is whenever and wherever God’s will is accomplished, carried out.

This Sunday you will be invited to consider this question: “What is the relationship of the Kingdom and the Church?”

The Kingdom – whenever and wherever God’s will is accomplished, his reign, his rule accepted. The Church – that’s everyone who accepts that rule, that reign of God, the God we know best in Jesus. How are the two related?

This isn’t merely an academic question – it’s vital. Among many evangelicals there is a tendency to view the church in an individualistic way, to see it as yet another voluntary organization made up of like minded individuals, but not really essential. That’s a very long way from what we find in the New Testament which can’t even conceive of Christians who aren’t committed members of the church. The New Testament sees the church, with all its faults and failures, as God’s chosen – and primary – instrument for seeing the Kingdom realized in the world. And it also insists that anyone who is a Christian, who accepts Jesus as his or her Lord, is automatically in relationship with all other Christians AND that we must work on both of these relationships.

Brushing up Quiz

Instructions:
a) Give an answer for each of the questions below.
b) After you have completed your answers, you can compare them to sample answers below.
c) Congratulations on taking the challenge!

1. There are four gospels (records of the life of Jesus) in the Bible. Name them.
2. The first three of these are called the “synoptic gospels.” Why?
3. Approximately how many times does Jesus refer to the Kingdom in the synoptic gospels?
   a) 10  b) 50  c) 100
4. In the Bible how many times does Jesus speak about the church?
5. Where in the NT does Jesus speak about the church?
6. Mark and Luke tend to use the phrase “Kingdom of God” while Matthew normally uses the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven.” Why?
7. The word “Kingdom” doesn’t appear very often in John’s gospel. What word is used instead?
8. Who said “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.”
9. Who said “The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God….”
10. In Christian art, keys and pearls have sometimes been used as symbols for the Kingdom. Why?

______________

Sample Answers:

1. There are four gospels (records of the life of Jesus) in the Bible. Name them.
   Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
2. The first three of these are called the “synoptic gospels.” Why?
   The word “synoptic” means “taking or affording a comprehensive mental view.” These three gospels take a very similar point of view and approach in describing the life of Jesus. John approaches things from a quite different, and more philosophical, perspective.
3. Approximately how many times does Jesus refer to the Kingdom in the synoptic gospels? a) 10  b) 50  c) 100  Answer: C
4. In the Bible how many times does Jesus speak about the church? Twice
5. Where in the NT does Jesus speak about the church?  Matthew 16.18 and Matthew 18.17
6. Mark and Luke tend to use the phrase “Kingdom of God” while Matthew normally uses the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven.” Why?
   Matthew was written primarily for a Jewish readership. Many such readers were so committed to obeying the commandment not to use God’s name in vain, that they would not speak or write the word “God” at all. It appears therefore that, out respect for those readers, Matthew avoids the phrase “Kingdom of God” and instead uses “Kingdom of Heaven.” It’s also entirely possible that Jesus himself used both phrases. They are essentially identical.
7. The word “Kingdom” doesn’t appear very often in John’s gospel. What word is used instead?
   Life. Again, it’s essentially identical with the terms “Kingdom of Heaven (or God).”
8. Who said “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.”
   William Law. Law (1686 – 1761) was an English clergyman and theological writer, whose best known work, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, was a major influence on those who would become major figures in the rise of English evangelicalism, notably John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield.
9. Who said “The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God….”
   Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian nobleman and author of novels, short stories and essays. His most famous works are War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Beginning in the late 1860’s, Tolstoy began to move ever more deeply into the Christian faith. Profoundly affected by the Sermon on the Mount he became a pacifist, and his writing was a major influence on Gandhi. Impressed by their pacifist beliefs, Tolstoy brought the persecution of the Doukhobors to the attention of the international community in 1895, and aided in their efforts at migrating to Canada. Tolstoy became a critic of his own government during the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901), praising the Boxers and denouncing the atrocities committed by Russian and other western troops in China whom he (accurately) accused of slaughter, looting, rape and murder. He also denounced the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). However, his adoption of an ascetic lifestyle, and attempts to reject both his inherited and earned wealth led to increasing alienation from his wife and family. Although the authorities tried to restrict access to his funeral, thousands of peasants still lined the streets.
10. In Christian art, keys and pearls have sometimes been used as symbols for the Kingdom. Why?
    Keys derive from Jesus speaking of the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16.13-20), while in Matthew 13.45-46, a pearl was used to illustrate the great value of the Kingdom and the need to give up everything else in order to attain it.

Scoring:  0-2 (Poor), 3-4 (Fair), 5-6 (Good), 6-7 (Amazing), 8-9 (Utterly Amazing), 10 (Did you write this quiz?)