I have a love-hate relationship with hard questions. I love that they inspire me to think critically and put in more thought and effort. I hate that the answer is often not as tidy as I would like. In her song “Kingdom Come,” Rebecca St. James sings about the Kingdom of God and leads me to seek the answer to some ambitious questions this week.
Join me in the book of Matthew to see what Jesus has to say about the Kingdom of God as we consider these two questions: What is the Kingdom of God? And is the Kingdom of God here, or is it coming?
In this week’s episode, I discuss:
- Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture – this week’s Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
- Read in context
- Mark up the text
- Slow down
- Make observations of the text
- Compare and contrast
- Consult outside resources
- Share with a friend
- Reading the text of Scripture for yourself first
- Recognizing the historical sacrifices made so we could have a copy of God’s Holy Word at our fingertips in our own language
- Reading the entire Sermon on the Mount in one sitting
- Backing up to Matthew 3 to see the first mention of the Kingdom of Heaven – Matthew 3:1-2
- Identifying that we should pray for the Kingdom of God to come, but that it’s also already here – Luke 17:20-21
- Highlighting where the Kingdom of God is mentioned and making observations around those texts
- Matthew 3:1-2
- Matthew 4:17
- Matthew 4:23
- Matthew 5:3
- Matthew 5:10
- Matthew 5:19-20
- Matthew 6:10
- Matthew 6:33
- Matthew 7:21
- Matthew 8:11-12
- The thoughts of my friend Vince over at thebereantest.com about the four elements of a kingdom
- King
- Dominion
- Servants
- Law
- Cataloging the observations we make of the text as it relates to the Kingdom of God
- John Piper’s thoughts on how to define the Kingdom of God – Desiring God Podcast Transcript
- An excellent article on the idea of “already and not yet” – GotQuestions.org
Enjoy the official music video of this song below.
More Than a Song Playlist
Additional Resources
- Story Behind the Song “Kingdom Come” by Rebecca St. James – NewReleaseToday.com
- Lyrics – NewReleaseToday.com
- What is Kingdom Theology? – GotQuestions.org Article
- Preaching the Word – Matthew Commentary by Douglas Sean O’Donnell & R Kent Hughes – Amazon Paid Link
Weekly Challenge
Read Christ’s sermon in context (Matthew 5-7). Perhaps back up to Matthew 3 and read forward, marking every instance of the Kingdom of God. Make observations of the text. Write down what you discover as you focus on the Kingdom and discuss your findings with a friend. Recognize that the Kingdom is here, AND it is coming. See how important it is to Christ. Incorporate the petition for God’s Kingdom to come into your regular prayer life-giving it priority over your needs and name.
