Intimacy with Jesus or abiding in the vine involves connecting to what’s in God’s heart and expressing it in practical ways. We respond to what He prioritizes, not what others say we should do. Intimacy with God is rooted in a place of confident responsiveness. Believers are confident because of their position before God (adopted, forgiven, sons, Bride); they are responsive because of their loving commitment to obey (listen, hear, and persevere in God’s Word).

Christ’s call is to the sinner, not the righteous. A call to come to the Father and be joined to the Divine Family. Yet, if a person does not realize they are a sinner, then Christ’s call means nothing. We must be convinced of our sin for the call of grace and forgiveness to be meaningful.

A significant component in growing in fascination with the beauty of God comes through the storyline. His beauty is not merely seen through mystical bells, whistles, and light shows. The storyline of God is designed to awaken our hearts in love. The genealogy does just that.

Isaiah makes a fascinating statement when he says that the Child, the Son, is given unto us. The tradition of Christmas, which often includes retelling the story of Jesus’ birth, isn’t meant to be a dry custom. Consideration of His coming develops something, sets something into motion, and causes something to arise: satisfaction and anticipation.

The Voice of the Lord is central to all things. The voice of the Lord is the beginning point of creation and the end of the age. From Genesis to Revelation, His voice holds all things together, and, in the end, we return to Him because He says that we will. All commands, proclamations, and revelation of His desires come from Him speaking.

This week as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, it reminds us not only of thankfulness in difficult times but hospitality in such times. The thanksgiving holiday is as much about loving strangers as it about the subject of thanks.

Isaac Bennett teaches out of 1 Peter 2:1-10, highlighting how we, as a church family, are to be firmly established in God’s Word, secure in His love as we seek to obey Him, grow in fellowship, and minister to others in the Holy Spirit from a foundation of prayer.

The Lord wants to establish a beauty narrative over the Body of Christ and our individual lives. Jesus has been anointed by the Father to impart beauty. He calls the Church beautiful even when she cannot perceive it, nor it is perceived by others. The beauty narrative delivers her from fear and shame, causing her to approach Him and enjoy the fellowship bestowed upon her through the Cross.

We want to talk about loving our families well. Now that seems like it should be easy, but we know it to be quite challenging more often than we want.

Part 4 of a 4-part series on the Gospel of the Kingdom. Follow this series as Isaac Bennett and Stuart Greaves share on the necessity of receiving and sharing the full Gospel of the Kingdom.