The kingdom of God is the gospel. It is the people of God, called by grace, saved through the work of Christ, and commissioned to do His will on earth as it is in heaven. What is that work? THE GOSPEL!

The dirty gospel of Mark 4. There’s nothing random about God’s purpose for your life and there’s nothing random about the collection of parables in Mark chapter 4. The fact that the writer used these parables, this theme of seed sowing and farming and harvest, to introduce us to the teachings of Christ; this is significant. We are getting a glimpse at the kingdom of God, what it is, how it operates and who the main players are. Can you find yourself in the parable of the soils? I think that is exactly what Jesus wants us to do. Identify your soil quality, your ph level. Gauge your willingness to work and to be worked, your openness to growth and the fruit God wants to see in your life. What is keeping you from getting dirty and being a 4th soil believer?

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, what are we asking of Him? Remember, this gets to the very heart of what God desires. It is, after all, the Son of God, (Jesus) giving instructions to followers of God (the disciples) on how to pray to the Father (God, Himself), and what to pray for. ‘Thy kingdom come’ follows only behind ‘thy name be hallowed.’ It’s number two on the list! And I would argue that it is a big part of how number one is accomplished. But what does it mean? What is God’s kingdom? How can it possibly come on earth? What more does the life and teaching of Christ have to say on that matter? The good news is that we don’t have to wonder - Jesus taught us :)

Eternal life. How would you define that? My bet is that your first thoughts include the word ‘heaven,’ or phrases related to, ‘what happens when we die.’ Possibly there are visions of clouds and harps and pearly gates, with a dude named Peter standing by. Fair enough. But let’s look at how the author of eternal life defined it, shall we? What does Jesus have to say about the very gift He came to give us? Have we missed it completely?!

A windy introduction to a series of thoughts on the kingdom of God. Join me as we dig into the gospel of Mark and the teachings of Christ. Nothing’s ever random, remember. You’ve been invited and that’s no accident. Sunday school is in session!

365 days after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, God is still good and driving in Kenya is still crazy.