The Kingdom of God

Nov 14, 2025

Last night at our Bible study, we look at what Jesus had to say about the kingdom of God, a common theme in His preaching throughout the 3.5 years of His public ministry. John the Baptist before Him preached on this theme too (‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’ Matt 3:2), a sentiment echoed in Jesus’s opening words of ministry (‘”The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15))
A kingdom is a place where a king rules. The kingdom of God is not a geographical location as such (though its presence in our midst (Luke 17:20-21) gives it a geographical aspect; where God’s people let God rule becomes the kingdom of God.) Jesus taught about this kingdom through parables, stories which capture our imaginations through their very ordinariness but which have the power to reveal spiritual truth to us.
The parables of Jesus describing what the kingdom of God is like remind us of the smallness of a mustard seed (which grows tall) or of yeast (which in comparison to other ingredients in bread making looks insignificant, but its influence is pervasive and changes the character of the bread completely. See Matt 13:31-34) Where God rules, justice, truth, love and honour will be seen. There is both a present and a future aspect to God’s kingdom, as the parable of the nets demonstrates. (Matt 13:47-52)
God’s kingdom is likened to a treasure and to a pearl of great pice (Matt 13:44-46). In these parables, we see that what we treasure requires commitment and cost; the people in these parables gave up everything to obtain the treasure and pearl. The kingdom of God is radical in nature (see Matt 19:16-24), requiring our whole-hearted commitment and obedience. The rewards are great, but God’s demands on our lives mean that we have to yield everything we are and have to His rule. Matt 6:33-34 reminds us that we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (with the promise that our heavenly Father will meet all our needs) and forms the basis of our prayer, ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ (Matt 6:10)

In Christ Jesus

Nov 9, 2025

Today we looked at our identity as God’s people who are ‘in Christ Jesus’ (Col 1:2, 1 Pet 5:14, 1 Cor 1:2), This identity gives us a completely different identity to our lives before we knew Christ, as Eph 2:1-10 makes plain; the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of conversion is a significant factor in our lives which is worked out through our everyday living (see Eph 4:17, Col 3:11-12). Being in Christ means we are given a new wardrobe, a set of designer robes of righteousness to replace our filthy rags!
We looked at 8 blessings and benefits of being in Christ:
1. A Fresh Start
2. Reconciliation
3. Freedom from guilt, shame and condemnation
4. Hope
5. Peace
6. Access to all God’s blessings
7. Access to all God’s promises
8. Inclusion in God’s family and a new sense of belonging
𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭
We have the chance to make a fresh start through our relationship with Christ. We are now new creations (2 Cor 5:17) and not only have life, but eternal life. (Rom 6:23)
𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
2 Cor 5:21 tells us we are reconciled to God through Christ, having free access to the presence of God at all times now that the curtain in the temple has been torn in two.
𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Rom 8:1 reminds us that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Through forgiveness, we have been given freedom from the guilt of sin and can now count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus. (Rom 6:11) We can walk tall and live without that nagging, haunting sense of condemnation.
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞
Rom 15:13 reminds us that the God of hope can fill us with joy and peace so that we overflow with hope, not living in despair any longer. We have hope even in troubles because we know that Jesus has overcome the world. (John 16:33) We may have to wait patiently at present, but we have the hope that God is faithful and will fulfil His promises.
𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞
Rom 5:1 tells us that we have peace with God through Christ, and this spills over into peace with other people. We find that God’s peace can be given to us even in difficult situations; it is able to guard our hearts and our minds. (Phil 4:6-7) When worry is displaced by Jesus, we can know peace.
𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
Eph 1:3-9 reminds us that we now have access to all God’s blessings, including being chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed and being lavished with God’s grace. The God who loves to bless can bless us!
𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬
2 Cor 1:20 reminds us that all God’s promises are ‘Yes’ in Christ Jesus and so we have access to these great and precious promises. Our part is to speak the ‘Amen’ of faith as we wait for their fulfilment.
𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
All of us need other people (Gen 2:18), and in Christ we are made members of God’s family and brought into the body of Christ. (Rom 12:5) The church is meant to be a place of fellowship, unity and belonging – God’s answer to the human need for belonging.
As we enter into our identity in Christ, we continue to live in Him and grow in spiritual maturity.

Overcoming Temptation

Oct 30, 2025

From the age of twelve to the start of His ministry aged 30, we know nothing of what Jesus said. He worked as a carpenter like His father and had other brothers and sisters (learning family relationships as we all must!) His baptism was the start of His public ministry, and here, we see His identity as God’s beloved Son affirmed by God Himself (Matt 3:17). Immediately after this, He was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tested, to be tempted by the devil. (Matt 4:1-11) This is a key moment: if Satan could cause Jesus to sin as he had with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the plan of salvation would have been wrecked.
We see that the years of learning and the time spent in prayer and fasting led to vistory over temptation. Temptation itself is not sin, but can easily lead us astray (see James 1:13-15).Satan questioned Jesus’s identity as the Son of God and wanted Him to use His power for His own selfish ends – turning stones into bread (to assuage His obvious hunger after fasting for 40 days and nights), using God as His divine protector for no other reason than self-satisfaction. His final temptation was to try to prise worship from Jesus. On each occasion, Jesus defeated the enemy by the word of God, quoting from Deuteronomy 6 and 8. He used the sword of the Spirit, just as we must. The devil’s lies and half-truths cannot be argued with; they must be defeated by God’s powerful words of truth.
Jesus’s victory in the wilderness set the scene for His ministry throughout His life on earth. He would do God’s work in God’s way. He would put God’s will before His own (even in the Garden of Gethsemane.) He would live out His identity as God’s son not by pleasing Himself but by pleasing God. He would reserve worship for God alone, and would not seek to find security, significance or self-worth anywhere but in God.
In this, Jesus models for us how to overcome temptation. He does not listen to half-truths, but simply leans on the word of God as His weapon. The more we absorb the word of God, the better chance we stand of overcoming temptation and resting secure in our spiritual identity.

The First Words of Jesus

Oct 30, 2025

We know quite a lot about the birth of Jesus from the Gospels, but very little about His childhood. His first recorded words in Scripture come in Luke 2:41-52, when His family went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, and ended up returning without Him… only to find Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions. As His mother asked Him why He had done this, He replied, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
It is clear from this passage that Jesus, aged 12 (the age at which Jewish boys were preparing for their Bar-Mitzvah, the transition from childhood to maturity), had an assurance of His identity (He was not just in the temple; He was in ‘my Father’s house.’) That identity led Him to prioritise spiritual learning above earthly responsibilities (though He went back with His parents and was obedient to them, demonstrating a humility and respect which are a part of growing up.) He had a focus on God which would give Him the authority and assurance which astounded people even at this point of His life and which would be a characteristic of His teaching.
Part of our responsibility as parents and grandparents is to pass on spiritual truths, to pass on the baton of faith. It can be challenging to recognise that our ‘little ones’ grow and mature into adults and to give them the space to do so, but Mary continued to treasure these things as she grew in an understanding of who her son really was.
This passage reminds us that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He displays an authority in His words at an early age but also allows Himself to sit under the authority of His parents and to learn from other teachers. He spent the first years of His life learning His identity, just as we all do. The fact that it takes another 18 years before His ministry begins reminds us that there is no such thing as instant maturity.

Followers of Jesus

Oct 26, 2025

Tonight we looked at another description of God’s people in the Bible: we are followers. Passages such as Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-41 and Matthew 9:9 show us Jesus calling disciples to follow Him, and He still calls people to follow Him today. Not all those He called chose to follow (see Matt 8:19-22, Mark 10:21-22), but He made it plain that discipleship means denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily and following Him – even when we do not understand or know where He is leading us! (Mark 8:34-37)
Following Jesus means leaving our old way of life behind (as the fishermen did to become fishers of men) and embracing a new life where we are not in the driver’s seat (see Matt 16:24-26, The Message). This path can feel very uncertain, but we learn from the example of Jesus. (Heb 12:1-3) The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is still the means of salvation for all (see 1 Cor 1:18-25), and as we embrace the Jesus way of doing things, we will find freedom in following Him.
Ultimately, we know that our destination is secure with God, and this helps us as we journey through life with all its uncertainties and troubles. God has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5) and therefore we have hope. Jesus is our navigator through every circumstance of life. If we are in trouble, we should pray and seek God’s deliverance. (James 5:13) If we are sick, we should call the elders of the church to pray over us and anoint us with oil in the name of the Lord, expecting God’s healing. (James 5:14) Whatever our circumstances, we should seek to rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks. (1 Thess 5:16-18) When we face temptation, we can be confident that God will make a way out for us so that we do not sin. (1 Cor 10:13, James 1:13-15) When we sin and make mistakes, we can confess our sins and know the forgiveness and cleansing that Jesus brings. (1 John 1:9) In every situation, we are called to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, leaning on His wisdom rather than on our own understanding. (Prov 3:5-6)
When we choose the Jesus way over the world’s way (His way of love, surrender, forgiveness, blessing, grace, mercy and worship), the world will see not only something worth following, but someone worth following. Just as the Israelites were led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, we will be led by God to an eternal destination, and we will be known as followers of God. There is no greater identity we could ever have.

Following Jesus

Oct 26, 2025

Forty-two years ago I started to follow Jesus. I was seventeen years old and had spent this equivalent weekend (at the start of the October half-term) with a friend, visiting her sister who had just started studying at Girton College, Cambridge. I had gone along to a service at the chapel there and also attended a church service in Cambridge where the minister faithfully taught from 1 Corinthians 7 about Christian marriage. I began to see that God was alive all over the world and that faith mattered even to young people (rather than being the prerogative of the old, who needed an insurance policy against death, as I used to think.) The students I met were young, intelligent, caring people whose faith gave them grounding and purpose.

I returned home, wrestling all that week until the Thursday with God, understanding that He wanted me to commit my life to Him but fearing the consequences of surrender. I had no peace until I finally accepted His call to follow Him. I surrendered and received His free gift of eternal life, recognising my sinfulness and inability to save myself.

Jesus calls people to follow Him. The Bible is full of these stories: His call to Peter, Andrew, James and John, to Matthew, to Saul. Many people have responded positively to that call; some, like the rich young ruler, decided the cost was too high. Jesus gives us a choice.

Forty-two years later, I’m so glad I am still following Jesus. Thire is no better way to live. Jesus is an ever-present companion, a friend, someone who loves us unconditionally and gives us a fresh start, even when we mess up. He is also that fierce lion, shaping our lives through affliction and the sufferings of life. He does not condone our failings, but cleanses us and sets us on our feet again.

The Bible gives us the identity of ‘followers’, which reminds us that God leads and we follow. He is the Master. We are not the boss. To be a follower is not to read the words of Jesus and click a ‘like’ button on Facebook;. To be a follower means putting His words into practice on a daily basis. It means immersing ourselves in the death of Christ so we too can share in His resurrection. To follow Jesus means we acknowledge that He is at the centre of life and we are not.

C. S. Lewis described himself as ‘the most reluctant convert’, fearing the choice to follow Jesus would lead to the end of all the good and pleasurable things in life. Instead, he found himself ‘surprised by joy’, for God is good and the author of all joy. God is good (Ps 119:68), and a lifetime of following Him underlines that fact, but I know also the tightrope we walk at times in life includes much that is not good. Faith is how we reconcile the visible and invisble aspects of life.

I don’t regret following Jesus, for He alone has the words of eternal life. (John 6:69) I want to press on and continue to follow Him. I don’t know where He will lead me, but I know I can trust Him to do all things well. (Mark 7:37)

Will you follow Jesus too?