Category: Kingdom Community

Fellowship and koinonia

kingdom of God

Living In The Promise Of The Kingdom – Part 1

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It had been hundreds of years since the time of the prophets. They had prophesied that one day God would establish his holy and good rule in the land of God’s people. The Jews were quite aware that their ancestors had constantly strayed away from God’s goodness and that their society had became degenerate and destructive. But in spite of that God was going to establish the pure and joyful kingdom he originally intended in the Garden of Eden and for the Jewish people. The prophecies were in the dim past, but devout Jews still waited for God to fulfill his promise of a coming utopia. In summary, “The prophets looked forward to a day when God’s saving promises would be fulfilled, his kingdom would come, the new covenant would be inaugurated, a new exodus from Babylon would be realized, the Spirit would be poured out on Israel, and Israel Continue Reading →

love your neighbor

How Do We Know That We Are Loving God?

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After stating that the greatest commandment was to love God, Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39, NIV). He also said “Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12, ESV). Our love for others compels us to be the ones in our neighborhood who are known as the friendly neighbors always willing to help. Our love for others compels us to be the ones at our workplace who are honest, compassionate and patient with unreasonable bosses. In our recreation our love for others compels us to make friends, understand their hearts and be a source of encouragement. When we love others they aren’t bothered by our Christian holiness; they care about how we treat them. And Jesus asks us to go even further in the way we Continue Reading →

community

The Inspirational Story Of The Brethren Of The Common Life

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This is a story about some people who passionately lived out Christian community. In Scripture we see that God is inviting all people to join his new kingdom community. Since Jesus came and inaugurated this new community God has been calling people to himself and all who have received Jesus are members of this spiritual community. God has been adding members to this community through the centuries. After Jesus returns God will create a new heaven and new earth where all the members will live in the New Garden as God intended. This will be the culmination of the kingdom of God on earth. The story of Gerard Groote provides a good example of the kind of community God desires for his people now. Gerard Groote was born in 1340 in the Netherlands. His parents died of the plague when he was 10 and left him an inheritance. He was Continue Reading →

Our Return To The Garden

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God has an amazing plan for us after Jesus returns. Along with being in the direct presence of Jesus and the Father we will live forever in a perfect community of love with God’s followers. This is what God originally intended for humans in the Garden of Eden. He told Adam and Eve “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals” (Gen. 1:28 NLT). If Adam and Eve and their descendants had not sinned then they would have built a community of people who were completely godly. Thus, their “city” would have been a fantastically harmonious and loving community. It would have been thoroughly creative and constructive as everyone joyfully used their god-given creativity to create and build beautiful and glorious homes and machines and whatever else was needed. They would have Continue Reading →

prophecy

The Happy Marriage Of Prophecy And Discernment

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May of us have experienced disappointments with those who give prophecies. We know that Scripture gives high honor to prophecy. When someone prophesies this means they are speaking words from God. This reflects God’s desire to communicate with his children and give them encouragement and instruction (1 Cor. 14:31). God values prophecy and instructs us to “be eager to prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:39 ESV). In practice it is common to find many problems with the exercise of the gift of prophecy. The one receiving the prophecy often adds their own interpretation when they express it which damages what God is trying to say. Also, in their zeal to be supportive of prophecy many leaders do not apply the principles of discernment which leads to “prophets” giving advice about others’ futures which ends up taking people down wrong roads. When it comes to giving advice for the future or predicting specific Continue Reading →