The promises of God are a cornerstone of our Christian spirituality. These beautiful statements from the Lord serve as a beacon of hope and guidance for us in every aspect of our lives (for fuller description, click on image above).
The Kingdom Has Come, Mark 1.14-20
With the entrance of Jesus of Nazareth in the world, the promised reign of God has now come into existence. Although it is not fully realized, the actual rule of God promised through the prophets with the coming of Messiah has come! While the future awaits its full realization and display, with the arrival of Jesus God’s Kingdom has come into this world, and its effects can be seen in his person and the life and ministry of the Church, Mark 1.14-20.
Invocation
Thank you, Father, that with the coming of your Son, Jesus of Nazareth, into this world, and the start of his ministry, your kingdom rule was formally inaugurated into this world. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior-King promised in Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, and at the start of his ministry the time was fulfilled. Help us to live the tension of this Already/Not yet Kingdom of God in your church. Amen.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Chronological Scripture Readings for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the entire Bible in one year in chronological order.
Sunday: Leviticus 9-11
Lectionary Readings for Today
Our readings from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Epistles are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary for this Sunday.
Psalm: Psalm 62.5-12
Old Testament (or Acts [during Eastertide]): Jonah 3.1-5,10
Gospel: Mark 1.14-20
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 7.29-31
Click here for all of this week’s Scripture readings
With the coming of Jesus of Nazareth into his mission and ministry, the promised reign of God has come, Mark 1.14-20.
Reflection
The reign of God has come into the world. With the coming of Jesus of Nazareth and after inaugurating his ministry following the work of John the Baptizer, the time of the Messiah’s appearing has been fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. With Christ’s appearing, the Kingdom has come.
Claiming God’s Promise Today
How does the fulfillment of time and the coming of the Kingdom reveal itself in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,
Begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father,
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became human.
Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified.
Who spoke by the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin,
and we look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Benediction
I thank you, Father, for establishing your rule in this world through the life and ministry of your Son, Jesus of Nazareth. In Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, Jesus is identified as the Messiah, the Savior-King. Enable me today to respond to the living Christ as the King who rules above, and who will complete that rule at his second coming soon. Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
Scripture Memory
John 8.12 (ESV): Promise — God’s Light Shall Shine
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Book Reading and Reflection
It is all done in Christ. ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (Jn 1:14); literally, he pitched his tent among us. He is Emmanuel, God with us (see Is 7:14). Through him we are God’s people, and in him we are sons of God. We are all made new: ‘If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come’ (2 Cor 5:17).
What God did in the Old Testament through Israel, God is continuing in the New Testament Church today. He is fathering his family, restoring the human race to his household. The New Jerusalem: The Church on Earth When in Revelation 21:9-21 John describes the dimensions and adornments of the New Jerusalem, he describes the heaven enjoyed by the saints at the end of time, the ultimate fulfillment of the New Covenant. We will enter into the fullness of the New Covenant, but only in eternity. We will enter fully into the new creation and the New Jerusalem when we enter heaven in our resurrected, glorified bodies. But John’s vision can’t be interpreted exclusively as a future reality. The kingdom of God, which can never be fully realized on earth, does find partial (but real) fulfillment in us on this side of heaven. We experience the fulfillment of the New Covenant now. How? In the Church.
The Church is the New Jerusalem. When we become members of the Church, we become citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. Through the liturgy, through the sacraments, in the prayers and works of the people of God, we participate in heavenly life. We don’t experience this heavenly life with our earthly senses, but it is real. More real than the physical world. When the world ends, the Church will continue triumphant in heaven, and we will see and experience God’s life fully, completely, ecstatically and eternally.
~ Hahn, Scott, A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture. Servant Publication, Ann Arbor, MI: 1998, electronic edition, location 3,629.
God’s Light Shall Shine, John 8.12
I am the light of the world, he who walks with me will not walk in darkness, John 8.12.
Let God Arise! Focus
The Beloved Son of the Father, Mark 1.4-11.
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