Our series during Ordinary time will explore the revelation of God’s Kingdom through his Son. We will look specifically how the incarnation—the ministry, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ—reveals the long-promised Kingdom of God breaking into human history demonstrating God’s love, destroying the powers that ravaged creation, and displaying the Messiah’s promise (to continue reading this essay, click on image above).
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YOUR KINGDOM COME
Pastoral Resources | 2025-26 Themes At-A-Glance
The Call of Abraham: God’s Kingdom Promise to the Families of the Earth, Gen. 12:1-3; Gal. 3:5-9
God’s call to Abraham reveals God’s intent to raise up a champion through his seed which would reverse the effects of the Curse and reestablish his Kingdom rule in creation. It also shows how authentic participation in his Kingdom purposes requires both costly obedience and trusting faith—a willingness to leave behind the securities we know for the promises we cannot yet see. God’s redemptive work includes every dimension of human existence: our identity and belonging (nationhood), our physical inheritance (land), our personal flourishing (blessing and reputation), and our relational impact upon others (becoming channels of blessing). God’s covenant promise to Abraham was not merely for Abraham’s own family’s benefit, but served as his means of grace to a world still alienated from its rightful King. As we recognize that Abraham’s seed ultimately refers to Christ, and that through faith we too become heirs of this covenant promise, we are invited to embrace our own calling to display God’s Kingdom character and extend his redemptive purposes to every sphere of influence he has entrusted to us.
Our Focus Today
God’s Global Redemption for All Families of the Earth, Gen. 12:3
God’s promise “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” unveils the global, inclusive nature of his salvation and kingdom purposes. Through Abraham’s seed (Jesus of Nazareth), God is now restoring his righteous reign over all humanity, reversing the curse and reuniting the scattered families of earth under his sovereign rule.
Invocation
Sovereign LORD, through your covenant promise to Abraham you showed us your heart for all the families of the earth. I worship you as the God of all nations who has called people from every tribe and tongue into your eternal Kingdom through Jesus Christ, Abraham’s seed. Forgive me for the ways I have domesticated your global purposes, limiting the Gospel’s vision to my own cultural context and failing to invest adequately in the extension of your blessing to the remaining peoples who need Christ today. Enlarge my heart with a fresh passion for the nations, and grant me the faith, courage, and resources to participate more truly in your mission to reunite the scattered families of earth under the gracious reign of Christ our King. 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.
Saturday: Numbers 16-18
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Saturday: Psalm 31, 61, 91, 121 and Proverbs 31
God’s Global Redemption for All Families of the Earth, Gen. 12:3
God’s promise “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” unveils the global, inclusive nature of his salvation and kingdom purposes. Through Abraham’s seed (Jesus of Nazareth), God is now restoring his righteous reign over all humanity, reversing the curse and reuniting the scattered families of earth under his sovereign rule.
Reflection
From the very beginning, God’s promise that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” reveals that God’s redemptive vision has been global and radically inclusive, encompassing every scattered family of humanity without regard to ethnicity, geography, or social status. This universal scope exposes any theology or practice that would limit God’s saving purposes to a particular ethnic group, nation, or cultural expression, making clear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ—Abraham’s promised seed—is intended for all peoples and that the church’s mission is nothing less than the discipling of all nations. The fulfillment of this promise in Christ means that those of us who have been grafted into Abraham’s family through faith now share responsibility for this global mission, called to participate actively in extending God’s blessing to every remaining family, tribe, and tongue that has not yet heard the good news of God’s kingdom reign. Now our very own prayers, resources, and energies can be invested in ways that reflect God’s heart for all the families of the earth, to win them and make them a part of his covenant community.
Engaging God’s Word Today
How does God’s promise to bless “all the families of the earth” through Abraham’s seed challenge any ways you might have limited your understanding of what God wants to do with others outside your own cultural context? What practical steps might you take to align your prayers, resources, and energies more fully with God’s intent to bless the nations through Christ?
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
May the God who promised to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed expand your vision beyond your own cultural boundaries to embrace his heart for every nation, tribe, and tongue still waiting to experience his redemptive grace. May you find your place in the great missionary movement that spans from Abraham to Christ and extends through his church to the ends of the earth, investing your prayers, resources, and very life in the advance of God’s Kingdom among the peoples who have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus as Lord. And may you live with the joyful confidence that God’s ancient promise is being fulfilled in your generation, as the gospel reaches the remaining unreached families of earth, until that day when representatives from every people group will stand before the throne singing the praises of the Lamb who was slain, the ultimate seed of Abraham through whom God has blessed all the families of the earth forever. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV): The Prophet’s Vision of the Messianic King: Isaiah’s Testimony
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Scripture Engagement
As disciples of Jesus, the Churches of Christ the King strongly seek to engage the Scriptures to discover the centrality of Christ and his Kingdom in the prophetic and apostolic writings. You will find a rich treasure of resources on engaging Scripture at the Center for Scripture Engagement of Taylor University.
Books We Are Reading this Church Year, and When
• The Most Amazing Story Ever Told, Dr. Don Davis (during season of Advent)
• Get Your Pretense On, Dr. Don Davis (during season of Christmas)
• Destined for the Throne, Paul Billheimer (during seasons of Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, and Resurrection)
• The Presence of the Future, George Eldon Ladd (during seasons of Ascension and Coming of Holy Spirit)
• Kingdom, Church and World, Howard Snyder (during seasons of Headship and Harvest)
• The Gospel of the Kingdom, George Eldon Ladd (during the seasons of Hope and Remembering the Saints, Exalting the King)
Book Reading Reflection: Destined for the Throne
(Reading “Destined for the Throne” during season of Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, and Resurrection)
“The Church, by virtue of her faithful use of prayer, wields the balance of power not only in world affairs but also in the salvation of individual souls. Without violating the free moral responsibility of any individual, the Church, by means of persistent, believing intercession, may so release the Spirit of God upon a soul that he will find it easier to yield to the Spirit’s tender warning and be saved than to continue his rebellion.
God will not go over the Church’s head to do things in spite of her because this would abhor his plan. To bring her to full stature as co-sovereign with the Son, he will therefore do nothing without her. To this John Wesley agrees when he says, “God does nothing but an answer to prayer.”
In order to enable the Church to overcome Satan, God entered the stream of human history in the Incarnation. As unfallen Man. He overcame and destroyed Satan, both legally and dynamically. All that Christ did in redemption he did for the benefit of the Church. He is “head over all things to the Church” (Ephesians 1:22). His victory over Satan is accredited to the Church. Although Christ’s triumph over Satan is full and complete, God permits Him to carry on a guerrilla warfare. God could put Satan completely away, but He has chosen to use him to give the Church on-the-job training in overcoming.
Prayer is not begging God to do something which He is loath to do. It is not overcoming reluctance in God. It is enforcing Christ’s victory over Satan. It is implementing upon earth Heaven’s decision concerning the affairs of men. Calvary legally destroyed Satan and canceled all of his claims. God placed enforcement of Calvary’s victories in the hands of the Church (Matthew 18:18, Luke 10:17-19). He has given to her “power of attorney.” She is his deputy, but this delegated authority is wholly inoperative apart from the prayers of a believing Church. Therefore, prayer is where the action ends. Any Church without a well-organized and systematic prayer program is simply operating a religious treadmill.
~ Billheimer, Paul. Destined for the Throne: How Spiritual Warfare Prepares the Bride of Christ for Her Eternal Destiny. Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN, KS, 1975. Electronic Edition. Location 17-18.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
The Time is Fulfilled: The Fall of Humankind and the Curse Overturned, Mark 1:14-15 (cf. Gen 3:1-15)
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