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).
Click on image above to access our Church Year Calendar
YOUR KINGDOM COME
Pastoral Resources | 2025-26 Themes At-A-Glance
Week 28: Daniel’s Vision of An Eternal Kingdom: The Ancient of Days and the Son of Man, Daniel 7:13-14; Mark 14:55-64
Standing before the Sanhedrin under oath, Jesus made a clear and direct association between himself and Daniel’s Son of Man — the heavenly Figure presented before the Ancient of Days in Daniel chapter 7, the only one worthy to receive everlasting dominion over every nation, people, and tongue. His declaration established bluntly that he was more than the general rumors about him conjectured; Jesus announced plainly that he was the figure of Daniel 7, God’s appointed Ruler of that prophecy, that that Ruler had arrived, and that all authority in heaven and earth would be his.
Our Focus Today
The Council’s Verdict of Blasphemy: The Awesome Magnitude of Christ’s Claim, Mark 14:63-64
The high priest’s act of tearing his robes and the council’s charge of blasphemy confirm their recognition of the magnitude of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man. Jesus claimed to be the divine cosmic Ruler of Daniel’s vision, a claim which, if untrue, was worthy of death in their judgment.
Invocation
Lord God, we stand before the same claim that shook the Sanhedrin to its core — that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of Man, the divine Ruler of all creation, enthroned at your right hand. Grant me the courage to receive what they refused, the faith to confess what they condemned, and the grace to worship the One they sought to silence. I want my heart to be fully open to you, always. 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: Pss. 136; 146-150
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Saturday: Psalm 13, 43, 73, 103, 133 and Proverbs 13
The Council’s Verdict of Blasphemy: The Awesome Magnitude of Christ’s Claim, Mark 14:63-64
The high priest’s act of tearing his robes and the council’s charge of blasphemy confirm their recognition of the magnitude of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man. Jesus claimed to be the divine cosmic Ruler of Daniel’s vision, a claim which, if untrue, was worthy of death in their judgment.
Reflection
The Sanhedrin’s verdict of blasphemy confirmed that Jesus’ claim was understood by his contemporaries to be absolute, a direct assertion of his own divine identity and cosmic dominion. Their reaction shows that they did not interpret his answer as a pious metaphor or prophetic hyperbole. If his claim was false, their verdict was just; however, if his claim was true, their condemnation and abuse of him was the gravest miscarriage of justice in human history. Each day humankind continues to be confronted with the same inescapable choice they faced, and all of us are also called to render a verdict about Jesus of our own.
Engaging God’s Word Today
The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus because they grasped the full weight of what he claimed, and, on hearing it, they refused to believe it. Do you think that you have genuinely reckoned with the absolute magnitude of his claim that he is the divine cosmic Ruler of all things? What would be your opinion about how your life today reveals whether you truly believe it or not?
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
Lord Jesus, you were so clear before the Sanhedrin, so open about who you really were. You told them to Whom you belonged, and they rejected your claim. I believe in your Word; let me leave having rendered my verdict, as one who believes what you have declared. They determined that you were worthy of death, but God has declared you worthy of all glory. Now you rule, undiminished and undefeated, having triumphed over sin and every power that has ever sought to silence your own. Show me how to live as one who knows who you are, and let that knowledge change everything about me, and how I live. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV): The Messiah on the Cross: The Kingdom’s Triumph Over Sin.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
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 season of Epiphany)
• The Presence of the Future, George Eldon Ladd (during seasons of Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Ascension)
• Who Gets to Narrate the World?, Robert E. Webber (during seasons of the Coming of the Holy Spirit, and Headship)
• Thy Kingdom Come, Rev. Terry Cornett and Dr. Don Davis (during season of 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 “Who Gets to Narrate the World?” during season of Coming of the Holy Spirit and Headship)
The fullness of God’s story is captured in the three words—creation, incarnation, re-creation. At first it may seem that these words represent three doctrines, and consequently a kind of reductionism similar to my father’s. Not so—these words constitute a connecting symbol for the whole story of God.
Let me tell you that story. The centrality of Christ in God’s story. First, Christ connects everything. He is the Alpha and Omega. For example, I was traveling on a plane from San Francisco to Los Angeles a few years ago. I was sitting next to the window, reading a Christian book. The man next to me, obviously from the Eastern hemisphere, asked, “Are you a religious man?” “Well, yes,” I said. “I am too,” he responded. We began talking about religion. In the middle of the conversation I asked, “Can you give me a one-liner that captures the essence of your faith?” “Well, yes,” he said. “We are all part of the problem, and we are all part of the solution.” We talked about his one-liner, a statement I felt was very helpful.
After a while I said, “Would you like a one-liner that captures the Christian faith?” “Sure,” he responded. “We are all part of the problem, but there is only one man who is the solution. His name is Jesus.” The point I made is very biblical and any Christian would readily agree with it. Jesus is the central figure of the Christian faith. He is the one who reverses the entire human situation. The first Adam plunged the human race into rebellion against God. Humanity has made a mess of this world (not only human beings, but the whole world), so God became incarnate, uniting himself to humanity, so that God himself in perfect union with humanity could reverse the human plight caused by Adam and perpetuated by every one of us. So God in Christ not only rescues us, he rescues the whole creation. This truth is clearly taught by Paul: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:21-22; see also Rom 5:12-21)
~ Webber, Robert E. Who Gets to Narrate the World?: Contending for the Christian Story in an Age of Rivals. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL: 2008. Electronic Edition. Location 257.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
God’s Love, Christ’s Grace, and the Spirit’s Fellowship, 2 Cor. 13:11-13.
Visit our Church App for more information: Scan the QR Code below (if you have difficulty loading the app, click here for instructions how to get the app on your iPhone or Android)
