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 Ascension and the Day of Pentecost: The Kingdom’s Cosmic Authority, Acts 1:6-11; 2:32-36; Ephesians 1:20-23
Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord’s Chosen One, the Messiah, whose incarnation, death, and resurrection reveal Him as King and Lord of all. At His ascension He redirected His disciples from speculating about Kingdom timetables to receiving the Spirit’s power for their worldwide witness, and then ascended into heaven, promising to return in the same way. On the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed that the risen Jesus, exalted to God’s right hand, had received the promised Spirit and poured Him out, proving that God has made Him both Lord and Christ. In the same way, Paul declared that God raised Christ and seated Him far above every power and name, put all things under His feet, and gave Him as Head over all things to the Church, which is His body and fullness.
Invocation
Lord Jesus, enthroned at the Father’s right hand, we gather in Your name to proclaim and acknowledge Your reign here today. With grateful hearts we ask that You would open our eyes to see Your authority over every power and name. Pour out Your Holy Spirit afresh upon us, that we might hear Your Word, trust Your rule, and rise to serve You today in our neighborhoods as faithful citizens and ambassadors of Your Kingdom. 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: 1 Cor. 4-7
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 week.
Psalm: Psalm 99
Old Testament (or Acts [during Eastertide]): Exodus 33:12-23
Gospel: Matt. 22:15-22
New Testament: 1 Thess. 1:1-10
Click here for all of this week’s Scripture readings
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Sunday: Psalm 18, 48, 78, 108, 138 and Proverbs 18
The Enthroned Messiah Jesus Reigns as King Over All Things, Acts 1:6–11, Acts 2:32–36, and Ephesians 1:20–23
The Ascension of Christ to the Father’s right hand and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost highlight how Jesus of Nazareth now reigns as the enthroned King and Lord of the universe, and His Church lives and ministers under His authority as His citizens and ambassadors.
Reflection
Before ascending to the Father’s right hand after His resurrection, Jesus redirected His disciples from talk about Kingdom timetables to their mission, promising the Holy Spirit to empower their witness to the ends of the earth. At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the risen Jesus, exalted to God’s right hand, Who had poured out the Spirit as Lord and Christ. Paul revealed the scope of that throne in Ephesians: Christ reigns far above every power, as Head over all things for His Church.
Engaging God’s Word Today
Where in your life are you still “gazing into heaven,” so to speak, still waiting on God’s timing to act, when Jesus the enthroned King has already given you His Spirit and sent you to represent Him as His ambassador today, in the place where you live and work?
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
Now may the risen and reigning Lord Jesus, the same Lord Who died and rose for us, Who is seated far above every power, go before us. May the Holy Spirit He poured out fill us with power for witness. And, may our Father, who holds all times in His hands, keep us steadfast to live as faithful ambassadors of Christ before our families, friends, and neighbors in the places where He has positioned us. We will live, Lord, for You alone. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Rev. 21:1-5, Creation’s Groaning: The Kingdom’s Cosmic Scope
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
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)
• Kingdom, Church and World: Biblical Themes for Today, Howard Snyder (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: The Gospel of the Kingdom
What does this have to do with the Kingdom of God? Just this: the Kingdom of God belongs to The Age to Come. Yet The Age to Come has overlapped with This Age. We may taste its powers and thereby be delivered from This Age and no longer live in conformity to it. This new transforming power is the power of The Age to Come; it is indeed the power of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is future, but it is not only future. Like the powers of The Age to Come, the Kingdom of God has invaded this evil Age that men may know something of its blessings even while the evil Age goes on.
Perhaps the most important scripture expounding the fundamental character of the Kingdom of God is 1 Cor. 15: 22-26. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” In this passage Paul is describing the various stages by which God will accomplish His redemptive purpose. This purpose has to do with the Kingdom of God. The ultimate objective is the accomplishment of God’s Kingdom, i.e., the realization of God’s perfect reign in all the universe. This is accomplished by the defeat of His enemies. Christ must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. When these enemies are at last subdued, Christ will hand over the Kingdom to God. The Kingdom of God therefore is the reign of God through Christ destroying the enemies of God’s reign.
~ Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI: 2000. Electronic Edition (copyright © 1959, The Paternoster Press), Location 515-22.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
The Ascension and the Day of Pentecost: The Kingdom’s Cosmic Authority, Acts 1:6-11; 2:32-36, Eph. 1:20-23
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