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
Creation’s Groaning: The Kingdom’s Cosmic Scope, Rom. 8:18-25; Rev. 21:1-5
The God who hears creation’s groaning has promised to reverse the effects of the Curse and make all things new in Christ. Our personal salvation is part of a larger, cosmic restoration that includes all of creation, as well as the earth itself. Christ’s work of redemption touches the condition of the entire universe, affecting all existence and life. The rebellion in the Garden cast a dark impact upon all creation, but the redemption of Christ has brought about the reconciliation of all things. Now, in this in-between time of the Already and Not Yet, we lament the ecological brokenness of the earth honestly, caring faithfully for creation in every way we can, and announce with confidence the hope of creation’s coming renewal.
Our Focus Today
The Groaning of the Firstfruits, Romans 8:23
God has given to those who believe His Holy Spirit as the firstfruits of the harvest, yet they still groan inwardly as they wait for the adoption and the redemption of their bodies. The Holy Spirit indwelling the Church makes God’s people a living and present foretaste of the new creation, so our longing, lament, and faithful presence among suffering people bear witness to the coming Kingdom.
Invocation
Gracious Father, You have given us Your Holy Spirit as the firstfruits of Your coming harvest and the consummation of all things to come. Give voice to our inward groaning and hold our longing in hope. As we hear Your Word, make us aware that You desire us to live as a true foretaste of the new creation, faithfully presenting Christ and His Kingdom among those who suffer and who eagerly await our full redemption. In Jesus’ name, 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.
Wednesday: 1 Timothy 3-6
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Wednesday: Psalm 11, 41, 71, 101, 131 and Proverbs 11
The Groaning of the Firstfruits, Romans 8:23
God has given to those who believe His Holy Spirit as the firstfruits of the harvest, yet they still groan inwardly as they wait for the adoption and the redemption of their bodies. The Holy Spirit indwelling the Church makes God’s people a living and present foretaste of the new creation, so our longing, lament, and faithful presence among suffering people bear witness to the coming Kingdom.
Reflection
The indwelling Spirit is God’s pledge to His redeemed people that the full harvest of redemption is coming, including the resurrection of our bodies. Our inward groaning is the honest longing of those who have tasted the new creation, yet who also are very aware of the fallenness of this present world. Therefore, we stand with suffering people everywhere in faithful presence and plain declaration of the Kingdom’s coming, lamenting with them of our current fallenness while bearing witness to the hope of the coming Kingdom.
Engaging God’s Word Today
How might your own honest groaning, rather than hidden or denied, become a point of solidarity with suffering people? In what ways can our faithful presence among them offer an authentic and compelling foretaste of the Kingdom to come?
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 Holy Spirit who dwells within us, Who is Himself the firstfruits of the coming harvest, sustain us in every season of trial and longing. May our groaning be honest, our hope be steadfast, and our presence among the suffering be a living sign of the Kingdom, convincing them of the truth of Your Gospel. Make us faithful until the day of our full adoption and the redemption of our bodies. Maranatha! Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Rev. 11:15, The Kingdom’s Consummation: Second Coming of Christ the King
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
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
Here was John’s problem; and it was the problem of every devout Jew, including Jesus’ closest disciples, in their effort to understand and interpret Jesus’ person and ministry. How could He be the bearer of the Kingdom while sin and sinful institutions remained unpunished?
Jesus answered, “Blessed is he who takes no offence at me.” What Jesus meant is this. “Yes, the Kingdom of God is here. But there is a mystery—a new revelation about the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is here; but instead of destroying human sovereignty, it has attacked the sovereignty of Satan. The Kingdom of God is here; but instead of making changes in the external, political order of things, it is making changes in the spiritual order and in the lives of men and women.”
This is the mystery of the Kingdom, the truth which God now discloses for the first time in redemptive history. God’s Kingdom is to work among men in two different stages. The Kingdom is yet to come in the form prophesied by Daniel when every human sovereignty will be displaced by God’s sovereignty. The world will yet behold the coming of God’s Kingdom with power. But the mystery, the new revelation, is that this very Kingdom of God has now come to work among men but in an utterly unexpected way. It is not now destroying human rule; it is not now abolishing sin from the earth; it is not now bringing the baptism of fire that John had announced. It has come quietly, unobtrusively, secretly. It can work among men and never be recognized by the crowds. In the spiritual realm, the Kingdom now offers to men the blessings of God’s rule, delivering them from the power of Satan and sin. The Kingdom of God is an offer, a gift which may be accepted or rejected. The Kingdom is now here with persuasion rather than with power.
~ 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 708.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
Reign of Christ the King, The Kingdom’s Consummation: Second Coming of Christ the King, Rev. 11:15; 19:11-16
Visit our CCK-microsite for a thorough summary of CCK for curious seekers: mycck.church/cck-microsite
