Poetry

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"The word 'kingdom' is found fifty-five times in Matthew; twenty times in Mark, forty-six times in Luke and five times in John. When allowance is made for the use of the word to refer to secular kingdoms and for parallel verses of the same sayings of Jesus, the phrase 'the kingdom of God' and equivalent expressions (e.g., 'Kingdom of heaven,' 'his kingdom') occurs about eighty times . . . These statistics show the great importance of the concept in the teachings of Jesus . . . There can, therefore, be little doubt that the phrase 'the kingdom of God' expresses the main theme of His teaching" (Vol. III, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976, p. 804).

The message Jesus commissioned His early apostles to teach is called the good news, or gospel, of the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2).

Jesus used the same words to announce the message His Church should broadcast through the ages: the good news of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 8:1).

The Gospels frequently summarize Jesus' teachings with the same terminology: "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14).

Jesus equated gaining salvation with entering the Kingdom (Matthew 19:16, 23-24), and He explained the loss of salvation in terms of rejection from the Kingdom (Luke 13:28).

The message of salvation is called the Word of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:19).
The hope and comfort of a Christian are said to be in entering the Kingdom (Mark 10:15).

The principal goal of a Christian is to seek first the Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).
Righteous people are called sons of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:38).
The undisputed theme of many of Christ's parables is the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven (verses 44-45, 47).

When Jesus' impending birth was revealed to Mary by the angel Gabriel, the unborn child was declared to be the King of a kingdom (Luke 1:30-33).

What are you hearing in church?

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