VALUES 3 WHAT IS THE KINGDOM?

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1 VALUES 3 WHAT IS THE KINGDOM? Key text Mark 1 : Isiah 61 : 1 6 Lesson overview We will be looking at the Kingdom of God and the struggles that we face living in a time of now but not yet. Where a Bible passage is shown in bold in this document please read out the passage. Today we will be continuing our Values series looking at what makes us as a Vineyard special. Over the past two weeks we have looked at what the Vineyard is, and the significance that the Holy Spirit has in our lives and in our church. This week we will be asking the question What is the Kingdom of God?. WHAT IS A KINGDOM? When you think of a Kingdom what sort of image comes to mind. On your whiteboards draw what you think a kingdom means to you. Encourage the youth to draw what the idea of kingdom means to them. Once they have drawn their pictures encourage them to share their pictures with the group. Whiteboards Whiteboard pens Unlike many kingdoms, the kingdom of God is not a particular country or state, it isn t restricted to any particular geographic boundaries. You won t find it on a map, and there are no castles or fortresses to mark its presence. All kingdoms are a place where the king or rules has authority and is able to actively rule and reign. It is this sort of kingdom that we see Jesus talking about when he preached saying that the Kingdom of God has come near as we will read in Mark 1 : As the Vineyard movement, we look at both the Old and New Testament to guide us on what God is like. We believe that God reveals his character through the Bible and that this is done most clearly through the live and teaching of Jesus. Understanding the kingdom of God, and how God rules and works on the Earth can help us understand how we should live our lives, but also help us understand the life and teaching of Jesus. 1

2 HOP CAPTURE THE FLAG Kingdoms can move and change over time, just think about the number of empires and kingdoms that have risen and fallen over time. Each slowly gaining or losing ground from their enemies. Which is reflected by the next game that we are about to play. Place a flag at either side of the room, split the youth into two teams. Tell each group that their aim is to capture the opposing team s flag and take it back to their own base. However, they are only allowed to move by hopping. If the other team tags them they must return to their base. If someone has the opposing teams flag is tagged the flag must be handed over to the tagger before they return to their own base. Whoever has control of the flags after 5 minutes is the winner. Two flags Stopwatch on your phone GOD S KINGDOM God s kingdom has been taught about by both the prophets in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah as well as Jesus in the New Testament. We see that God is the king who rules the cosmos, however his rule is not currently absolute over the Earth, although this will come. In Isiah 61 : 1 6 we see him foretelling an anointed one will come to bring peace, righteousness and freedom to the Earth and prepare it for the completion of God s kingdom. This anointed one was Jesus. Jesus supernatural birth, life, death and resurrection was literally an earth shattering moment at which power and gifts from God s future kingdom have broken through into our current world. Punch through the paper on the top of the buckets and then try and pull the gifts though the rip in the lid. Sealed buckets 2

3 We live in a time of now but not yet. The kingdom of God, his rule and reign have broken through into our world, and many of God s supernatural gifts, such as healing, prophecy, casting out demons and radical forgiveness are available to us today because of Jesus s death and resurrection. However, as we are all very aware we still live in a broken world, filled with sin, addiction, violence, pain and darkness. This is because God s will and reign has broken into our world, it is not fully established in absolute reign, because the devil, although ultimately defeated is still present and is still influencing our world, and sin and bad decisions, although paid for though the death of Jesus are still present and deeply embedded into our world. HE KINGDOM NOW When we say the Kingdom now we are talking about God s power and reign that has broken through from Heaven and is influencing our world. Can you think of any example of this, that we either see as part of our lives, or we have seen Jesus demonstrate? Encourage the youth to share their views. Some good examples would be: Healing the sick Restoring the sight of the blind Bringing the death back to life. Showing compassion on the weak and the poor Demonstrating fairness and equality for men and women Miracles and signs and wonders Visions, words and scriptures. One of the key things that as a Vineyard we believe is important is that God through his Holy Sprit continues to work amongst us today. The miraculous things that Jesus did, such as healing the sick, raising the dead and showing compassion and mercy to the vulnerable and down-trodden in his society were not just for him to perform. We see that Jesus commissioned his disciples, and ultimately all of us as his followers to do the same thing. To not only talk about Jesus but also demonstrate God s rule and reign, and by doing so with the help of the Holy Spirit extend his kingdom. 3

4 Each miracle that is performed, every act of compassion that we give out or every piece of justice that we seek is pointing to the future kingdom of God. We believe that the kingdom apprenticeship that Jesus began with his disciples has never stopped, and that the invitation is open to every single one of us who follows him. THE NOT YET After talking about this you might be thinking, that s all very well, but I have prayed for healing for someone in the past, but they weren t healed, or maybe they got worse... Or possibly you have faced things that have made you think, if God reigns how could he have let this horrible thing happen. While God s kingdom is breaking into our world though Jesus, suffering pain and difficulty still remain. We see that even Jesus healed some people but not others. This is because of what we mentioned earlier, that we live in a time of now but not yet. God s reign is breaking though but is not yet absolute. This means that not everyone who we pray for healing for will be healed, not every miracle we chase after will materialise and not every situation will face the justice that it deserves. However, as the Vineyard we believe that we should embrace this tension, this tricky middle ground. We believe that God s kingdom can invade at any moment but accept that not everyone will experience this in the way we may hope for them. We do by choosing to have faith and humbly asking God to break through into our situation (be that healing, justice, or a miracle) and then place this firmly into Gods hands, knowing that he is he one in control. We are thankful for when God breaks through, and we understand that it isn t our fault or anything that we have done wrong when he doesn t, accepting that it is just a consequence of the time we live in, and knowing that ultimately all things will be made new in Christ. How would you explain the time of now or not yet to a friend? Encourage the youth to share their views 4

5 CLOSING PRAYER Encourage the youth to embrace the kingdom of God as we close in prayer. As a group it would be good to pray for: - Thanking God for his kingdom breaking though on Earth, and the sacrifice that Jesus made to make this possible - To give us the confidence to step out to extend his kingdom, and the strength to face any setbacks that we may face as part of the not yet aspect of the God s kingdom. It would also be good to offer the opportunity for anyone to pray for each other if they need any healing, or if they want confidence in praying for healing for someone else. 5