Creation: The Kingdom Begins
Entering Conversation
This week we began a new series on The Story of the Kingdom. Our hope is that we will better understand the one story of the Bible and our place in it.
It’s so natural to see our lives in terms of a story. Kids almost instinctively begin to act as characters from the stories they hear/see/know. Do you remember the stories that first captured your imagination – whether as a young child or later in your life? Go around the room and give space for each person to try to answer.
Read this Sermon Recap
Chapter 1: Creation
Read: Revelation 1:4-6
As he begins his letter to churches, the apostle John speaks to 2 audiences. He blesses his listeners with grace and peace, speaking confidently in the authority of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
He then turns to Jesus, calling for him to receive glory and dominion forever. This, for 3 reasons: because of how Jesus loves us, because of how He freed us from sin by his own blood, and because He has, in the end, made of us a kingdom of priests.
That reality – being a kingdom of priests - far from being a new thing, is an act of restoration, returning us to our original calling as human beings.
In our time, it’s common to think of a “kingdom” as a place, a land being ruled by a king or queen. In biblical thought, the kingdom of God is wherever His rule is received and obeyed, wherever His will is being done on earth as it is in Heaven. It’s not defined by a location occupied, but by a Lord obeyed.
At the beginning of the story, Genesis tells us not just how the world was made, but also how God intended to extend his reign over all of it. Human beings were made in God’s image, reflecting His character and rule. The kingdom would expand as men and women multiplied and moved out of the garden, using their God-given authority to cultivate and develop the earth.
This origin story sends us into the rest of the story with 2 ideas.
One, the rule of God in the beginning is over all of life. Not just what was described in the text, but over all the immense potential found in the earth. The “implications of the stuff.” There is no human activity whose beginning wasn’t included – ordained and blessed - in the stuff of the garden.
Two, God’s intentions for human beings are clearly seen in the Temple language of the Genesis story – and repeated again to Israel (Exodus 19:6) and the church (Revelation 1:6). We were made to be a kingdom of priests – priests for whom the whole world is the temple.
So we live now with hyphenated titles: mother-priest, engineer-priest, (fill-in-the-blank)-priest. In whatever we do, we arrive with God’s blessing on the world and a task to communicate and reflect His good intentions for it.
This story isn’t just the Bible story. It’s our story. Each one of us, so to speak, arrives in life as part of the potential of the garden.
This Evenings Practice
(Leaders: Before going into the questions, you may want to give your group a minute or so of silence, reflecting on and listening to the Spirit around the question, “What is Jesus inviting you to notice tonight?”)
Tonight, we are going to use this set of questions to guide our discussion. You may want to pull up the guide on your phone to help you process and reflect.
1. What stood out for you from Sunday? Were there any new thoughts or ideas, or maybe something you heard in a new way?
2. We’re going to be speaking of “the kingdom of God” much in the next 5 weeks. What’s a good way to understand that term? Let the group work together to describe what is meant by “kingdom of God” as the Bible speaks of it. It might be helpful to make a shared note to capture your definition and/or descriptions, to be revisited in future weeks.
3. God extends his kingdom, his rule by sending human beings as priests into the world. We each carry many “titles”, from family to vocation. Take a minute to try to name some of those titles for yourself. (EG, spouse, teacher, parent, friend, etc). Ask the Spirit to help you choose one to think more carefully on. How does adding “priest” to that title open up a new way to imagine what God wants for you in that space? Let 2-3 people answer, or as many as would like.
4. To end your discussion time, let each person name the title that they are thinking about. Pray together for the Spirit’s help to enjoy those roles in God’s kingdom, and for wisdom to reflect God’s rule well in it.
Practice for the Week
Practice for the week: Take these prayers with you. Text one or two people during the week to let them know you’re praying for them in this, too.