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Bulletin
Lay Lake Church of Christ
Volume 4 July 19, 2009 Number 29
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The Kingdom -
Present or Future?
David A. Bass
In Matthew 6 Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” Jesus taught them to pray for the kingdom which was yet in the future. Today, there is a great deal of confusion concerning the kingdom of heaven. Some who teach that the kingdom has not been established. Does the kingdom of God exist today or is it yet in the future?
A careful study of the Bible shows that the kingdom and the church are one and the same and that the kingdom has been in existence since the first Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus into heaven (Acts 2).
In Matthew 3:1,2 we read, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Shortly after being tempted of the devil in wilderness, “Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Both John the Baptist and our Lord preached that the kingdom of heaven “is at hand,” indicating that it was near or close by.
Jesus promised the apostles that He would build His church and give Peter the keys of entrance. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee keys of the kingdom of heaven:. . .” (Matthew .16:18,19). In the same chapter, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). IF the kingdom has not been established, there are some very old people walking on this earth! Peter used “one of the keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19) in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus back into heaven when he preached “repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” (Acts 2:38). This was the beginning point of the church for we read in Acts 2:47, “And the Lord added unto the church daily such as should be saved.”
Shortly before his death, Jesus promised his disciples, “. . . ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. . .” (Luke 22:30). Obviously, the Lord's Table is IN the kingdom! Yet in 1 Corinthians 10:21, Paul rebuked the church at Corinth for their perversion in partaking of “the table of the Lord,” and so it is evident that the Christians in Corinth were already in the kingdom!
In Colossians 1:13 we read, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” The tense of the verb (past) reveals that their entrance into the kingdom had already occurred. In Revelation 1:9 John said that he was “in the kingdom.”
There are many other passages that teach that the kingdom and the church are one and the same but space will not permit dealing with all of them. Dear friend, please study the Bible and do not be led astray by false teachers. Yes, the kingdom does exist today and you can be a member of the kingdom, the church by obedience to the gospel!
Prayer List
Mary Thompson; Martha Decker; Terry Woods; Tim Hamm; Bill Nelson (Frieda’s dad); J.C. Hyche (David’s dad); Ken White; Earl Dean (Don’s dad); Gayle Higginbotham; Colin Chandler; Harold Lee; Bob Spurlin; the Jones family; Kyla Phillips; Martha Eckert;Major Marshall; Adam Pilling; Scott Pierce; Jeff Warren. Please pray for our Summer Workers at Backwoods. Daniel Richardson (Iraq).
Activities & News
Scripture Reading Today: Matthew 2:1-12
Fellowship Meal: Next Sunday immediately following our morning worship. Plan to attend and bring a friend.
Pantry: macaroni and cheese
Grief Meeting: Next Sunday afternoon following our fellowship meal will be a period of discussion and prayer.
Congratulations: Berkeley Cecilia Smith was born on Wednesday (July 15). She weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.
July Birthdays
- 19 - Rusty Dodson
- 23 - David Bass
Vacation Bible School
Travelling Life’s Road With Jesus
July 20 - 22
7:00 until 8:30
!!! Classes for all ages !!!