Author: Aaron
Last saved by: Alan

THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM.  (v 3-19-2014)

The GOSPEL- “The Story of Israel” coming to its resolution in the “The Story of Jesus”

From the beginning of time it has been God’s heart to have a people for himself – a people whose heart is for him and him alone.  Not because he wanted to control them, manipulate them, coerce them, rob them of all fun, create a group of moralists – but because he wanted a people whose heart was for him – a people who knew him personally and experientially – such that all that they thought, spoke and did reflected God and who he is. God alone would be worthy of worship. The picture in the Garden of Eden is that of walking with God.  It is a picture that runs throughout scripture.  

From this relationship flowed two other relationships:  our relationship with fellow human beings and our relationship with his creation. 

But humanity CHOSE not to follow God’s heart.  Humanity chose to disobey God – to sin.  In a moment their pure hearts knew evil.  Suddenly they found themselves hiding from God, shifting blame.  Sin continued to grow leading to jealousy, murder and all the other atrocities history has laid out for us.  Man’s heart was no longer for God.  Death, judgment and separation from God were the consequence.  

Since that time God has been working to bring restoration.  His desire is still the same:  that he might have a people for himself – a people whose heart is for him; a people who love each other and care for his creation: a people reflecting both God’s relational and creative qualities (among many others).  

There was only one way to accomplish this goal:  the sickness of humanity’s heart had to be dealt with:  the sin that destroyed and continues to destroy humanity’s relationship with God had to be dealt with.  Humanity needed a new heart.  The problem was men couldn’t do it themselves.  Like yeast, once it is put into dough, it cannot be removed no matter how one tries; so too humanity could not remove sin from its life and heart.  It required a miracle – an act that only God could bring about.  

And this is exactly what God set out to do from the moment humanity turned its back on him.  God’s words to the serpent: “He will crush your head” speaks to the time when God would decisively act to deal with humanity’s sinful heart.  But that is getting ahead of ourselves.  

While sin and death for people were the issues, God’s goal was always a restored creation expressed in a people whose heart was fully for him, expressed in love for each other.  

So he called Abram to leave his home; to enter a new land.  In doing so God promised to bless him and his descendants.  NOT as an end in itself; but that he and his descendants might be a blessing; indeed, in a prophecy that had a dual fulfillment, God told Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  

So in this way, the nation of Israel was created.  God covenanted with them.  Their calling:  to be God’s people.  To be a picture and model of what God planned for in his original creation.  Sin was still a problem, however.  It was in their worship that the issue of sin was dealt with:  God, knowing that they could not deal with their sin themselves created a way for their sin to be forgiven.  It was through a perfect, spotless, blameless, innocent lamb.  Every year a new lamb would be sacrificed before God and in some mysterious way, this perfect lamb’s sacrifice bore the people’s sins and enabled them to be forgiven.  And so it was that God’s people were once again restored to relationship with God.  

Sadly, Israel often refused to reflect God’s heart.  They often chose to turn their backs on him and run after other gods.  The pattern was pretty consistent:  Israel would “forget” and/or rebel against God; the consequences of their sin would result in them becoming desperate; they would repent and call out to God for help; God would act to save them; they would follow him for a while and then in time turn their backs on him again only to have the whole cycle repeated.  This is the story of the Old Testament.  Undergirding this story is God’s saving activity: his justice, grace, mercy, holiness and love.  

Throughout this story is anticipation that one day God would act decisively to restore his kingdom; his reign – and to do it through one human –the Messiah – the Lord – the Davidic Savior, the one who would “crush the serpent’s head”.  This would be the completion of the Story of Israel!

And so it was, “in the fullness of time” a child was born: Immanuel, “God with us”, Jesus, the Son of God.  His life on this earth reflected, for the first time since before Adam and Eve sinned, what God’s heart for humanity was.  His love and heart was first and foremost for his Father.  And it was out of this relationship that he then loved humanity – bringing good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, release for the oppressed, proclamation that God’s blessing was coming anew!  His message was that the good news of God’s kingdom was here and it was available to everyone!  That the kingdom that God had envisioned in the Garden of Eden, but had been ruined because of sin and death, was going to be restored in and through his son Jesus.  

While his life and ministry fleshed this out, it was his death and resurrection that dealt with sin and death and their ugly effect once and for all.  Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God.  In his “once for all time” sacrificial death he bore the sin of all humanity and in his powerful resurrection destroyed the power of sin and death: the two curses that started this whole mess.  He is now exalted at the right hand of God.

And so it was that a permanent way forward was made possible.  With the issue of sin and death dealt with God’s kingdom could be established and populated with people whose heart is for him: expressed in love for each other and his creation.  All those who come to Christ, believing in Him, being drawn by his inexpressible love and the Gospel story, and repenting of their sin, professing their faith and giving the lordship of their lives over to him, find themselves citizens of a new country – the Kingdom of God. 
The sign of this citizenship is the very Spirit of God living within them.  The Gospel message saves and redeems. The apostolic Gospel promises forgiveness, the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and justification.

THE STORY OF THE CHURCH

SO, we are all to:
•	become the people of “The Story of Jesus”.

•	immerse ourselves even more into “The Story of Jesus” (The story that is complete in Jesus)

•	explore how the Apostles’ writings take The Story of Israel and The Story of Jesus into the next generation and into a different culture, and how this generation led all the way to our generation.(The Story of the Church)

•	counter the stories of the world that bracket our story or seek to overtly destroy our Gospel story by announcing the Gospel story as the true story.

•	embrace the Gospel story so that we are saved and can be transformed by the Gospel Story.

•	continually emphasize the ordinances (sacraments) of ‘baptism’ which in itself is a public declaration of the saving Story of Jesus; and of the ‘Lord’s Supper’ (Eucharist) which when we partake, we are gospeling the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who, by God’s grace, enter this kingdom become agents of God in this hurting world.  Just as Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom in his life, ministry, death and resurrection, so too we are called to do the same.  

Therefore we are all called to turn:
•	from ignorance of God to a personal relationship with God
•	from bondage of sin and past mistakes to freedom, forgiveness, and healing
•	from individualism to interdependence with others in the local church
•	from lifestyle choices that harm us, others, and the earth  to choices that nurture wholeness, healing, joy, peace and beauty
•	from hating enemies and ignoring neighbors to showing love and justice to all
•	from loving possessions to sharing with all in need
•	from serving the lures of the world to serving others in love and compassion
•	from aimless existence to a mission of representing and proclaiming God’s kingdom on earth (gospeling, discipling)
As Christians we look forward to the day when Jesus will return, with a new heaven and a new earth.  All humanity will be judged.  Those in Christ will be raised with him to new life just as he was.  Sin will be no more.  Death will be no more.  There will be no more tears.  Humanity’s heart will be fully and completely for God.  The Kingdom of God will be fully and permanently realized, and all things brought under God’s eternal rule.

  Some Recommended Scriptures to read: 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 1:1-4, Romans 3:21-26, Philippians 2:5-11, Colossians 1:15-20, 1Timothy 3:16,  2 Timothy 2:8, 1Peter 3:18-22, Acts 2:14-39, Acts 3:12-26, Acts 4:8-12, Acts 10:34-43, Acts 11:4-18, Acts 13:16-41, Acts 14:15-17, Acts 17:22-31, Ephesians 1:13, Acts 16:25-34, Romans 10:9-13,  Acts 2:21, Ephesians 2:8-10

Mark 1:15, Matthew 12:28, Luke 4:16-30, Luke 6:20-26, Matthew 6:9-10, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 24:13-32, John 14:6, Mark 8:35, Mark 16:15

Our Guiding Principles:  Revised March 23, 2014

As a community of believers we recognize our oneness in Christ as well as our diverse backgrounds and traditions.  As His Church here in the Boundary we will subscribe to the following principles:

To worship God in Christ Jesus by His Spirit, we will:
•	Seek His kingdom and righteousness in every area of our lives. (“Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever”)
•	Gather on a regular basis and proclaim God’s greatness and authority through a variety of activities such as song, preaching, testimony, prayer and the Lord’s Supper, etc.

To be a growing and welcoming community of believers we will:
•	Actively and intentionally invite others to join us.
•	Seek to create an atmosphere and attitude of acceptance of Christians (and potential Christians) into our fellowship.
•	Allow Christ’s Spirit to grow within us such that His attributes are displayed through us; Attributes such as, unconditional love, peace, patience, truth, justice, righteousness, kindness, forgiveness, understanding, and humility.

To grow in our personal faith, we will:
•	Study His Word as revealed in the Holy Bible both individually and collectively, with sharing and discussion, to discover and apply the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to our individual lives and to our group life. 
•	Strive to believe and behave consistent with the testimony of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit; thereby pleasing the Lord, profiting us and growing the Kingdom.
•	Intentionally share our faith journeys and disciplines with one another and seek to understand and learn from other Christian traditions and interpretations of scripture.
•	Intentionally pray for one another that the Will of God in Christ Jesus might be fulfilled in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.

To help others grow in their faith, we will:
•	Strive to teach the word of God though our Sunday morning worship service and periodic study groups.
•	Carry on an effective education program for children.
•	Support and encourage a Christian youth group in the Boundary area.

To strive to be God’s hands in this community (and the world) we will:
•	Through the outpouring of the Spirit, teach, support, equip and encourage each other to carry out individual and corporate ministries to help others in need.

To be a vital and supportive Christian Community we:
•	Strongly believe in the need for, and inherent strength in, close Christian Fellowship and will strive to create situations and activities that support interpersonal relationships and ensure the attainment of our vision in all aspects of our work.
•	Will be intentional in our efforts to effectively communicate with other members of the community.