powerpoint notes

• What is the Kingdom of God?

  • Occurs 122 times in the New Testament.
  • 99 of these occurrences are in Synoptic Gospels, and are mostly directly from the mouth of Jesus.
• Religions and hope

  • Jesus has a Dream of an ideal future, and dedicated his life to making it a reality.
  • Jesus’ Dream is the KINGDOM OF GOD.
• The Dream of Jesus = Kingdom of God

  • Jesus had a strong vision of an ideal future, which he referred to as the Kingdom of God.
  • It is also the focus of the Synoptic Gospels.
• The Jews of Jesus’ time – their expectations

  of a Messiah

  • Strong political leader and warrior king.
  • A future king like King David, who would rule Israel as a strong and independent nation, free from Roman occupation.
  • Associated with grandeur and power.
• The Kingdom of God proclaimed

  • The Kingdom of God is not a geographical place.
  • Easier to think of it as the “Reign of God” or the “Rule of God”.
• What is the Kingdom of God?

  1. Jesus embodied the Kingdom of God. Jesus believed that the Kingdom of God was being revealed by his words, deeds, actions, and death.
  2. Jesus’ followers fully recognized the Kingdom of God only after Jesus’ Resurrection. The early community of Jesus only fully recognized the Kingdom of God after the death of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
  3. We must respond to Jesus’ invitation to enter the Kingdom of God. When we love as Jesus did, we will be present in the Kingdom of God.
• In Mark 14:36, Jesus refers to God as

  “Abba Father”. Abba is the Aramaic

  word which is the equivalent as

  “Daddy”.
• Jesus often taught with parables.

  Parables are stories.

  Parables are simple stories that tell us important ideas.

  A story that hides a message.


  A simple story used to illustrate a

  moral or spiritual lesson.
• A story that uses metaphors

  based on daily life to convey

  religious truths

  (Metaphor = a word or phrase for

  one thing that is used to refer to

  another thing in order to show or

  suggest that they are similar)

  Comes from the Greek word

  parabole, meaning

  “comparison”.
• Core Elements of Parables

  • Compare things.
  • Use elements from everyday life to relate to audience.
  • Contain a surprise twist to engage audience.
  • Describe God—God’s nature, qualities, or attributes.
  • Give examples of people’s relationships with one another.
  • Explain how God wants people to act, especially if they want to be a part of the Kingdom of God.
  • Describe the Kingdom of God.
• Who is “the neighbour”?

  • Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three men who encountered the robbed man were his neighbour. The lawyer identified “the
  • neighbour” was the Samaritan.
• The morale of the story is

  that we must love without

  limits and must even love

  our enemies.
• Parable of the Good Samaritan

  • Comparison
  • Priest from the Temple + Levite = People who are “religious” or think they are good, but don’t care about those in need.
  • “Good Samaritan” = People are loving and caring to others
• Parable of the Good Samaritan

  • Surprise twist
  • The Samaritans were enemies of the Jews, so they would not have expected a Samaritan to rescue and help the man who was robbed and beaten.
• Parable of the Good Samaritan

  • What does it tell us about God and God’s qualities?
  • God is always loving and merciful and cares for those who are poor and need help.
• The Parable of the Good Samaritan

  • How should we act especially in our relationships?
  • We should be loving and willing to help all people, even the people we do not like or people who are not our friends.
• Themes of the Parables

  • Descriptions of the “King” (i.e. God). What is God’s nature, qualities, God’s attitudes in dealing with people.
  • “Kingdom” Responses. How we should act in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
  • Relationships with our neighbours. People’s relationships with one another and the world at large.
  • The Fulfillment of the Kingdom. The future coming of God’s Kingdom in its fullness.
• Understanding the Parables

  • Look for the central messages of the parables. The message of Jesus are to the point AND more direct than we expect or recognize.
  • Look for the questions posed in the parables. Pay attention to questions that Jesus posed to his listeners and their responses, whether directly or indirectly.
• Parable of the Lost Coin AND Parable of the

  Lost Sheep

  • Comparison
  • Sinners or those who turn away from God are being compared to lost sheep
• Parable of the Lost Sheep

  • Surprise twist
  • You would not expect the shepherd to go looking for the one sheep that is missing when he has 99 sheep that are safe.
• Parable of the Lost Sheep

  • What does it tell us about God and God’s qualities?
  • He cares about every one of us, and if we go astray from God, he will never tire from bringing us back to God. And when he welcomes us back, he welcomes us lovingly.
• Parable of the Lost Sheep

  • How should we act especially in our relationships?
  • Be forgiving and loving to others always, even those we think are “lost”.
• Parable of the Lost Sheep

  • What does it tell us about God’s Kingdom?
  • The kingdom of God will always accept us despite who we are and what we have done.