Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 1 | THE KINGDOM OF GOD: GOD’S REIGN INAUGURATED / 179

The Kingdom of God God’s Reign Inaugurated

LESSON 1

page 105 & 1

Welcome in the strong name of Jesus Christ! After your reading, study, discussion, and application of the materials in this lesson, you will be able to: • Show from Scripture that since the Fall, the reign of God has been inaugurated in this present world. • Articulate how Jesus of Nazareth in the world represents the Kingdom’s presence realized in his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. • Recite from memory a passage relating to the inauguration of God’s reign. Have You Heard the Announcement? Read Mark 1.14-15 . We all like to hear things announced. We like to hear good news, especially when it involves getting a gift, receiving a blessing, obtaining something you have longed for. When Jesus spoke these words in Mark, he had just recently started to proclaim the Good News. Having been baptized by John the Baptist and having endured the temptation of the devil in the wilderness, Jesus comes to Galilee. Mark gives us a time frame to gauge the date by: it is the time after John was put in prison. So, it was early in the ministry of Jesus, late in the announcement that John the Baptist had made regarding Jesus as the coming Anointed One. Jesus, at this critical moment in salvation history comes announcing, literally inaugurating (commencing), his kingdom preaching and ministry. Jesus recognized the importance of that time, suggesting that “the time is fulfilled,” that is, that time spoken of by the prophets that God’s reign had arrived. Without fanfare, without trumpets, fireworks, or great gatherings and official dignitaries, the Messiah announces that the Kingdom has come, i.e. that it was “at hand.” God’s rule, which had been promised and longed for, had now arrived with the coming of Jesus of Nazareth into the world. As spectacular and great as this announcement, very few heard it for what it was – the inauguration of the reign of God, the end of the devil’s rebellion, the end of the curse, and the promise of new life in God’s Kingdom. Only a handful got the message that day. What about today? Do you hear the Son of God proclaim

Lesson Objectives

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T heology and E th i c s

Devotion page 105 & 2