The Kingdom of God, Mentor Guide, MG02

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T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

3 Page 99 Contact As the saying goes, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” This is literally true when studying the issues and themes associated with the end times. Please notice again in the objectives that these truths are clearly stated. As usual, your responsibility as Mentor is to emphasize these concepts throughout the lesson, especially during the discussions and interaction with the students. The more you can highlight the objectives throughout the class period, the better the chances are that they will understand and grasp the magnitude of these objectives. While much of God’s divine revelation in the Bible is preoccupied with discovering the will of God for his creation in the future consummation of all things, one quick glance at the teaching and preaching of the modern Church reveals a patent neglect of prophecy. Our sermons, Bible study curricula, counseling, teaching, and worship services are only sparsely filled with any allusions to the Second Coming of Jesus. In many churches, pastors have gone for months even years without ever referring to the consummation of the Kingdom. One of the key objectives of your time together in this session is your ability to get your students to understand the relative importance that this teaching has on our ethics, our theology, and our ministry. The contacts below are focused on the lack of focus on the Second Coming, and deals with some of the ways that we tend to think about the great issues associated with Christ’s return. A broad range of responses exist in churches, with everything from a total neglect of the biblical prophecy to a kind of obsessive focus on the details associated with the end times. The goal is to help your students, most of whom are ministering to others in the city, to understand why God gave us this material, and what practical difference it can make to our lives and ministries when we properly and appropriately attend to it. It is important to note that in one sense, the consummation of the Kingdom is directly related to Jesus’ role as the King himself. In other words, the Father has granted all authority in heaven and in earth to Christ (cf. Matt. 28.18), and as such, Christ as the Conquering Lord has the authority and the mandate to bring to an end all vestiges of rebellion, sin, and unrighteousness, as the Father’s appointed and 4 Page 100 Summary of Segment 1