THE KING AND THE KINGDOM Pt. 1 - Pastor Deborah Cobrae

Main message: The sermon introduced a multi-week series on the King and the Kingdom, arguing that the kingdom of God is central to Jesus’ message and is both a present reality and a future consummation. Believers are citizens of that kingdom and are called to participate in God’s predestined plan to redeem, reconcile, and restore creation through Jesus and the church.

Key points:

• Jesus’ primary message was the kingdom; understanding its culture, laws, and perspective matters because Christians are “citizens of heaven” living in the world.
• God’s plan was predestined (not improvised); foundational texts (e.g., Ephesians 1:9–10) reveal a panorama from creation to consummation.
• There is a veil/covering over the nations (spiritual blindness and deception) that the church must help remove by proclaiming the gospel to the nations.
• The “three Rs” of God’s work: Redeem (buy back through Christ’s blood), Reconcile (bring us back to the Father), and Restore (return what was lost and transform believers into Christ’s image).
• The kingdom is “now” (present, partial experience) and “not yet” (future fullness); believers live by faith in the present while awaiting full consummation.
• The church and individual believers are essential agents in God’s reconciliation program—ordinary people are used by God to advance the kingdom.

Scriptures mentioned: Isaiah 25, Ephesians 1:9-10, Acts 1:3, Matthew 4:17, Luke 12:32, 1 Corinthians 13:9-10, Colossians 1:13