What is the Kingdom of God?

Passage: Matthew 12:28; Acts 1:6-11

As we've seen in our study of Matthews gospel up to this point, Jesus has come proclaiming "the good news of the kingdom of heaven" and demonstrating its arrival in his powerful miracles of healing and deliverance, clearly showing his authority over the physical, natural and spiritual realms. Ironically, this led to rising hostility and hatred towards his message and ministry from those who claimed to be most expectant and excited about the coming of God's kingdom and promised King. Obviously they were missing something when it comes to understanding the kingdom of God. Which leads Jesus to tell some familiar stories, known as parables, to teach about the nature of the kingdom. However, these parables were meant as much to conceal and they were to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Even after having the meaning of these stories explained to them by Jesus, the disciples still didn't fully grasp the nature of the kingdom. Right before his ascension they were still asking about when he would establish it. So before we head into Matthew 13 and look at Jesus' parables of the kingdom, we will take a look at just what Jesus was talking about when he said, "the kingdom of heaven has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28). What is exactly is the kingdom of heaven, and what did Jesus mean that it is here now in our midst, and yet not fully restored? Join us Sunday as we hear what God's word has to say about the kingdom of heaven, also called the kingdom of God.