Before you start · for whoever is leading
The study is saying heaven is bigger than a departure lounge, and that the last picture in the Bible is a city coming down, not people flying up. Revelation 21 and Mark 1:15 are both about God’s world and God’s rule arriving here. The practical difference is the part worth landing: if God’s Kingdom is only somewhere you go later, your life now is just waiting. If it’s already breaking in, then Tuesday is where you live it.
John has just been put in prison, and that is when Jesus starts preaching.
Read the first thing He says, and what He says about the time.
Then read Paul’s opening in Galatians, and notice what he says Jesus gave himself for.
Mark 1:14-15 | Galatians 1:3-5
Tap a tool, then tap words. Highlight what gets your attention · underline what God is doing or saying · circle a repeated or unfamiliar word.
Read it aloud, then give everyone two minutes to mark it in silence.
Read both passages slowly. Notice what Jesus says has come near, the two things He tells people to do about it, and what Paul says Jesus gave himself for. What details stand out? What surprises you?
Mark 1:14-15: Jesus announces the good news: the Kingdom of God is near.
Galatians 1:3-5: Jesus rescues us from this present age into God’s purpose.
Mark it:
- Underline what God is doing or saying.
- Circle a word that repeats, or one you don’t understand.
- Highlight whatever gets your attention, even if you can’t say why.
Mark 1:14-15
14
15
Galatians 1:3-5
3
4
5
Mark 1:14-15
14
15
Galatians 1:3-5
3
4
5
NET Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. netbible.com
What stood out?
Go around the room. Each person reads one thing they marked. If you know why it stood out, say so. If you don’t, “it just stood out” is a complete answer. Nobody explains, nobody corrects.
Your markings are saved on this device and will be here when you come back.
The Gospel
In the ancient world, gospel language could be used for public announcements of good news, including announcements associated with rulers and victory. Jesus takes up that language to announce God’s reign. The people of Israel were living under Roman rule. Many Jewish hopes included national restoration and deliverance from oppressors, but Jesus’ announcement of the Kingdom both fulfilled and reconfigured those expectations.
But Jesus surprised everyone. His message was this: in Jesus, God’s Kingdom has come near and is already breaking into the present, though it has not yet come in fullness. The promises of restoration, peace, justice, and God’s presence weren’t delayed; they were beginning now. Rome didn’t have to fall for God’s rule to rise. Jesus declared that God’s reign (His presence, power, and leadership) was already breaking in.
That’s still the invitation today. We don’t have to wait for a perfect world or a distant heaven. Life under God’s care and rulership, real freedom, peace, and purpose, is available now. Jesus says, “Repent and believe.” In other words: turn around and take hold of what’s already at hand.
The Kingdom of God is already at work and still on the way, both now and not yet.
The Gospel is about Jesus’ whole life: His message, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection.
God’s reign is here, it’s near, and it’s still unfolding.
Living in the Kingdom isn’t just what we believe, it’s how we follow.
Read this one out loud.
Discussion questions
- How does the Gospel of the Kingdom fit with what you already believe about Jesus and heaven? What does it change?
- How do you understand the idea of an “Already/Not Yet” Kingdom? How does that shape your relationship with God?
- Where in your life do you tend to hold onto control instead of trusting God’s rule? What would it look like to turn that over to Him?
Write it out.
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Let’s pray together
Prayer prompt: Pray for the presence, the power, the love, or the goodness of the Kingdom of God to show up in each other’s lives.
Listen as you pray; share words of encouragement, Scriptures, or impressions you sense for one another.
- Where in your life do you feel stuck, anxious, or in need of God’s leadership?
- Where do you need to experience the peace, power, or presence of His Kingdom?
Leave space for silence, listening, and Spirit-led prayer. If someone senses a word, a Scripture, or a picture for another, offer it gently and pray into it.
Let’s pray
Breakthrough is when God’s Kingdom breaks into your reality: His healing where there is pain, His freedom where there is bondage, His presence where there is loneliness. Jesus is King; His freedom, peace and purpose are available now. Pray from that Kingdom, not toward it.
Be still for a moment. Open your hands and simply pray: “Come, Holy Spirit.”
Sit with his two questions and write down what comes: where you feel stuck, anxious, or in need of God’s leadership, and where you need to experience the peace, power, or presence of His Kingdom. Then pray his prayer over your own life, asking for the presence, the power, the love, or the goodness of the Kingdom of God to show up in it, and write down any encouragement, Scripture, or impression you sense while you pray.
You can pray more than once. Stay present, and trust that God is at work. Take your time; there is no hurry.
Choose one. Say it out loud so someone else hears it.
Next time you gather, share what you practiced and how God used it, not for pressure but for encouragement.
The reminder downloads as a calendar event. Open it and it lands on your calendar for tomorrow morning.
Done.
Right here, right now, the life of the Kingdom of God is within reach.