The purpose of the series is pretty simple. Jesus is the first to proclaim the Gospel Of The Kingdom and we, as his followers, are expected to learn, live, and proclaim the same Gospel Of The Kingdom today. Even though God spoke through prophets and angels in the past and has spoken through apostles and saints afterward, there has never been a more vital word spoken than the proclamation of the Gospel straight from the mouth of Jesus. From this foundation we are able to understand both the prophetic word that preceded it and the apostolic word that followed. This series is intended to introduce us to this moment in time so that we, just like those twelve men then, can also respond to the exciting call of Jesus to leave everything behind and follow him.
Jesus spent three years with twelve men who were with Him from beginning to end. Over the course of three years these men witnessed not only the lifestyle of God among men, but also heard the message of the "Kingdom". After three years Jesus died on the cross and in three days rose from the grave. Jesus revealed himself alive not only to the twelve men who were with him, but also to many other witnesses. Before Jesus ascended into heaven he left his parting words with the twelve apostles.
Matthew 28:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The purpose of the church cannot be more simply defined than this mandate of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. Go and proclaim the Gospel Of The Kingdom that he himself had taught.
