This is part 3 of the Kingdom Seminar, based on the book Kingdom Journey. The kingdom of God is the golden thread running throughout the whole Bible from beginning to end. In this presentation, we’ll consider some of the key texts from the Old and New Testaments that define what the kingdom is. In contrast Read more about 564 Kingdom Seminar 3: Defining the Kingdom[…]
Last December, my first ever published book came out, called Kingdom Journey. Recently I recorded a seminar on the kingdom at a church in South Carolina based on the book that I will be playing out over the next 5 weeks. In this seminar I highlight some of the key points in my book and Read more about 562 Kingdom Seminar 1: Why Should You Care[…]
This is part 11 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Gospels are evangelistic biographies of Jesus. In today’s episode you’ll learn the basic storyline of the four biblical Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then we’ll go through them from shortest to longest to see how each brings a unique and helpful perspective Read more about 544 Read the Bible for Yourself 11: How to Read the Gospels[…]
This is part 9 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The 17 books of the prophets comprise 27% of the Old Testament. Although some parts can be difficult to comprehend, they reveal the heart of God with raw pathos and brutal honesty. To read the prophets, then, is to draw near to God. No Read more about 542 Read the Bible for Yourself 9: How to Read the Prophets[…]
I’ve been putting out podcast episodes on Restitutio since 2015. I’ve interviewed many authors in that time. However, I’ve never been interviewed as an author. That changed a couple of days ago when Sam Tideman of Transfigured had me on his show to talk about my new book, Kingdom Journey. We discussed the biblical idea Read more about 535 Kingdom Journey Interview (Sam Tideman)[…]
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Do the Gospels give you the impression that the kingdom of God is about to arrive? My guest today is Troy Salinger who wrote an interesting article called, “The Postponement of the Kingdom – A Response to Preterists and Anti-Missionary Rabbis.” His idea is that the Read more about 524 Kingdom Postponed (Troy Sallinger)[…]
This is part 17 of the Early Church History class. Throughout the first five hundred years of Christian history, a significant shift occurred in what we believed about our ultimate destiny. The New Testament and the early church fathers repeatedly expressed belief in God’s kingdom coming to earth. Over time, however, this idea gave way Read more about 499 Early Church History 17: The Kingdom of God in Early Christianity[…]
Did you know that scholars who work on Jesus divide starkly into two major camps? On the one hand, the evangelicals do such great work on the existence of God, the historicity of the resurrection, and the reliability of Scripture. But, then they read the Gospels through the filter of their theological commitments, always coming Read more about 428 Looking for the Historical Jesus between Evangelical and Liberal Scholarship (Sean Finnegan)[…]
This is the third and final part of our series, God at Work in Kenya with Maurice Chahilu of Kingdom Life Ministries. We’ve come to see so much about what is going on over there, but there’s still more to learn. Last time I had asked bishop Maurice about his greatest challenges and what he Read more about Interview 59 God at Work in Kenya 3 (Maurice Chahilu)[…]
This is part two of our series on God at Work in Kenya with a focus on Kingdom Life Ministries and Maurice Chahilu. In our last episode we saw how Maurice got started in his ministry. (If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, go back and listen to it first). Today, we’ll hear about Read more about Interview 58 God at Work in Kenya 2 (Maurice Chahilu)[…]
God is doing something in Kenya and churches are forming and growing rapidly. Today we are beginning a series of shows on the work of Kingdom Life Ministries and the visionary who began the work there, Maurice Chahilu. A few weeks ago I went to Africa to visit Maurice and the churches he oversees. I Read more about Interview 57 God at Work in Kenya 1 (Maurice Chahilu)[…]
Driving off road in northwest Kenya is an exciting though challenging experience. The car bounces so much I’m afraid I’m going to hit my head on the ceiling. Once we even had to get out to lighten our little white Mazda so it could climb over boulders without scraping the bottom too much. In one Read more about Reflections on My Trip to Kenya[…]
Although often misunderstood as a mere synonym for the church, the kingdom of God is much more to do with God’s plan to rescue our entire world from sin, dysfunction, and destruction. Michael Heiser, resident scholar for Logos Bible Software and host of the Naked Bible Podcast explained the kingdom in episode 37 like this: Read more about Michael Heiser on the Kingdom[…]
We now begin a series of four lectures on the eternal destiny of the righteous and the wicked, including the kingdom and the judgement. For today we are going to focus on what God promises for his own people in the age to come. We’ll cruise through the entire bible (right from Genesis to Revelation), Read more about Theology 5 — Kingdom Hope[…]
Have you ever heard someone say that Jesus’ contemporaries were wrong about the kingdom of God, because they conceived of it in political terms? I’ve heard Christian thinkers suggest that Jesus’ notion of the kingdom was entirely apolitical and that the disciples were foolish to assume that the kingdom had anything to do with national Read more about Is God’s Kingdom a Political Revolution?[…]
Raised in Low Hampton, NY in a Baptist home, William Miller’s parents taught him “to reverence the Scriptures as a revelation from God to man.”[1] However, when he encountered inconsistencies in the bible, he was unable to get good answers for his many questions. At twenty-two, he moved to nearby Poultney, Vermont where he fell Read more about The Man Who Discovered the Kingdom in 1816[…]
Kenneth LaPrade lives in El Paso, Texas, on the border between the United States and Mexico. His wife is Mexican and many of the folks in his house church are from Mexico. In such a context, immigration is always a touchy subject, but lately some Christians have baptized certain political rhetoric and presented it as Read more about Interview 42 Christian Solidarity vs. Polarizing Politics (Kenneth Laprade)[…]
What is heaven? Throughout the bible we find different layers of meaning, including (1) heaven as sky, (2) heaven as God’s throne, and (3) heaven as God’s realm or dimension. Although heaven is a reality, it is not where we go when we die. Rather the bible teaches that the dead are asleep until the Read more about 149 Heaven’s for the Birds (Sean Finnegan)[…]
Biblical Somatology How the Bible’s View of the Body Cures Social Ills and Unleashes Human Flourishing Sean Finnegan (Restitutio.org) Presented May 6, 2018 27th Theological Conference Sponsored by Restoration Fellowship Introduction Between the apathy and reductionism of those who think our biological bodies don’t matter, and the vanity and superficiality of the celebrity culture that Read more about Biblical Somatology[…]
Here is a short 30 minute explanation of Bill Schlegel’s understanding of what the phrase “son of God” means in the bible. He explains that this term has nothing to do with deity, but instead refers to the descendant of David whom God anoints as king. Rather than impose on scripture the philosophically freighted ideas Read more about Bill Schlegel’s “Son of God in the Bible”[…]
Join Professor N. T. Wright as he shows how well Paul’s epistles fit with the Hebrew prophets and the Gospels. Rather than seeing Paul as the purveyor of a heavenly hope wherein saints may enjoy disembodied bliss, Wright highlights a number of key passages that unlock Paul’s kingdom-centered hope. —— Links —— Take a look Read more about 136 Whatever Did St. Paul Do with the Kingdom of God? (N. T. Wright)[…]
This world is not my home I’m just a passing through My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore Oh lord you know I have no friend like you If heaven’s not my home then lord Read more about 110 Heaven Is Not My Home (Sean Finnegan)[…]
We’ve looked at how and why Christianity lost the kingdom message; in this episode you’ll learn how we got it back. Over the last five hundred years, three different movements have made significant strides in recovering the kingdom: the Anabaptists (16th century), the Adventists (19th century), and liberal scholars (20th century). In this lecture you’ll Read more about 105 Recovering the Kingdom (Kingdom of God 14)[…]
This is part three of a series of three lectures on why some Christians ended up rejecting the kingdom message in the first few centuries of Christianity. In this part, I work through the major differences between how Jews and Greeks read scripture. What we find is that the Christians who didn’t like the kingdom Read more about 104 The Kingdom Is Too Jewish (Kingdom of God 13)[…]
Last time we saw that some influential Christians rejected the biblical teaching on the kingdom because the idea of living on earth forever seemed crude to them. This time, we look at how the ancients thought about bodies and bodily pleasures. As it turns out, from (at least) Plato onward, many philosophers tended to embrace Read more about 103 The Kingdom Is Too Hedonic (Kingdom of God 12)[…]
Now that you’ve seen the historical defenders of the kingdom faith, it’s time to turn our attention to those who fought against it. Over the next three lectures you’ll learn the main reasons why Christianity rejected the kingdom message of the bible and replaced it with going to heaven or hell at death. First up, Read more about 102 The Kingdom Is Too Crude (Kingdom of God 11)[…]
We’re beginning a new series on stewardship. To start with, we’ll discuss the biblical mindset towards stewarding the earth. Future episodes will address stewarding our bodies and finances. In this show, we begin with creation theology and move to consider how God injected covenantal significance into how Israelites were to think about their land. Lastly, Read more about Off Script 30: Stewarding the Earth[…]
How does your belief in the God’s coming kingdom affect your life now? Now that we’ve looked at the kingdom as hope (what we look forward to) and gospel (what we preach to others), we’ll examine how God calls us to embody the kingdom now. Taking our cue from Jesus’ kingdom-saturated ministry, we’ll see how Read more about 99: The Kingdom Way (Kingdom of God 8)[…]
Now that we’ve looked at many of the kingdom texts from the Old Testament, today we’ll get into the New Testament and see what Jesus and the apostles taught about the kingdom. We’ll examine the titles of Jesus, a couple of his parables, some texts from Paul and James, and conclude in Revelation. In this Read more about 89: Kingdom in the New Testament (Kingdom of God 5)[…]
Last time we looked at the kingdom prophecies in Isaiah. Today we’ll examine Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and Daniel to continue developing a biblical picture of the age to come. This is lecture 4 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please Read more about 87: Kingdom in the Prophets (Kingdom of God 4)[…]
The prophet Isaiah spoke more about the kingdom than any other prophet in the Hebrew bible. Consequently, his book is a phenomenal place to begin developing our understanding of what the kingdom will be like. Stitching together his various snapshots, we encounter a magnificent collage detailing a new world full of peace, justice, and healing. Read more about 86: Kingdom in Isaiah (Kingdom of God 3)[…]
It’s impossible to understand the kingdom of God or Jesus without having a grasp of the history-changing promises God made with Abraham and David. To Abraham God covenanted the land and to David, a descendant to rule. Ultimately these two covenants find their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth–the Messiah. This is lecture 2 of the Read more about 85: Kingdom Covenants (Kingdom of God 2)[…]
Today we begin a new class on Restitutio on the Kingdom of God. Jesus said the kingdom was like a treasure hidden in a field—it’s so valuable it’s worth selling everything to purchase. He said to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness above what we eat or wear. In this class we’ll spend Read more about 84: Kingdom Restoration (Kingdom of God 1)[…]
The best chapter on resurrection in the bible is 1 Corinthians 15. In it, the Apostle Paul masterfully lays out the Christian position on resurrection while overcoming common objections in the culture. As it turns out, people living in Corinth thought the idea of resurrection seemed real bizarre. Looking at tombstone inscriptions, Plato’s Phaedo, and Read more about Podcast 80: Resurrection People (Sean Finnegan)[…]
Back in Interview 11, Joe Martin talked about how he was soon to step down from his leadership position at the Church of God (General Conference). In this episode, you’ll hear from Seth Ross, who has taken up the mantle and who casts his vision for the future. You’ll learn about his background, his twenty Read more about Interview 16: Church of God Vision (Seth Ross)[…]
In this vintage message, Sir Anthony Buzzard makes the case that the gospel Jesus preached was about the kingdom. Although Jesus remains incredibly popular all around the world today, his message remains obscured even among many sincere followers. How can we call ourselves Christians if we are ignorant of Christ’s proclamation? The kingdom is not Read more about Podcast 71: What Good Is Jesus without His Gospel? (Anthony Buzzard)[…]
The gospel is the message we believe in that results in immortality (2 Tim 1.7-10). If I were the devil, I would target the gospel message so that even if some Christians rustled up the courage to actually share it with others, they’d have a distorted or partial message. In fact, scripture tells us that Read more about Podcast 70: Getting the Gospel Right (Sean Finnegan)[…]
What is the gospel? Growing up, Jacob Rohrer heard about Jesus dying for his sins so he could go to heaven. However, he’s come to see that this way of thinking is not only wrong, but goes against what Jesus himself taught. Listen in to Rohrer as he explains the five elements of the gospel, Read more about Interview 12: Jacob Rohrer on the Gospel (Jacob Rohrer)[…]
Believing Jesus is Lord and Christ is both religious and political. Watch this to see how early Christians living in Philippi would have interpreted the gospel message as requiring a radical shift in allegiances from Caesar to Jesus. Here are the slides from this sermon: Here are my notes: Battle of Actium (Sept 2, 31 Read more about Kingdom Citizenship[…]
Brian and Rochelle Allen of Vermont share their journey of faith, including how they became discontent with the traditional evangelical doctrines they grew up believing. In this interview they discuss how recontextualizing the bible in its Hebrew thought-world opened their eyes to understand Jesus so much better. He is the Jewish Messiah sent to redeem Read more about Interview 5: Seeking Truth Wherever It Leads (Brian and Rochelle Allen)[…]
I was listening to Tim Keller’s sermon called “Culture” in his series, The Vision of Redeemer, and encountered this amazing summary of the Christian hope: In the future you have all these cultural activities going on. Why? Because our future is a material future. The book of Revelation makes it very clear. At the end Read more about Tim Keller on the Kingdom on Earth[…]
Historical Jesus 5: Kingdom Saturated Ministry How should you understand Jesus’ miracles, healing ministry, and exorcisms? Surely, these are acts of compassion, but they are so much more. In this lecture, learn how Jesus’ deeds and words coalesce around his primary ministry focus–the kingdom of God. By examining three ancient Hebrew prophecies, you’ll see how Read more about Podcast 29: Kingdom Saturated Ministry (Historical Jesus 5)[…]
Historical Jesus 4: Baptism and Temptations Before he began his ministry, Jesus first had to receive John’s baptism and then overcome Satan’s temptations. After briefly explaining his baptism, we’ll go into detail exploring why Satan’s temptations were so tempting as well as what we can learn from Jesus’ example. How does Jesus defeat Satan where Read more about Podcast 28: Baptism and Temptations (Historical Jesus 4)[…]
Historical Jesus 2: Birth of the Messiah Drawing on the promises God gave Abraham and David, and the historical events prior to Jesus’ life, we can get an idea of what messianic expectations were like when Jesus of Nazareth was born. In this lecture, learn how the birth of the messiah both fulfilled prophecy as Read more about Podcast 26: Birth of the Messiah (Historical Jesus 2)[…]
Here’s the original paper in pdf form. I presented this talk at the 18th Theological Conference held near Atlanta, GA. In it I present a case for the radical practice of loving our enemies. Whether you believe Christians can and should use violence to defend themselves or others or if you think more along the Read more about Podcast 15: A Theology of Nonviolence (Sean Finnegan)[…]
Nathan Crowder fell asleep on November 24, 2015 in Sanford, Florida USA. He now awaits the resurrection in which he so passionately believed. In an effort to honor him, I have collected what works I have of his below: Christ–the Firstborn Head of the Universe (2007) Nathan Preaching to Strangers (2007) Evangelism Class (2008) TruthMatters Read more about Nathan Crowder’s Works[…]
Here’s a documentary I contributed to by Restoration Fellowship some years ago about the shocking lack of knowledge about the kingdom of God in mainstream Christian evangelism and teaching. Although some evangelical leaders have made great progress in understanding the kingdom message, the average church-goer remains attached to the old heaven-at-death mythology. Watch on YouTube
Presented at the 2013 Theological Conference Sponsored by Restoration Fellowship by Sean Finnegan From the earliest days of Jesus’ Jewish apocalypticism to Augustine’s authoritative City of God, early Christians have held a variety of views about the final home of God’s people. Already in middle of the second century, Justin Martyr reports Christians held opposing Read more about Rejecting the Kingdom 1: Too Crude[…]