"To the King and the Kingdom!"

I worked for a while as a janitor at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, IA for about a year and a half. One of the perks of working there was that they had a large church library and were always getting new books in and letting go of old ones. One day I happened upon a children's book, sitting alone on the giveaway cart. Being as it was my break time, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the staff lounge. I re-emerged about an hour later (well past the end of my break) with tears and my eyes and a very soft heart, for this "children's book" was really a book of parables meant to teach children the realities of living in the Kingdom of God. It was amazing. It was called, "Tales of the Kingdom" written by David and Karen Mains.

I took it home and let Amy read it, and she was touched as well. Much to our delight, we found that there were two more books in the saga and we ordered them for our birthday present this past year. I cannot describe to you how wonderful they are, so I can only recommend that you buy them and check them out for yourself... sorry, but I wont lend you mine. :) But you can find them here.

The main reason I introduced these books to you is that one of my favorite lines in the trilogy is often repeated by the Rangers, the warrior servants of the King. It is used to strengthen them and remind them of what it important. "To the King and the Kingdom!"

Few things excite my soul like talking about the King and His coming Kingdom. "Kingdom theology" is a buzz word of the Vineyard movement. It was pioneered by a man named George Eldon Ladd and was the theological impetus behind John Wimber's movement. It has since been assimilated into many different denominations, but I think it is wonderful. You will here Amy and I talk a lot about the Kingdom, so I wanted to share with you a few definitions...

Whenever I talk about the Kingdom of God, I am generally referring to "the rule and reign of God in the life of every believer that works itself out in the world." Therefore, the Kingdom is not so much a geographical place (though it will be in the future) as it is a state of mind and action. I will be posting more on this in the next week, but I wanted to get this first post in because it is always the hardest one for me when I contemplate a series. I hope that you stay tuned in and that you also check out the link above. The Tales of the Kingdom are really excellent if you have children or grandchildren. Peace to you my friends.