KIOM

Session 5: Time Changers

June 1, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM

The signs of time is changing because you are a TIME changer!

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream through it.” – Isaiah 2:2
Our 5th session started with worship led a Midtown worship team led by Najwa Loh with Tim Taylor. We learned the 7 cultural mountains that influence a nation. However, God has called us to be salt of the earth and ambassadors of heaven. It is God’s desire for us to influence the way people live and to shift their worldview to the Kingdom reality. We are to change the culture and to mold our society according to the teachings of Jesus.

For Session 6, we will look at several Bible verses to learn how we can “Take it to the Streets” and be in the world but not of the world. We will have a Guest Speaker who will be sharing God’s power in His ministry that is now serving millions of dollars worth of food to Indiana. We will learn how to apply heaven’s principles in practical ways. Some class participants will also be presenting their projects/outreaches. If you haven’t yet, please make a “Wish List.” Who knows, God may answer all or some of them so dream with God.

Assignment for Session 6

Read pages 140-173 of “The Kingdom In Our Midst”and answer Questions 3-5 on pages 174-176.

Contemplation: Meditate on Hebrews 13:20-22 and be reminded how the Lord has uniquely equipped you.

Experiential: Invite your friend to spend some time in the streets to prayer walk. Be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing and act on what you sense God is revealing to you at the moment.

Listen to Session 5

Session 5

God bless you!

Merlin

Session 4: Signs of the Kingdom

May 24, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM

Signs of the Kingdom are here with us

Shiloh MBC Men’s Choir

Session 4 started with worship from Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church! It was such a blessing to join the worship of a 7 – man choir. Thank you to Pastor Brian and his group. This week, our session will start with worship led by Najwa Loh and Tim Taylor, both from Midtown Vineyard community.

White board discussions

One of the Signs of the Kingdom is change. We watched this video from Andy Stanley about leadership and change. We learned that tradition could be a stronghold and an obstacle in experiencing the Kingdom. We also learned that the Pharisees and the Sadducees (basically the religious leaders with their tradition and unbelief) had more conflict with Jesus than the demoniacs and the sinners.

“Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” ³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” – Matthew 15:1-3

Assignment for Session 5

You are a Time Changer

Read pages 107 – 140 of “The Kingdom In Our Midst”and answer the Group Discussion Questions in Session 5.

Contemplation: Think about a project, service or event that you’ve wanted to do but have not taken the first step to start the process.

Experiential: Make intentional efforts to increase your faith by relying more on the Lord rather than your own strength and will.

Listen to Parts 1 and 2, 3 and 4

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Session 3: Kingdom Worldview

May 18, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM Study

Kingdom Worldview

At the start of Session 3, Don and Donna Cherry and Jeff Teel blessed the group with their awesome worship! This week, my friend Pastor Brian will bring one of his worship groups to lead the worship. It is going to be another awesome night!

Don & Donna and Jeff

Session 3 table discussions

Heaven invades earth when we partner with the Holy Spirit. Jesus launched His ministry after He was baptized by the Holy Spirit and Jesus was endowed by the Holy spirit to fulfill His Messianic mission. Jesus was bestowing on His disciples the same Spirit that had descended on Him at His baptism, including us, now. We learned in Session 3 that we literally become God’s hands and feet when we see His way of doing things (Kingdom worldview) and then act accordingly.

Worship and prayers

Is. 35:5-6 “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind…“

Assignment for Session 4

Signs of the Kingdom are here with us

Read pages 63-98 of “The Kingdom In Our Midst” and answer questions 1 thru 9 on pages 99-102

Contemplation: Are you living short of the wonder of God’s power within you?

Experiential: Do something out of your extraordinary routine to put your faith in action.

Listen to Session 3 Parts 1 and 2

Part 1:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 2

God bless you!

Session 2: The Possibility of Kingdom Living

May 11, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM

Session Two

It was a blessing to worship the Lord with Lirios de los Valle (Lillies of the Valley). Bilingual worship was powerful! As a part of experiential study, there will be different worship teams coming throughout the entire class. In heaven, there’s no division between Americans and Latinos or Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

Bilingual worship

Group discussion is an important part of learning

Our consciousness and our awareness of the promises of God affect our lives and our approach towards others, the next generations and beyond. At the group discussion, we shared our thoughts about our understanding of Genesis 28:10-22. We also learned about the definition of a kingdom and some of the characters of God as we study how we live out the Kingdom in our everyday lives.

In Session 3, we will discuss about the Kingdom worldview. We will look at how Jesus operated His life while He was here on earth and how we can be supernaturally natural through working with the Holy spirit within us.

At the end of each class, we pray for each other and speak blessings over our group.

Genesis 28:16, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it.“

Assignment for Session 3

Kingdom Worldview

Read pages 22-55 of “The Kingdom In Our Midst” and answer the Group Discussion questions in Session 3. Read Act Chapters 1 and 2.

Contemplation: Meditate on the topics about the Kingdom of God in the Bible

Experiential: Make a conscious effort to increase your awareness of the Lord’s presence in your life. What is He doing in your family, neighborhood and work places?

Listen to Parts 1 and 2

Part 1:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 2

God bless you!

Merlin

Session 1: Introduction to a study on Living in God’s Dominion here on Earth

May 5, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM Study

Two nights before the first session, we were blessed by IHOPE ministry through leading a prophetic and intercessory worship.

Prophetic and Intercessory worship

Wonderful worship led by Tree of Life Ministries

Then, Tree of Life Ministries blessed us with their worship at the start of our first session!

For our Second session, Lirios de los Valles (Lilies of the Valleys church) will lead the worship. Worship is a part of this class.

Psalm 22:3, “Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.”

All the class participants had the opportunity to introduce themselves and to get to know each other. The class is designed to be relational, interactive and conversational. It will also include group discussions, contemplation, assignments and practical/experiential application of the Biblical principles and values.

What would our neighborhoods look like if we could say, “The Kingdom of God is here”

“We will challenge ourselves to be in situations where our only option is to rely on God.”

Our main Scripture for Session 1 was Luke 17:20-21, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Assignment for Session 2

Session Two

Read pages 1-22 of “The Kingdom In Our Midst”
If you were given a chance of a lifetime, what would you do for your community? __________________________
What would our communities look like if we could say, “The Kingdom of God is here”

Contemplation: How does your awareness limit your experience of the Kingdom? ____________________________

Experiential: Begin a journal titled “My Spiritual Journey”

Listen to Session 1

Part 1:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 2

God bless you!

Merlin