Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

140 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 1

Roman Cross, and buried in a borrowed tomb, rose triumphantly from death to life through the power of God. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!” b. For fifty days, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, we ponder the risen Jesus in his appearances to his disciples. Given all authority, Jesus ascends up to heaven to God’s right hand, and sends to us the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. c. On Pentecost we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the people of God, the Church. Jesus is now present with his people in the person of the Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. We ponder this mystery together on Trinity Sunday.

5. As to Spiritual Formation : Let us participate by faith in the victory of Christ over the power of sin, Satan, and death

G. Kingdomtide (The Season after Pentecost): the Reigning Lord in Heaven, the Bridegroom, and Coming King

1. Biblical framework : Now reigning at God’s right hand till his enemies are made his footstool, Jesus pours out his benefits on his body, the Church. Soon, at God’s appointed time, the risen and ascended Lord will return to gather his Bride, the Church, and consummate his work–the reign of Christ, the King.

2. Exemplar Scripture references

a. Matt. 28.18-20 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” b. Rom. 14.7-9 – For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.