1. THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2. At the Methodist General Conference, the vote was 61% to 39% to not change the wording in the Discipline regarding homosexuality. The same sex marriage and ordination issues were relegated to the end of the agenda and never came up for discussion

3. Age was not the only factor in voting. Culture was also a factor. There were about 1000 delegates, only 600 from the US. 400 were from outside the US, and 300 of the 400 from Africa and the Philippines where homosexuality is not allowed. Those 300 voted in a bloc against changing the wording. The 400 represented a 10% increase since the 2008 conference.

4. Suppose by 2016 or some later year, 75% of the US delegates want to approve the change in language. That's only 450 votes. The 25% no change votes from the US plus the 300 block vote of the Philippines and Africa also totals 450. That would leave the final decision in the hands of this 10% outside the US. I wonder if there is a possibility that the US would favor a change by a rather large majority and that change would be denied by those outside the US, would that lead to a split of the US Methodist from the Methodist in other countries.

5. What is a Kingdom? A realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant. A state or government having a king or a queen as its head.

6. Why are there terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of heaven in the Bible and do they mean different things? Mark and Luke use a Greek term commonly translated in English as "kingdom of God. Some Biblical scholars speculate that the Matthew text adopted the Greek word for heaven instead of the Greek word for "God" because, unlike Mark and Luke, it was written by a Jew for a Jewish audience.

7. Is the Kingdom of God a present reality or something that will occur in the future? The most likely time, is that the Kingdom of God began on earth at Pentecost. WHEN IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

8. WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

9. Read John 18 : 36 I think Jesus is saying that His Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom not a physical one.

10. Read Luke 17: 20-21 The Kingdom of God is already within you. God’s rule is a new spiritual principle already operative in our lives. The Kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

11. WHO GETS INTO THE KINGDOM AND HOW DO THEY GET IN?

12. Read John 3: 1-6 How do you understand these verses in terms of entering the Kingdom of God? Born of water signifies physical birth. Born of spirit signifies spiritual birth.

13. Soul comes from the Hebrew word nephesh which means breather. Spirit comes from the Hebrew word ruach which means breath So like the physical body (breather) cannot live without air (breath), the soul cannot live without the Spirit.

14. So to enter the Kingdom of God for an eternity, one needs to be baptized in the Spirit. So what about water baptism?

15. Read Matthew 5:3 Poor means lacking, so in this case perhaps it means that they are in the very beginnings of their spiritual understanding, like a child. What does this mean?

16. Read Luke 6:20 Why the difference from Matthew? While Matthew refers to lacking spiritual growth, Luke is referring to a lack of material possessions.

17. Read Luke 18: 15 - 17 Relate this to being poor in spirit? Children have a simple and unquestioning trust that God requires from those who enter into the Kingdom. They have a sense of dependence and an innocence. We come as a child in the Spirit and grow from there.

18. Read Luke 18: 18 - 24 How does this relate to being poor? Rich back then equated to being blessed by God, but this man let his riches separate him from God. Selling everything is not a universal requirement for everyone, but a hyperbole to get rid of anything that separates you from God so that you can enter the Kingdom.