“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:17b (NLT)
“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 (NLT)
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT)
Grace is _______________ so I can _______________________.
In Matthew’s biography of the life of Jesus, Jesus began his ministry following his baptism and his 40 days of temptation in the wilderness with this bold declaration (4:17b): “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught on prayer and one of the petitions he invited his followers to pray was (6:10): “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” What is this Kingdom that Jesus came to bring? What is this Kingdom Jesus invites us to pray to come? In this series, we will look at several of Jesus parables or stories he gave about the Kingdom in Matthew 13 and apply them to our lives today as we live as Kingdom people.
Wes Olds is a 1993 graduate of The University of Kentucky and received his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2002. Prior to coming to Grace Church in 2006, Wes began a multi-cultural, urban church called The Rock-La Roca United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY (2002-2006). While there, he co-founded Lexington’s “Room in the Inn”, a ministry of hospitality and shelter for homeless men. From 1997-2002, Wes was a Pastor with Youth and Evangelism at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington. From 1994-1997, Wes was Pastor with Youth at Christ United Methodist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and from 1991-1994 was the Director of Youth Ministries at Versailles United Methodist Church in central Kentucky.
Wes has served as an adjunct instructor at Asbury University, a ministry mentor with Asbury Theological Seminary and has been a contributing writer for several projects with Group Publishing and United Methodist Communications. He has been a guest speaker and worship leader for retreats at local churches and conferences for youth and adults.
Wes is a leadership coach for Spiritual Leaders, Incorporated (SLI) training pastors on creating generative leadership environments. Through SLI, Wes has facilitated yearlong incubators for over 75 pastors in Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas.
Wes is married to Becky and they have one teenage son named Caleb. Wes loves music and plays guitar, enjoys fishing, sports, history and hanging out with his friends and family.
“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:17b (NLT)
“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 (NLT)
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT)
Grace is _______________ so I can _______________________.
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