And they will call him “Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) -Matthew 1:23

God is with us and we are already with God.

The present reality of God in action and how we can change our lives to be a part of it all is the central message of Jesus. He called it the Kingdom of Heaven. And he taught us to pray that it will be "on earth as it is in heaven." This was not wishful thinking, Jesus was letting us know that in some way it can be.

What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? How does it play out in our everyday lives? That's what we are going to explore. And it will change our lives, if we let it.

This series is about the stories Jesus told about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knew that stories speak to human hearts. And He needs our hearts involved. His stories help us understand that God's presence and power are openly available to us here and now, and we choose whether to accept His invitation to participate.

The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening." Matthew 13:10-13 (MSG)