About the Book

Book: The Kingdom of God: Our life with Jesus the King

Author: John Avery

Genre: Christian Devotional, non-fiction

Release date: March 1, 2023

What is the kingdom of God? Many people only vaguely understand (or misunderstand) it. Is it a future heavenly existence where the nicest dreams come true and nightmares are miraculously purged? After all, it is sometimes called the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps we dismiss it as an irrelevant ideal. Pastors typically prioritize topics like salvation, grace, eternal life, faith, and prayer. Yet, the kingdom was central to the messages of John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament writers. Their words and behavior show that the kingdom theme is the framework uniting those topics and the entire mission of Jesus and His followers.

God’s kingdom centers on the King. It’s a life journey shared with other kingdom subjects.

This collection of 38 short pieces (2-3 pages each) explores vital questions like:

How well do we understand Jesus’ view of the kingdom of God?
What did Jesus mean when He spoke of being in (or outside of) the kingdom?
Does the kingdom make any difference to our lives right now? Should it?
Will the kingdom grow automatically, or do we have a part to play?

These pieces can be read quickly; they’re relaxed too—but think carefully and deeply.

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*I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are not an endorsement of agreement with authors and their opinions presented.

Author Interview

What was the most challenging part of the writing process for you and why?

I enjoy the writing a lot and find it sad that so much time now has to be spent marketing and trying to make social media work for me. I hope to learn enough with the first book or two to develop a system and a team of interested people (like bloggers and reviewers) who I can quickly fall back on.

What did your research process look like for this book?

Almost every piece begins in my own times with Him and reading the Bible. I might check what I sense against commentaries or reference works sometimes so that I am not going astray in my thinking and so I understand the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words, but the main message comes from those times with Him.

What audience did you have in mind when writing this book?

I think the pieces that I write bless people who enjoy more in-depth devotionals and perhaps Bible studies. They could be as young as 16 and any age above that. Women do a lot more reading than men, so I am very aware of that as I write and market.

How did you balance keeping your book informative yet engaging as a non-fiction?

Four things:
I try not to write things that have been written many times before or are too obvious; I believe God gives me fresh insights that are, nonetheless sound.
I try to include a brief life situation or personal experience that people can relate to.
I keep “heady” academic things to a bare minimum when they are essential.
I try to write in a casual, conversational way and to not use “Christianese” but everyday language.

What message do you hope readers take away from your book?

I pray that people will do more than read my words, that my words would be fuel for their times with the Lord and that He would speak and work in their lives as a result.

About the Author

John Avery is the author of The Name Quest: Explore the Names of God to Grow in Faith and Get to Know Him Better (Morgan James Publishing, 2015). The Name Quest won the 2016 Oregon Christian Writers’ Cascade Award for nonfiction. A compilation of short pieces, The Questions of Jesus, was published in 2022.

John is a trained teacher with over thirty years’ experience as a Bible teaching pastor, small group leader, missionary, and disciple maker. He has lived in England, Israel, Africa, and the Caribbean, ministering with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), international student ministry, and local churches. He and his wife, Janet, now make their home in Oregon. John likes to hike, snowshoe, and cross-country ski. John writes short, thought-provoking Bible devotionals at www.BibleMaturity.com many of which will be compiled into books like this one. He maintains a comprehensive resource for all the names of God at www.NamesForGod.net.

More from John

This book is a collection of short devotional pieces. They’re relaxed, but they challenge the reader to think carefully too. What is the kingdom of God? What does it mean for our lives?

Many people only vaguely understand (or misunderstand) the kingdom of God. Is it a future heavenly existence where the nicest dreams come true and nightmares are miraculously purged? After all, it is sometimes called the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps we dismiss it as an irrelevant ideal. Pastors typically prioritize topics like salvation, grace, eternal life, faith, and prayer. Yet, the kingdom was a priority for Jesus.

God’s kingdom centers on the King. It’s a life journey shared with other kingdom subjects.

The pieces explore vital questions like: