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.

Click here to get your copy!

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:

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?

Author Interview

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

The main feedback (apart from friends, who are always nice) comes from reviewers. I am happy to see lots of good reviews. People seem to find my books professionally written and produced, they enjoy the writing, and find the insights helpful.

How do you overcome writer’s block? Do you have any advice for others in finding their process to overcome it?

Almost every piece begins in my own times with Him and reading the Bible. Until I get a new idea from Him, I don’t get concerned about writer’s block. It helps that I will never work to a tight deadline; I think that pressure would damage my times with the Lord. I don’t want my times with Him to be about having something new to write—He must have the agenda. Having said that, when I spend time focusing on Him, He speaks so often that I end up with more ideas that I don’t have time to develop them all.

Do you read the genre you write? Why or why not?

I certainly read non-fiction. Interestingly, I do not use Bible devotionals. The ones I have tried seem very superficial and tend to repeat what many teachers and writers have already said. I hope what I write is fresher and more in-depth.

How did you come up with the title for your book?

That was hard because there are so many books with the same title. It is obvious. At the same time, there is no easily-understood alternative. For this book I think the subtitle says more, but the back cover and other descriptions are most important.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

Write, write, write. Don’t try to perfect it until later.

How did publishing your first book change your writing process?

My first book (The Name Quest: explore the names of God to grow in faith and get to know Him better) was more traditionally published. The publisher did a great job with production and making it available, but no marketing (that is typical). I realized that the production has become much easier now, so I might as well do that and learn to market my books myself (which I had to do anyway).