A devotional series
Reflections on Kingdom Living
Three parables. One portrait of the life God has always wanted for you — not a life of rule-following or anxious striving, but a life fully alive to its own purpose, its responsibilities, and its place in something far larger than itself.
James Alderson
How do we live well in the time between Jesus' departure and his return?
This is the question at the heart of the While We Wait series. It begins with the book of the same title, and is being developed through a growing collection of shorter booklets — each taking up one particular question that the waiting period keeps raising.
Every part of the series turns first to the teachings of Jesus — what he said, and how he instructed those around him to live. But it also looks deeper, to the Old Testament in which Jesus himself was formed, and the faith from which his vision of the kingdom emerged.
While We Wait Available Now
While We Wait is one book in three parts, each drawn from one of the three parables Jesus told in sequence on the Mount of Olives. The parts can be read as a continuous work, or each can stand on its own.
I
Part I
The Parable of the Ten Virgins — Matthew 25:1–13
The most personal of the three questions: who are you becoming? Kingdom living begins with the inner life — the habits, the character, the slow preparation of the self over ordinary time.
II
Part II
The Parable of the Talents — Matthew 25:14–30
What do we do with what we have been given? Kingdom living is not passive or private. It is active stewardship of the resources, money, and responsibilities in our care.
III
Part III
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats — Matthew 25:31–46
The widest view of the three: the final reckoning in which what a life has produced — who it has become, what it has stewarded, who it has served — is fully seen.
Each booklet in the series is a shorter, focused reflection that can stand alone or accompany the main book. Every booklet is available as a free download, or can be purchased in a fuller edition containing more in-depth personal study materials.
Free download available now
A Reflection on How Jesus Taught Us to Pray. Moving through Matthew 6 and Luke's portrait of Jesus at prayer, this booklet asks what it means to pray faithfully in the waiting period.
Download free →Coming Soon
Free download available now
A Reflection on What Jesus Teaches About Forgiveness. This booklet moves through Jesus' teaching, the parable of the unmerciful servant, and the hard cases — when the other person is not sorry, when reconciliation has not come.
Download free →Coming Soon
Coming soon
A forthcoming reflection on generosity — what it means to hold loosely the resources God has placed in our care.
More planned
Additional studies in the series are in preparation. Join the mailing list to be notified when each becomes available.
Where to begin
Begin with While We Wait. If it has been of blessing to you, there is more: a growing series of further booklets, each available as a free download or in a fuller purchased edition with more in-depth personal study materials.
About the bookBegin with While We Wait
The book is in three parts — Be Ready, Be Faithful, and Be Accountable — each drawn from one of the parables. Begin at the beginning; the progression is intentional.
Explore the further booklets
If the book has been of blessing to you, the further booklets in the series are a natural next step. Each is available as a free download, or can be purchased in a fuller edition with more in-depth personal study materials.
Join the community
The Facebook page is where readers reflect together. You are welcome to bring whatever is on your mind.
The While We Wait Facebook page is where readers come together — to reflect, to ask questions, to share what has landed and what hasn't. Pastoral community is there, not here.
This is not a programme. It is an ongoing conversation about ordinary faithfulness, and you are welcome to join it at whatever point you find yourself.
Join the While We Wait communityBe the first to know when While We Wait is published, and when new booklets and study guides become available.
No noise — only when something new is available.
This series did not begin as a writing project. It began as a personal crisis — a season of financial failure, lost inheritance, and the slow, uncomfortable work of asking what God was doing in the middle of it. When I began to find my way through, I discovered that three parables in Matthew 25 had been describing my journey long before I could name it myself.
What I have written is not a guide. It is a reflection — one person's attempt to sit honestly with three parables and share what they revealed. Some of what follows may be challenging. Some of it may be recognisable. All of it comes from personal experience rather than abstract instruction. Take what is useful and make it your own.
I write as a teacher, not a pastoral counsellor. These works are pastoral in motive — I care deeply about how people are growing — but they are offered as aids to spiritual development and personal reflection, not as pastoral guidance or direct advice. If you are in difficulty, please seek someone who can walk alongside you properly.
The further booklets in the series are written in the same spirit: focused reflections on themes that the waiting period keeps raising — prayer, forgiveness, generosity, and more to come. Each can stand alone. Together they circle a single question: how are we meant to live faithfully in the time between Jesus' departure and his return?
— James Alderson