In the summer of 1972, a 36-year-old Dallas Willard made his first visit to Calvary Baptist Church in Nevada, MO, where his eldest brother, J.I. Willard, served as pastor. This series, which we've titled Welcoming the Kingdom in Our Midst, offers a rare glimpse of Dallas in the early years of his public ministry as he calls the church to recognize that God is at work forming a people who can truly welcome His Kingdom in their midst.
In these talks you’ll hear a younger Dallas speaking with urgency—his words come quickly, and at times with strong emotion. As the years went by, however, he intentionally reshaped his teaching style. He learned to slow his pace, to pause often, and to create room for listeners to reflect. More importantly, he came to see that it was not his task to convince with powerful words or emotion, but to simply set the truth before people and trust the Holy Spirit to do the deeper work in their lives.
The series begins with a Sunday morning sermon announcing the good news of the Kingdom of God as a present reality, open to all who will enter it. Sunday evening turns to Preparation for Pentecost, followed by Monday evening’s focus on The Flesh and the Spirit. Unfortunately, the recordings for Tuesday (The Body of Christ) and Wednesday (The Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit) are yet to be recovered.
At its heart, these messages emphasize that God is not seeking isolated religious effort, but a people prepared together to carry His presence. To welcome the Kingdom is to let God train us, reshape us, and bind us into a community of unity, servanthood, and love. Even at 36, Dallas was already articulating the vision that would define his life’s work: life with God in His Kingdom is available now, and His Spirit stands ready to empower ordinary believers who are willing to be prepared.
This teaching was recorded by J.I. Willard and recently discovered by his children. We extend our heartfelt thanks to volunteer Don Cicchetti, who led the effort to restore these fragile recordings, and to the J.I. Willard family, whose faithful care preserved the original reel-to-reel tapes for nearly fifty years. This is one of two teaching series from Calvary Baptist that were recorded on those tapes. If you're enjoying hearing Dallas speak in this setting, we invite you to listen to the week-long series called Abundant Life in Christ Jesus that he presented when he returned to J.I.'s church in 1978.
The good news Jesus announced was not only that sins could be forgiven, but that the reign of God had already broken into human history. The Kingdom is here, and anyone can step into it, even those who are considered "written-off" or even cursed. We are invited to see what it means to live under God’s power and care—to discover a life of blessing, service, and transformation in the way of the suffering servant.
Pentecost didn’t fall on a random crowd; it fell on a prepared people. This message names the activities and relationships that ready a church for the Spirit’s fullness—time together, truth in the light, servanthood, and a shared life that God Himself can inhabit.
This message draws out the deep distinction between life lived in our own strength and life lived in the power of God’s Spirit. The teaching exposes how the “flesh”—our natural human energies—can never carry the life of God, and how true freedom and fruitfulness only come as we wait on Him, surrender to His Spirit, and learn to handle all of life—our bodies, our work, our families, and our ministries—through God Himself.
Photography by Serhii on Adobe Stock
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