MONDAY
Yesterday was what we call a Welcome Sunday. On Welcome Sundays I try to give people a glimpse into who we are as a church—our mission, vision and values. We also shorten up the service a little bit to give everyone time to hang out in the lobby and get to know one another while munching on donuts.
Our theme for this Welcome Sunday is the Kingdom of God. The simplest, most concise definition of the kingdom I’ve heard comes from my Biblical Theology professor Dr. Wayne Johnson: “The kingdom is God’s people, in God’s place, ruling under God’s authority.” The table below will give you a good idea of the kingdom theme throughout Scripture. It’s a consistent theme from the Old to the New Testament but it changes with Jesus.
Old Testament | New Testament | |
God’s People | Israel | The Church |
God’s Place | Promised Land | All Creation |
God’s Authority | Law of Moses | Teaching of Christ |
Kingdom is a core value of ours:
- We seek first the Kingdom of God and center our lives around Jesus. God’s will is our highest priority and the primary lens through which we view the world.
Tomorrow we will see some of the teachings of Jesus that ground this value. But for today notice the key statements in this value:
- Kingdom of God is our first priority.
- Our lives are then centered on Jesus, or to use Peter’s analogy from a few weeks ago—Jesus is the cornerstone that the church builds their lives upon.
- We are not, then, ultimately in pursuit of our will, reaching our ambitions and goals. Instead, success for us is to do the will of God.
- The Kingdom of God is the primary lens through which we view the world.
The Kingdom is what we pursue first, not self-satisfaction, our personal goals or ambitions, etc.
What Jesus says is right and true and good takes precedent over what we think is right and true and good. We follow Jesus first, and others only in as much as they agree with Jesus.
God’s will will conflict with our selfish ambitions. When it does, we seek to surrender to his will and follow his path. This may mean rejection from the broader Christian and secular community. It may mean suffering and loss. It may look like failure according to the standards of success in the world. Yet, for we who value the kingdom above all else, doing God’s will is the ultimate success.
We filter the news of the day primarily through the lens of the Kingdom. We filter the decision of how to use our personal time through the lens of the Kingdom. We filter our family values through the Kingdom lens. We filter our financial priorities through the Kingdom lens. We filter our political views through the lens of the Kingdom. Like glasses before our eyes, everything in and out filters through the lens of God’s Kingdom.
We flesh out this value of the Kingdom further in our vision statement:
A Kingdom-Bringing Community
- Where we are working to do our part in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth, knowing that only Jesus can perfect this work.
- Where we compassionately seek justice for the oppressed and the marginalized, knowing that they bear the image of God.
- Where we gather to worship, longing for and inviting more of the presence of God
Our calling as Christians is to primarily seek the kingdom of God and to live in this Kingdom, i.e., live under the authority of Christ, root our identity in our citizenship in the kingdom of God and share the good news that the king of all creation is Jesus. All this, while keeping in mind that, without distinction, all are welcome in this kingdom. We know that we can’t do this work without Jesus and we will never finish it until he returns. Yet, we pursue it because that’s what he called us to do. In pursuing it we find peace in our purpose and joy in our calling.
One of the key ideas in the kingdom of God is that all people are created in the image of God and therefore all people have dignity. Therefore, all people are precious. This should lead us to care for all people. This leads us to pursue justice for those who are victims of injustice. It leads us to pursue charity for those who are in need.
The Kingdom of God expands when the people of God expand and have a greater awareness of God’s presence. Therefore, the first and foremost aspect of living in the Kingdom of God is desiring more of the presence of God.
Reflection
Look back through the aspects of God’s kingdom in our value and vision. How have you seen this value lived out at LifeBridge? If you have any stories and would like to share them, please send me an email, john@lifebridge.church, I’d love to hear them.