The Good Shepherd is imagery that Jesus employs to illustrate the difference between Himself and others. This sermon tackles the sheep/shepherd theme in Scripture, and depicts God being a close and intimate God with his creation.

Christ changes everything, and that includes you, me, and our conduct. But too often, we fall prey to conventional wisdom (pragmatism), and ways of thinking, speaking and acting which must be detached and discarded from our lives if we are to have
an impact for the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus, clarifying the Law and the Prophets seems to suggest our desires, attitudes, and actions must change if we wish to be His followers.

Life changing, eternity changing contact with Christ changes everything from the way we think, to live, and speak. It changes how we relate to people. As we continue our discussion of successful kingdom living, we consider how successful kingdom living changes everything from us to the world around us!

Live every day of your life as who is saved, not by any goodness in yourself, but by the grace of God. In doing so be a light to the world, that others will see the love of Jesus in you.

Successful kingdom living starts from within us, at salvation. And the new heart we receive through Christ takes our upside down, worldly thinking and rights it like a capsized boat. We may look the same, like the houses built upon sand and the solid rock look the same, but like those houses, we are founded and grounded on Christ and that makes a difference in the way we think and live (a noticeable difference). By not concealing our vibrant faith we can begin to change the world, one soul at a time, no matter who we are or where we are if we build our house (lives) upon the Rock.

Successful kingdom living starts from within us, at salvation. And the new heart we receive through Christ takes our upside down, worldly thinking and rights it like a capsized boat. We may look the same, like the houses built upon sand and the solid rock look the same, but like those houses, we are founded and grounded on Christ and that makes a difference in the way we think and live (a noticeable difference).

How do we live ‘the successful Christian life’ beyond platitudes like ‘your best life now?’ How do we live effectively as citizens of the kingdom of God in Christ? The Sermon on the Mounts is our declaration of independence from worldly thinking. It is a Christian manifesto that describes a life lived out in obedience to Christ. Our first sermon counter-intuitively comes from the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:24-29, with Success Defined.

The world is full of broken relationships. Peter damaged his relationship with Christ by denying Jesus three times. But Jesus restored Peter in John 21 and recommissioned Peter to ministry. In this narrative we can distill principles for restoring relationships in our own lives whether we sin against God or others.

People know viscerally or intuitively that Christ offers something that other religions don’t. And they can’t put their finger on it. Christ provides for us what we cannot provide for ourselves, forgiveness as His expense.

Christian, you have been given a new lease on life through your redemption. How will you use it? In light of what Christ has done for you, what will you do for Him (and what will your epitaph be)?