There's a common misconception when it comes to God: that He is into religious behavior. Religious behavior seeks to prove oneself to God through external righteousness. It seeks to earn God’s favor through our activities. The religious person...

Once the Kingdom of God has entered a person’s heart, your view of humanity begins to change. Citizens of God’s Kingdom aren’t unkerned with the Kingdom of this world. Quite the opposite, we become more concerned and proactively pursue social justice...

Becoming a Christian is not a change of degree but a change in kind. It is leaving your life for this world only and entering the Kingdom of God. But entering the Kingdom of God means being willing to sacrifice everything that doesn’t help you gain...

The Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms, governments or nations of this world. Ordinary kingdoms come by conquest and therefore they are impossible to miss. They are marked by power struggles. They fight with weapons, threats and villainizing...

As Jesus’ notoriety grew, he drew attention from all sorts of people, including the Pharisees. One particular Pharisee had the courage to seek out Jesus and interview him personally. Jesus inverted his understanding of God by explaining that religious...

The first miracle of Jesus was more than a little odd. A bunch of wedding going partiers were in danger of sobering up, so we made over a hundred gallons of wine. Not what you would expect a Messiah to use as his calling card miracle. And most people...

The Sermon on the Mount is the longest sermon of Jesus we have, and he introduces his audience to the purpose of his ministry. He came so that everyone who encountered him would become part of a radical new counter cultural community within the...

A new year is a time to reflect on whether your life is what you want it to be, and if you are fully flourishing or not. Many people will try to adopt some new behaviors to become healthier people. Psalm 1 goes deeper than behaviors. It gives us a key...

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday bustle, even the things we find draining and crazy about the holiday season. The concerts, the parties, the gift giving and the decorating can leave us rolling our eyes while still agreeing that “It’s the most...