Journey Church

Change is central to living in the Kingdom.  Living as salt and light we incessantly incite change in ourselves and others.  The Kingdom continuously draws us to a life of faith.

One of the marks of Kingdom people is hope. We look forward to a future that is certain. At the same time, the nature of hope is problematic. For if you hope, you must wait. And if you wait, you will ache. And waiting and aching are no fun. The challenge for the believer is to embrace both hope and the company it keeps.

The beatitudes are not something we aspire to but something we acknowledge.  The reveal that those who are broken are closest to the kingdom.  They are blessed.  The kingdom is available to all and it is the ones who are most aware of their need that find it first.

A kingdom defined.  There are different kingdoms and the prince of the kingdom of darkness offers three tiny gods that dominate his kingdom: Comfort, Power, and Approval.  We must turn from them and reorient ourselves in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Often times the freedom we long for the most is waiting for us on the other side of a massive crowd.  The thought of getting through the crowd can be overwhelming so we don’t try.  The sick woman made her way through the crowd.  The paralytics friends made their way through the crowd.  And they found freedom.  What is the crowd in your life?

No one is beyond the reach of God.  He hunts down the hunters. He brings freedom for the oppressed.  After trying to kill of Jesus’ way, he surrenders to it.

How do you respond when in the presence of Jesus?  Thomas missed out on something in his skepticism.  He was hesitant to believe.  Yet, Jesus was not harsh with Thomas, instead we see a dogged pursuit for his redemption.

The devoted follower of Jesus Mary Magdalene is left alone at the empty tomb of Jesus.  She is busy trying to rearrange death while life is standing behind her.

Jesus is paying attention.  He knows our motives.  He is concerned not so much with what we give but what we keep.  Do we live generously?

Jesus offers us a better way of life.  If we follow his guidance we will live a more fulfilling morally superior life.  But God’s desire is much more than that.  He desires that we do more than live better and try harder.  His desire is that we awaken to a relationship with Him, and realize that this life and the next have little meaning without a relational connection with God.