Paul tells the readers of Colossians that his goal is for them (us) to be “encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV). What an amazing statement! Here Paul makes a clear connection between grasping all the wisdom and knowledge that is found in Christ alone, and being firmly anchored in loving Christian community. We gain a deeper understanding of the gospel – God’s good news of salvation and life through Jesus Christ – by discovering what it means to be ‘united in love’ as God’s children.

There is no substitute and no higher knowledge or wisdom than that which we find in Jesus.

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To enter into deep fellowship with one another requires an honest conversation about our assumption and beliefs about community both individually and culturally. Because it is easy to play church (show up at gathering, worship together, hear the Word, wrestle with it individually, maybe have a transparent conversation with someone on our way out the door), we miss out on being known and knowing others, being loved and loving others and being served and serving others.

In this message we are reminded about what is true of Kingdom community as YHWH sees it, and what some of the myths are about community that can create disappointment and cause us to disconnect.

The post Community – Real and Deep (Part 2) first appeared on Lifeway Church.

What does the word “community” mean to us and how does it relate to the Kingdom of God? Following the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, there is an amazing expression of a new community (Acts 2:42-47) that seems so wonderful and ideal. But so often our experience of “church community” can fall so far short of this ideal. Disappointment can lead to offence, and avoidance keeps us in shallow relationships. Sometime what we experience is only pseudo-community and not actually true and deep fellowship with one-another. So how do we reach a place of relationships that moves beyond shallow friendships into deep and genuine community that values friendship and belonging that surpasses the difficulties?

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On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, there were “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The Holy Spirit birthed a brand new mission to reach all the nations of the world by bringing them all together and smashing past the language barrier. What an extraordinary event! As the people responded to the gospel message with repentance, faith and baptism, thousands joined this new Spirit-born community of those who trusted in Jesus as Lord and Messiah. This new group of faith-filled and Spirit-filled people demonstrated a miraculous kind of living, based on the teachings of Jesus shared by the Apostles, they had an extraordinary love for each other so that no one was in need.

After some time it became apparent that maturity and gifts of administration were also needed to continue meeting the needs of all the people. Why is it that what begins with such a fast-track spirituality and love can still face difficulties and problems? Is it that the Spirit wants to teach and guide us into maturity and unity as His people?

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Matthew’s gospel uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” many times. It serves to remind us that, “The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). Jesus earthly ministry was accomplished by the authority of the Father’s eternal throne in heaven, he was fully obedient to the One who was and is in charge of all things. Despite the centuries of suffering under brutal foreign powers, despite the pain and suffering of the world, Jesus came to proclaim “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 4:17). A common alternate translation says the kingdom of heaven “is at hand” – within your reach. This is still true today. God has crossed the great divide into our world and has come near – so close that we may reach out and take hold of all that he offers us in His Kingdom.

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Jesus spoke constantly about the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of Heaven. It is written more than 126 times throughout the Gospels, He refers to it in different ways. Clearly, the Kingdom mattered deeply to Him. Again and again, Jesus would begin by saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”, and then He would paint a picture through telling stories. The stories Jesus told help us connect spiritual truth with real life so we can understand truth in a personal way. We remember them. We see ourselves in them.

The current series is about how we are to live as citizens of God’s Kingdom while waiting in anticipation for Christ’s return. Jesus told a story about maids waiting for the Bridegroom to arrive to help us have the right attitude of patience and dependence in the time of waiting. (Matthew 25:1-13)

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The Kingdom of Heaven is a term preferred by Matthew in his gospel. Scholars believe this is a cultural sensitivity to the Jewish people who reverenced the name of God so much they would not speak it or write it, but used other synonyms. Even so, Matthew quotes Jesus using both phrases to demonstrate their equivalence (Matt. 19:23-24). So we can see that God’s kingdom is of heaven, but in Jesus and through his ministry God’s kingdom is becoming manifest on the earth. To illustrate this, Jesus told a story of how God’s kingdom is like the planting of a tiny seed that grows (initially in secret) and becomes something far greater that changes the environment around it, creating blessing and benefit where it flourishes.

Matthew 13:31-32 (NKJV)

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

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In this series on the Kingdom of God, we delve into the expansive and pervasive characteristics of His kingdom that changes the environment wherever it is proclaimed by “King carriers”, those who bear witness by words and deeds that the King has been crowned and now reigns with heavenly authority.

In Jesus, we are now under a new government, one that is marked by shalom (the peace and blessing of God’s righteous rule), a kingdom that continues to grow and will never end. 

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

The post The Kingdom of God (Part 2) – the King Has Been Crowned first appeared on Lifeway Church.

The New Testament talks a lot about the Kingdom of God. It is a key theme in the gospels (especially Matthew and Luke) and numerous times in other NT letters. In many occurrences in the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is referred to as a present reality under the reign of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who has now ascended to the right hand of the Father.

Scripture declares that Christ has conquered sin and death and that his Kingdom has been inaugurated, but there is no denying that the Kingdom of God is not yet seen or expressed in its fullness and completeness. We still experience suffering, sickness and death in our bodies. This is a part of our still being physically located in the ‘present age’.

Many of us might have a hard time digesting all that the bible says about the Kingdom of God and then being able to articulate just how His kingdom outworks in day-to-day life, whether that be a on personal level at home or work, or more corporately in church life and ministry.

If the kingdom is “here and now” then why is the world in such a mess and appears to be getting worse?
If it is future then why does scripture announce it so often in present terms?

In this series we begin (perhaps only to scratch the surface?) of these questions and what it means for us today.

The post The Kingdom of God (Part 1) – Now and Not Yet first appeared on Lifeway Church.

Every Easter Sunday we take time to focus specifically on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes about the centrality of Christ’s resurrection to the Christian faith – that without the resurrection, the rest of Jesus’ life and death would be rendered meaningless (see 1 Corinthians 15).

So what IS the meaning of Christ’s resurrection and what is the point of it all? More specifically, what does it mean for US and what are the implications for our lives?

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