Jesus said the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is near. At

Jesus' death and resurrection the Kingdom of God had arrived. This kingdom that has

arrived is marked by two key components. One the kingdom of God is spiritual. It is not

materialistic and it governs all metaphysical elements of this world. Second, the Kingdom

of God is an ongoing and progressive work seeking to build a new world order.

God in His Sovereign plan to execute His kingdom upon Earth has allowed civil

governments of all nations to govern and bring order to the peace and prosperity of the

peoples’

. A Christian’s view of the civil government is obedience to the law of the land.

But his heart is governed by the influence of the Holy Spirit as through the scriptures.

Since his ultimate citizenship is not of this world but of the world to come. Our physical

world will fade away, but our spiritual growth in this world will make us grow from one

degree of goodness to the next. In the beginning, God was pleased with all creation and

said that it was good. Order and Liberty hinges on doing good, that means separating

our works from evil. However, there is a deeper responsibility of doing good work. Which

is preventing a man from falling into the grave of his own wickedness. True wisdom of a

Christian is not to abandon the wicked to his folly but lead Him to the paths of

righteousness because a greater judgement is coming when the Lord returns. On that

day, no circumventing of the law will prevent the world from the Lord’s wrath upon

evildoers. Therefore, our doing good works in this world must be out of love for our

neighbors and enemies. Remember, we were once sheep that were lost but we are

found. Our obedience to the laws of our nation is not just for the sake of good behavior,

or charity. But it is meant for us to gather the lost souls to our Savior.

In Matthew 16:13–20, we are brought to the decisive moment where

the identity of Jesus and the identity of His church are inseparably revealed. At the

center stands Peter’s confession—“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”—a

confession not born of human insight but of divine revelation. Jesus declares that upon

this apostolic witness and its Christ-centered confession, He Himself will build His church.

This is not a human project, nor merely a religious institution; it is Christ’s own church,

established on a revealed truth and secured by His authority. Even the gates of death will

not withstand its advance, for its foundation is not fragile or shifting, but anchored in the

living Son of God.

In entrusting the apostles with the “keys of the kingdom,” Jesus establishes the nature

and purpose of church government: to steward, declare, and enact on earth what heaven

has decreed. This authority, easily misunderstood apart from the resurrection, finds its

clarity in the unfolding witness of the New Testament, where Christ’s rule is exercised

through His appointed servants for the gathering and guarding of His people. As we

gather in worship, we are reminded that the church does not sustain itself—God Himself

builds, secures, and governs His church through His Word, His Spirit, and His ordained

means.

What does a wise and flourishing family look like and how do we

cultivate it?

Proverbs 31 gives us a portrait in three movements. A wise family is formed

by the counsel of wisdom, shaped through the character of wisdom, and crowned with

the fruit of wisdom.

Galatians 5 reminds us that the freedom Christ gives is not the

absence of authority, but the presence of a new kind of rule: God’s rule within us. We

have been set free from sin’s penalty and power, yet that freedom is not meant for

self-indulgence. Left to ourselves, our hearts become disordered, producing the works of

the flesh that fracture our lives and relationships. But God, in His grace, does not leave us

to govern ourselves alone. Through His Spirit, He reorders our hearts by reshaping our

desires, renewing our loves, and forming in us the fruit of a new life. Love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are not

self-produced virtues, but evidence of God’s gracious rule within.

This passage essentially shows us that self-government begins with Spirit-government.

True freedom is not doing whatever we want, but becoming people whose hearts are so

ordered by God that we delight to live under His authority. As God orders our hearts, He

leads us into the kind of freedom that is whole, life-giving, and reflective of Christ Himself.

During the Passover custom, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate offers the crowd a choice to release one prisoner: Jesus Christ or Barabbas, a known criminal. Although Pilate realizes that Jesus is innocent and has been handed over out of envy, the chief priests persuade the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead and to demand Jesus’ crucifixion.

Pilate’s wife even sends him a warning after a troubling dream about Jesus, urging him not to be involved in condemning an innocent man. Still, the crowd grows louder, shouting for Jesus to be crucified.

On this evening during the passover week in Jerusalem, Jesus begins the passion story

with a meal. Jesus sits at the head of the table among his beloved disciples. But at this

table is not just an ordinary meal but the beginning of a new world order. For ages, evil

had reigned over creation since the fall of Adam but now Jesus begins a new beginning.

In the ancient world, before going to war, kings usually toasted and threw a big feast to

celebrate a sure victory. Jesus breaks the bread and lifts the cup inaugurating God’s rule

on Earth. Anyone who partakes of this meal is taking a break from the fallen world and

experiences a new beginning in their lives. God restores the world by capturing sin and

death into the body and blood of Christ who on the resurrection day gloriously defeats

sin and death.

At the close of his Gospel, Matthew does not rush us past the

resurrection—he slows us down. He invites us to come and see. Like the women at the

tomb, we are drawn into a moment of careful examination, where fear and wonder meet.

The stone is rolled away. The tomb is empty. The angel speaks. Jesus is alive. This is not

vague hope or wishful thinking. The women are confronted with something

undeniable—something that rearranges reality itself. The resurrection of Jesus is not

merely a return to life, but the breaking in of the age to come. The future has arrived

ahead of time. And that makes this news not just wonderful, but wonderfully unsettling.

Because if Jesus is truly risen, nothing remains the same.

Matthew sets before us two responses. The women see, tremble, and ultimately worship.

But the guards and the religious leaders turn away. Faced with the same reality, they

choose not investigation but suppression—not truth, but a story that protects their power

and preserves their comfort. We are left with a question: What will we do with the risen

Christ?

This passage calls us to more than passive belief. It calls us to examine the evidence, to

wrestle honestly with what we find, and then to align our lives with this world-shattering

truth. For if Jesus is risen indeed, then he is Lord indeed—and that changes everything.

Jesus enters Jerusalem as king and is praised by the crowd (the Triumphal Entry). He weeps over the city because they do not recognize God’s timing. Then He goes to the temple and drives out those misusing it, declaring it a house of prayer. After this, He teaches daily in the temple while religious leaders look for a way to kill Him, but the people listen eagerly.

In the closing verses of his letter, Paul thanks the Philippian church

for the financial gift they sent to support him. Yet he makes clear that his joy does not

come from the gift itself. Over time, Paul has learned the secret of contentment—whether

in abundance or in need—because Christ gives him strength for every circumstance.

Yet, Paul affirms that the Philippians were right to send their gift. Their generosity was an

act of partnership in the gospel and a sacrifice pleasing to God. In giving, they were

investing in the fruit of a life shaped by God’s grace. As Paul closes with greetings and a

final blessing, he does not hesitate to remind us that the people of grace that God is

forming are products of the grace of Jesus Christ that is at work in them through the

gospel.

God’s peace is not merely a private feeling; it is a transforming

presence that reshapes the whole of life. In Philippians 4:1–9, Paul shows us that the

peace of God becomes visible in three key areas: in restored relationships, in a gentle

and prayerful posture of the heart, and in a renewed mindset on what is true and good.

As we rejoice in the Lord, release our anxieties to Him in prayer, and train our minds on

what reflects his character, the promise of the gospel becomes real among us—the

peace of God guards our hearts and minds, and the God of peace himself is with us.