Rights and Privileges are one of the seven elements that make up a kingdom, but not all monarchies are created equal. In the Kingdom of God, this is the primary element that sets it apart. While the rest of the world relates transactionally in which you are needed but not necessarily wanted, Jesus exhibited a lack of need for his disciples but a generous desire for their relationship. This desire is what draws us into transformation.

Every culture is made up of rules and regulations and a Kingdom is no exception. While the tendency is to think of boundaries as a form of containment, our sin is what leads us into bondage and the rules from our king, God, are what set us free by His grace. The tension then becomes accepting grace while still striving to follow the law.

As we continue to explore the necessities of a kingdom, our study brings us to the requirement of subjects. As subjects of the kingdom, we obtain identity and our question, “Who am I?” gets answered by first finding out who the King is. The people of the kingdom then step into a family with a role to play.

Our Kingdom series this week addresses the need for land or territory. The question posed to those in God’s Kingdom rings throughout history and today, “Who is Jesus?”. The borders of the Kingdom of God are defined by any space where faith in Jesus is established. So, who do you say He is?

We launch a new series this week looking at what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. The resurrection changes everything and opens up the door to the Kingdom. If you want to live in the kingdom, you have to have a king. Recognizing the true king is monumental and will be the greatest treasure; worth our whole life.

As we approach Holy Week, our look at Jesus’ Triumphal Entry collides with our worship. It is the defining moment of our allegiance and transpires on a daily basis. Will you lay down your proverbial cloak and take up the palm branches of praise to glorify who Jesus is and not just what he has done?

Our Lenten journey encourages us to examine how God collides with our struggles with sin. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he continually reminds us that it is grace alone that saves us. Your faith in Christ’s saving grace is the empowerment to walk out of the sin cycle.

The lectionary passage this week points to the way Jesus collides with our purpose. Our relationship with Christ shifts our view of others from a mere human perspective to God’s vantage point. He then empowers our message to be one of reconciliation and not just a “get out of jail free” card. We become representatives with our life of the grace offered through Christ.

We continue our Lent series and examine the way Jesus collides with our day to day life and how that causes collisions with the world around us. Paul addresses the Corinthians and reminds us to not follow temptation but to stand firm.

Our second week into our Lent series exposes us to the collision Jesus makes in the way we look at imitation. Paul lays out for us in Philippians an invitation to follow together on this narrow cusp of humility.