Do you remember the last time you thought about life being eternal? It’s been said that “we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view.” I don’t know about you, but this happens to me. Like a fish attracted to a shiny fishing lure, I get easily distracted by the world’s attractions and temptations. And so, as we conclude our teaching series on the kingdom of heaven, let’s look together at one final parable where Jesus sets the reality of eternal life front and center.

When my daughter was young, we bought her a metal detector. She wanted to search for treasures buried underneath our property (she came up empty, unfortunately). I think there’s something inside of us that gets stirred up when we think about discovering treasure. It’s the stuff of dreams, and of movies. It also makes for a great parable. That’s what we’ll get to discuss this Sunday as we look at the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price.

A few years ago, a friend of mine got me into cycling. What started as a 10-12 mile ride turned into 25 miles, 30 miles, and before you know it I was encouraged to do a 60-mile race. I remember wanting to give up several times on that route. At about mile 45, my friend could see my dilemma and encouraged me to keep going. He even had me talk about other things to get my mind off the struggle. Before I knew it, I was coasting (and fuming in) at the 60-mile marker and finish line to cheers of encouragers. I felt like I won the Tour de France. Jesus is aware of the struggle of His companions on this ministry trek. On their part, there is a failure to see ‘what is about to come.' Jesus uses a seed of grain to cast a big picture of hope and sets their gaze ahead, not behind. May you struggle well.

Recently my kids and I have been reading Encyclopedia Brown books. Each chapter of these boy detective children novels involves a mystery that is meant to be solved by the reader. Fortunately, if one is unable to solve the mystery the “Answers” section in the back of the book reveals it. You might be thinking, “What does this have to do with the kingdom of heaven?” Well, after the disciples hear Jesus tell a parable about the mystery of the kingdom, they ask Him for help in understanding it, and that is what we unpack Sunday. I can’t wait to share the parable of the weeds with you. It’s one you may have heard or read before, and while the meaning of the parable may surprise you, it’s the application we must not ignore.

Back in my younger years, I loved to windsurf. Riding over the ocean waves was exhilarating! One day however, after falling into the frigid Atlantic Ocean, I learned a valuable lesson: sound travels much better over water. Everyone back on the beach was able to hear what I said - and it wasn’t... holy.  In Matthew 13, Jesus creates a similar scene where everyone on the beach is able to hear His words, and... well, they’re holy.

What do soil, weeds, a mustard seed, leaven, a hidden treasure, a pearl, and a net all have in common? Jesus spoke about each of these things to help His disciples understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Over the next several weeks Pastor Sherm and I invite you to join us for a new teaching series called “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like...” As we walk through the stories Jesus shared in Matthew 13, our hope is to be a people that value God’s kingdom above all and to discover ways to participate in seeing His kingdom come to earth. To kick off this series let’s start by asking “what is the kingdom of heaven?”, “when does it come?”, “where is it?”, and “why does it matter today?” We look forward to seeing you Sunday in-person or online.

Our hope for this series has been to encourage and challenge us to be a people of faith that advances the Kingdom of God in a culture riddled with fear and anxiety. With the book of Joshua as our guide, we’ve discovered that the source of our strength and courage is tied to the promise that God is with us wherever we go. During our final week of this study, we'll see how Joshua led the Israelites by example when making his personal commitment to God public.

I love sunrises and sunsets. They’re glorious... and there’s a rhythm to them - a fixed cadence that God established on the fourth day of creation. If that 24-hour cycle were ever to be interrupted, that would be the stuff of legends… and Joshua chapter 10 is the stuff of legends. I’m excited to share this true story with you and how it still impacts us as God’s people today.

I recently came across a book titled, The Story Behind (this is not a book endorsement). The book aims to share the history of some things that we use regularly. I was familiar with many objects like bubble wrap, paper clips, and trampolines, but I was not familiar with the story behind these things, which was fun to read and got me thinking. Many of us are familiar with the story in the Bible when the people marched and the walls of Jericho tumbled down, but few are familiar with the "story behind the story" of the fall of Jericho and why it matters for us today.

Several years ago, our staff went on a retreat. As part of our team-building exercise, we did a challenge course. When we were presented with the final challenge (crossing from one platform to another on a wire), I think we all said, “There’s no way!” But eventually, through faith and teamwork, we made it. Over 3,000 years ago, the people of God faced a major challenge – crossing the Jordan River (in the spring!). I’m sure at first many of them said, “There’s no way!” But God made a way and – through faith and teamwork – they made it across. This true story still speaks words of faith and hope to us who believe today.