Thomas VanderPloeg

On October 31, 1517 (All-Hallows’-Eve) Martin Luther famously posted his 95 theses to the door of the chapel in Wittenberg, Germany; but it was not the first time God’s people posted something significant to a doorway on a spooky night.

Our faith in Jesus is both personal and public; we believe and have a personal relationship with God, but we also participate in the wider restoration of God’s kingdom in this world.

Jesus shows us that there is a pattern by which we are to live within the kingdom, because it is the same pattern by which God brought us into the kingdom.

The Bible talks about the kingdom as something which exists within our world today; but that doesn’t mean the world shares equal priority with the kingdom.

We might like to think of the kingdom of heaven as huge and powerful; but Jesus points to a kingdom that shows up in the smallest places.

Jesus tells stories which portrays the kingdom of heaven existing in messy places; how do we find the kingdom in the middle of the mess?

Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as something which starts in our world right now and is available to everyone; how do you see the kingdom in your own backyard?

Becoming better disciples of Jesus does not just happen automatically; we intentionally pursue faith practices while aligning ourselves with the Holy Spirit and one another.

Service is a response to Gods love for us in Jesus Christ that teaches us to live like Jesus through specific, tangible actions that contribute to the dignity and well-being of the people we serve.