Kingdom Life

This Sermon Series will unpack the core beliefs of the Christian faith, looking in-depth at each phrase from the Apostles Creed – the oldest and most succinct summary of Christian beliefs.   In a world where values seem to be ever-shifting with the winds of popular culture, God's essential and eternal truths will always stand the test of time and provide unmatched hope.   The goal of this preachin...

It's easy for us to forget that an estimated 260 million of our Christian brothers and sisters are living in places around the world where they routinely experience high levels of persecution.   There were more Christians martyred for their faith in the 20 th century than in all the previous nineteen centuries combined – and the global persecution of Jesus' followers continues in the 21 st century...

At the time when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount to his disciples, Judea had been fully under the control of the Romans for almost 100 years.  That is from now back to 1920.  Before that, except for a short but tumultuous period of self-rule, from the time of the exile, they were ruled by the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Greeks, and now the Romans.  All Israel was looking for th...

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Sounds wonderful … but it also seems like an intimidating ideal.    Pure in heart.   Doesn't it seem like an impossible dream, an unreachable goal?  It's understandable how we might hear "blessed are the pure and heart" and think, "I can't measure up to that." If purity of heart means sinlessness or moral perfection, then nobody could achieve h...

The first four beatitudes describe the roots of Kingdom Life.  The next beatitudes describe the fruits of Kingdom Life.   The fruits spring forth from the roots.   What we do and how we live is always rooted in who we are.  As we surrender to Christ, and the Holy Spirit begins cultivating in us the attitudes of the first four beatitudes … Christ's character is formed in us, and the outward fruits...

Righteousness is one of the key ideas in the Sermon on the Mount:  Matthew 5:10 – "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness ." Matthew 5:20 – "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven."  (Followed by a string of teachings about righteousness, specifically having to do with commandment...

What comes to your mind when you picture someone who is meek? A quiet person who rarely speaks up or speaks out? A sheepish person who always goes along with whatever other people want to do? A timid person with a soft voice and a limp handshake? I doubt if the word "meek" immediately conjures up words like strong, courageous, outgoing, and confident.  The world says: "meekness doesn't make you ha...

When we consider what it means to mourn , we usually think of the sorrow that accompanies the death of a loved one.  If you've ever walked the path of grief – or if even now you're mourning the loss of someone precious to you – you know how painful it is to mourn.  Yet Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn."  How many mourners would actually consider themselves "blessed"?

The words of Jesus from Matthew 5-7, known as the Sermon on the Mount, paint a picture of the "Kingdom Life" that Jesus came to bring. These chapters contain some of the Bible's most familiar words – but how are these teachings reflected in our daily life? Our culture today desperately needs Christians who authentically live the kind of life that Jesus describes. The demands may seem daunting, but...