First Church of the Nazarene

As we go into October, we are deep into the Sermon on the Mount.  It seems to be getting more and more pointed, difficult, and where no one is left out of what this Kingdom Culture looks like.  Just when you think that you have got this Kingdom of Heaven actions and attitudes down, Jesus takes you deeper.  He leaves no stone unturned in relationships with God and especially how that relationship impacts relationship with others, EVEN ENEMIES.   

 

I look around at what is happening within the culture in North America and the way the political rhetoric seems to totally engulf everything.  You cannot even watch sporting events without politics interjecting opinions.   But it’s not just sports or news, or healthcare, or retirement, or investments, or race relations...it is infecting even our very attitudes in relationships, as if political rhetoric is our identifying factor.  We live in an angry culture and there is no doubt about it.  

 

Into this culture the Kingdom of God comes making claims, and Jesus is the King whose leadership is so countercultural it could actually be considered subversive.  Love the way Jesus is saying and doing, be as gracious and forbearing as Jesus is saying and doing, speak with the wisdom and truth Jesus is saying and doing, and it won't be long before you will run headlong into resistance, before your motives will be questioned, AND before people will realize you care, and that there is something different about you.   It's in how you walk, how you talk, how you live, how you serve, how you love, in relationships all around. This is the stuff of real life, the things that matter most, follow Jesus as he takes us deeper and deeper into His Kingdom.  

 

Pastor David