God’s People
Everyone has a deep desire to belong to something and to be meant for something specific. We build our identities upon where we belong and it affects how we understand ourselves and cope with life. People who believe God matters, that He has revealed Himself in the bible, that He is accomplishing His purposes through a specific design for our lives - these are people who belong to God’s kingdom.
In Jesus’ famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ he taught what it meant to be a participant in God’s kingdom. In that sermon Jesus described the character and posture that one is to live out if they identify as a child of God. Jesus taught that an awareness of belonging to God’s kingdom changes people, it alters their priorities and agendas. This is because being a citizen of God’s kingdom creates in us a sense of loyalty and commitment to be about what God is about. Things that grieve God are things that grieve His people and things that please God are things that please those who are His.
This mindset shift (what we call repentance) compels us to deny ourselves and live in service to God and His purposes. The most visible manifestation of these convictions is the participation in the local church. The church, in this sense, is a local representation of God’s kingdom. At the beginning of every week we put everything else on hold and express our commitment to this kingdom by gathering together with other believers to worship God. This weekly time of worship is fueled by the contents of the Bible and results in the building up of His kingdom. God’s people live together in community to better care and support each other while navigating through this dark world.
While weekly services are geared towards believers and the building up of Christ’s church they also equip Christians to live on mission. It is the Christian’s responsibility to take the message of the gospel that they have been equipped with by their community into the world. By living out a life that is set apart (holy) from secular society and experiencing true joy built on biblical truth, Christians will seek to share their faith in Christ with love and peace. The sharing of this hope that we have will bring relief to a world suffering from the effects of sin.
We’re committed to God’s kingdom at The Journey. We want to equip and care for believers that they would share the Gospel, expanding God’s kingdom and spreading His mercy throughout the world.
Related Core Value sermon: Core Values (Part 5) God's Kingdom - (Cody Parman)