Life in the Upside Down Kingdom (The “Offensive” Church part 4)

Life in the Kingdom of God is the opposite of life outside of it.  Loving enemies, seeking righteousness before worrying about basic needs, and storing up treasures in heaven instead of on earth are but examples of Kingdom living.  The world’s “me first” mentality gives way to an ethic of looking for the place of least honor.  In our upwardly mobile culture, Jesus calls us to the downward way of humility, deference, and service.  Real life is found when you’re willing to give yours up.  Are you ready to be turned upside down?

(note:  regrettably, the first minute has some significant static which is only slight after that, but it clears up completely about 7 minutes in)

The Value of a Life, Part 1

February 3, 2013

Do we recognize the value of life? To be fair, we must say that most of us actually DEvalue life on a regular basis. Genesis 1 tells us that as human beings, we are created in the image of God: we are not just animals or any other form of creation - we are uniquely set apart. When God breaths life into Adam, it is a personal, intimate interaction. In God's eyes, each person is immeasurably valuable, so valuable, in fact, that he chose to die for us so that we might be reconciled to him. When we pray for the ability to see ourselves and others through God's eyes, we are asking to have hearts broken for the people all around us, but also to understand how much God loves us individually.