What would it take to make Heaven a reality on earth?
Who Has Authority in Your Life?
March 1, 2020 • Randy Hageman
Throughout Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and this series, we’ve seen Jesus painting us a picture of what life in the Kingdom of Heaven looks like, and what it can begin to look like here on earth. But, as today’s passage shows us, we won’t experience heaven on earth because we’ve read it or know what is taught. We’ll only experience it as we live it, as we allow Jesus to be King and Lord and the final authority in our lives, whom we obey!
Choose Wisely
February 23, 2020 • Randy Hageman
Jesus offers warnings about hypocrisy and the need for having a kingdom perspective. The problem is that we can easily turn principles into rules; we can become obsessed with doing right, with earning our right standing with God by our own efforts - we slip into perfectionism, legalism, and the result of that is that we can become judgmental. We need to choose wisely how we proceed!
A Matter of Perspective
February 17, 2020
We naturally focus on that which we value & desire to possess. For this reason, Jesus taught us to treasure that which has eternal value rather than temporal. Although this pursuit is contrary to secular culture & requires faith to practice, it is the pathway of resting in God’s care & experiencing His peace. As you focus on Him, may He give you a taste of Heaven on Earth!
A Life of Integrity
February 9, 2020 • Randy Hageman
On one level, this week’s passage in Matthew 6 is about acts that Jews were expected to do to reflect their faith – giving, prayer and fasting. But, as Jesus talks to us about these actions, he shows us that the faith, beliefs and attitudes behind these actions are what matter most. Is there integrity between heart and life, between our claims and God’s Kingdom? This week we’ll go beyond these specific actions to consider what a life of integrity means for the disciple of Jesus.
Principles or Law?
February 2, 2020 • Randy Hageman
After showing us the Kingdom of Heaven offers blessings that we are to share with others, Jesus next helps us understand the true underlying principle behind this Kingdom and life in it. Jesus himself is the fulfillment of all that had previously been taught in Scripture. And so Jesus helps us see how to live in the Kingdom, and the limitations of rules versus the freedom of a principle!
Upside Down Just Might Be Right Side Up
January 26, 2020 • Randy Hageman
As Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount, he paints for his disciples pictures of the blessings that come from living for the Kingdom of Heaven, both in the future but also now. Today we’ll see that, as radical as this lifestyle is, especially in comparison to the kingdom of this world, those who live under the reign of God are blessed and their lives serve to point others to this Kingdom.
Heaven on Earth?
January 19, 2020 • Randy Hageman
We tend to think of heaven as the place disciples of Jesus go to after death. But Jesus came proclaiming that the Kingdom of Heaven (and he also used the phrase the Kingdom of God) is here and among us. He told his listeners to repent and enter the Kingdom. What did Jesus mean by this Kingdom? And does it have any significance for us today?
