Sermon: Citizens of the Kingdom

Matthew 5.13-16How can I make a difference in other people's lives? How can I build a life on the gospel that loves and leads others to the real Jesus?These are questions we ask whether younger and figuring life out or older and established. This Sunday, we'll hear Jesus tell his disciples they've been made new. They've been made salt. They've been made light. And as they (and we!) live as his people doing good works, others will see them and glorify God the Father.

How does Jesus expect us to live as His people? In Christ our citizenship is in heaven and we’re called to live together in a manner worthy of that calling. This Sunday Jesus shows us what that looks like: ending angry contempt with urgent reconciliation, killing unholy desires and honoring marriage, speaking plainly and keeping our word, and exercising humility and wisdom. We don’t do these to earn the kingdom; we do them because the King equips us by His Spirit and calls us to walk in His ways.

This week, we begin a new preaching series from Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, titled ‘Building Life on the Gospel.’We all choose how we are going to build our lives.The challenge from Jesus is to intentionally choose how we are building our lives.To enter his kingdom, we must have the overflowing righteousness of God.How do we get that overflowing righteousness?There are two choices: One is to pursue righteousness of our own making.Jesus wants us to choose the other way, his way - join us on Sunday as we learn from Jesus how to build our lives on the Gospel.

How should I follow Jesus in this broken and sinful world? If good works don’t save me, should I try to do them? This Sunday, as Paul ends his letter to Titus, we’ll see that believing and living in Christ means that we’ll also live lives devoted to good works. Our good works won’t save us, but we are certainly called to do them as humble heirs in God’s kingdom.Titus 3

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Following Jesus in an ever-changing, disorienting, and broken world can sometimes seem impossible. We don’t know what to do. We may not know what to say. Life can be confusing in the moment, but this week we’ll hear that the grace of God not only saves us but also trains us.

Paul sent Titus to Crete to establish elders. Titus was also with this young church to ensure that healthy gospel doctrine was being preached and lived. Good doctrine without gospel living discredits the gospel, dishonors God, and destroys lives. But, faith that produces godly living promotes Jesus and his mission to save us and those who don’t yet believe.

As the Apostle Paul left Titus in Crete to help the church, he assigned him an important task: appoint elders. We may wonder: Why? Who? What will they do? Fortunately, as we dive deeper into Paul’s letter, we’ll find answers to those questions and see that Paul believed faithful elders faithfully preaching would lead to faithful people

Have you ever wondered how your belief in God affects your life? This Sunday, as we kick off our new sermon series, Believe and Live, we’ll hear that our faith and knowledge of God does not merely inform how we live. Instead, our believing drives our livingTitus 1

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