Acceptance. If we're honest, we all need it. We need to be seen, wanted, and included as part of the group. To our astonishment, God Himself, through Christ, has fully accepted us. Even when we deserved rejection, Christ paid for our sin, bore our exile, and brought us home. And now, He instructs us to accept one another as we have been accepted by Him. While that sounds marvelous, there is a catch. Acceptance requires something of us, and many of us are too nervous to step out into it. This week, we'll look at both the gift and the cost of acceptance, and find without the cost, we can never have the gift.

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From Series: "Show Others How Much They Matter"

This Week's Sermon: "Life in the Kingdom of God"

Just about everyone has some type of personal agenda. People have plans, programs, things they want to accomplish, and specific ways they want to accomplish them. So they make lists, set goals, and try to reach them.

God is no stranger to agendas. In fact, He has a personal agenda, too; something He wants to accomplish in His way, in His world, and in His people. Scripture calls this agenda “the kingdom of God.” And the advancement of God’s kingdom is, in fact, the central unifying theme of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

So what is the kingdom of God? Why did Jesus spend so much time talking about it? What does it mean to be a citizen of God’s kingdom? And what is the kingdom of God’s relevance to our everyday lives?

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