What does it mean to create the kingdom of God around us when faced with political issues? They aren’t small concerns, either, especially when the subject directly affects us. It makes sense that our hearts are caught up because it’s all around us. We may feel our only hope is getting the right person in office. However, our hope is not found in the results of an election and the kingdom of politics. It is far too small of a kingdom to anchor the heart of the church.

In this series, we’ve established that we live in a world of competing kingdoms all around us and within us. How do we then advance the kingdom of God? Jesus and John the Baptist discuss this in Matthew 11. The kingdom of God is already being ushered into this world right now if we anchor ourselves in Jesus’ way of transformation over force. We follow Jesus because He changed our hearts, which doesn’t happen through force.

There are competing kingdoms all around us and within us. That is why it is important that when we read the Lord’s Prayer, we recognize when Jesus says, “Thy kingdom come.” He is sharing with us what to set our hearts towards. The kingdom you desire is the kingdom you create. Then, what does it mean to build the kingdom of God? This first week we compared the kingdom of religion the Pharisees were focused on building versus the kingdom of God that Jesus built and what it looks like to be part of Jesus’ kingdom.

If God is good why do bad things happen in this world? To better understand this we looked at the minor prophet Habakkuk. We learned that God saw and felt everything Habakkuk was experiencing and He cared about it. When we ask God why we need to hold three things: hope, faith, and joy. We hold onto hope because God cares for us. We know and have faith that it is safe and okay to be honest with God when we’re upset. We can have joy by living out of hope and faith, which helps us let some light into our lives even when navigating difficult things.

The world needs more churches centered on Jesus, what He modeled for us, and what He taught. Jesus illustrates two houses in Matthew 7:24 - 27. One house was built on the rock and the other one on sand. The house built on the rock stood firm despite everything. Jesus asks that our lives be built on His teachings and His foundation. When a community of people live out of that foundation and financially support it - God can do beautiful things through us, with us, and move His mission forward of being a Christ-centered church that loves people as Jesus taught.