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Topic: Power
The Great Reversal
In Mary’s song, she proclaims that God has touched the poor but has rejected the rich. That he has chosen to humble people of power while lifting up the humble. In other words, those who look like they deserve the blessings of God miss out on them. The Kingdom of God is one that is upside down. It is the great reversal that does not make sense to our power-hungry and money-crazed world. God’s view of success evaluates life much differently. The world sees money and power as the sign of success. In the Kingdom, success is defined by what you do with them. Read More
Filled with Fire and Power
The discussion about the filling of the Holy Spirit, is nothing if not controversial. There are those who make this the linchpin of the church, while other run from it and steer clear of any discussion about it. To attain some biblical understanding of the filling of the Holy Spirit, we will look at three questions. Question #1: Is the infilling of the Spirit distinct from simply believing? Question #2: What is the evidence of the infilling of the Spirit? Question #3: What does the infilling of the Holy Spirit do? Read More
In But Not of the World
In this sermon, Greg responded to the top five questions he received while preaching “The Cross and the Sword” series. Maybe you’ve been asking some of these questions: “What’s the difference between turning the other cheek and letting yourself be abused?” and “Are you saying that the church is politically irrelevant?” Read More
Be Thou My Vision
Human beings have deep and fallen passions that propel us into continual conflict with one another, the theme behind “Troy,” the movie based on Homer’s “Iliad.” We are stuck in a pattern from which we can be freed ONLY by embracing the paradoxical kingdom of God. Christians are to imitate Christ, period; we are not called to create another version of the kingdom of the world. Read More
Abortion: A Kingdom of God Approach
The Cross and the Sword series continued with this sermon, which covered two more consequences of fusing the kingdom of God with the kingdom of the world. To illustrate the damage this can cause, Greg discussed using the Kingdom of God approach with abortion: don’t limit ourselves to the options given by the kingdom of the world, but ascribe unsurpassable worth to others (mother and baby) at cost to ourselves. This is the unique mission of the Kingdom of God, and it’s not easy. Read More
The Difference Between the Two Kingdoms
The kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world are two very separate things. One uses the sword (power over) to influence people; the other uses love (power under). To understand this distinction is much easier than letting it affect the way we live. Greg continued to discuss the differences between these kingdoms and how we are to live within the distinction. Read More
Taking America Back for God?
Greg questioned the slogan “Taking America Back for God” by discussing the differences between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we are to belong first and foremost to God’s Kingdom, yet live under the governments of this world. How does that work? Read More
