Sunday March 2, 2003 | Richard Coleman
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“ 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Rev. Richard Coleman of Kingdom Oil preached about making the Twin Cities God’s kingdom. He focused on the need to submit to God, as Jesus demonstrated in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Rev. Coleman stated that our “holy hope” – our greatest vision of what we can attain – must be in submission to God.
Rev. Richard Coleman of Kingdom Oil, preached this weekend about making the Twin Cities God’s kingdom. He focused on the need to submit to God, as Jesus demonstrated in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Rev. Coleman stated that our “holy hope” – our greatest vision of what we can attain – must be in submission to God. In this submission, Rev. Coleman challenged us to consider three questions:
To be in Jesus means that we receive God’s love. It means we get over the obstacle of self-reliance and we embrace the mark of eternal life where God calls us his children. In this relationship, our position changes. This positional change in Jesus brings tremendous authority. Titles of earthly accomplishment do not compare to the position of being God’s child.
We must realize that there is only one body of Christ. What should fundamentally define us is that we are followers of Jesus and not a particular denominational strain of Christianity. The unity of the Body is crucial to the witness of the Church. The Bible elevates the importance of community to a point where the criterion of one’s love for God is measured by his or her love for others.
Finally, being in Jesus and being in Jesus together must be demonstrated by seeking the kingdom of God together. As Rev. Coleman pointed out at the beginning, the submission of wills is crucial, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Furthermore, we must realize that we do not need to fear as we seek God’s kingdom. The world will not understand this kingdom. In fact, it will most certainly persecute it. However, we can take comfort that Jesus has overcome the world, and that we participate in that through our identification with Christ.
Rev. Coleman finished with a question; “Will we seek the kingdom of God?” More specifically, will we seek the Twin Cities as God’s kingdom?