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Posts tagged ‘Kingdom of God’

King Sunday

What does it mean to have a date in the church called King Sunday?

When I googled it, I learned, “Though the date is variable, Christ the King always occurs in late November. This is especially providential in America, where elections happen in early November. After the long drama of election season, both winners and losers are reminded that Christ is the true King, and that his rules will ultimately judge all human authorities.”

It went on to say, “In the Presbyterian Churches, such as the Presbyterian Church (USA), at the Feast of Christ the King (Feast of the Reign of Christ) “the church gives thanks and praise for sovereignty of Christ, who is Lord of all creation and is coming again in glory to reign (see Revelation 1:4-8)…”

With that in mind, our sermon today at Madison Valley Presbyterian Church explored the life of Christ and how we interpret the Kingship of Jesus in today’s world. Here are my sermon notes:

This is the beginning
Of Advent season.
We get caught up
In the season’s reason.

Yet as we move
Into the humble life
Of Jesus, we see
A family facing strife.

Luke tells us of Jesus’
Arrival at Golgotha Hill
And he asks us to look
At the Truth – and be still.

Jesus (King of the Jews) was handed over
To face death on the cross.
Some people want to pass by
That time of pain and loss.

We want to skip the crucifixion
And go from Virgin Birth
To Christ’s ministry and then
His ascension from this earth.

But during this time of year,
We need to embrace the season
Of Christ the King’s ministry
And see Jesus’ life’s reason.

Why was Jesus condemned
When His was a life of love?
He extended grace to all
Who believe He was God above.

He was superior to all creation
And He lived a life of peace.
We need to align ourselves with
Jesus’ teachings. He’s in our reach!

As people of faith, we must
Reflect Christ’s justice and grace.
Christ died to redeem us –
Us believers who will see His face.

Endure – because Christ the King promised
We will be with Him in Paradise.
Pray for justice for all – Turn from evil,
Accept His enduring Faith – and be nice!!

Amen?

I hope your Christ the King Sunday was a blessed one!
Love ya,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, peace, sermon notes

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Embrace Extravagance

What?
Embrace Extravagance?
I have to be kidding, right?

Photo by Kamaji Ogino on Pexels.com

Extravagance is kin to outlandish.
Extravagance means excessive.
Right?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Wrong!
Extravagance doesn’t need to mean outlandish.
It can be thought of as abundance.

Extravagance is
Abundance of some good food –
Okay if it’s shared!

Extravagance is
An abundance of pure love –
Beautiful when shared

Extravagance is
The overflow of blessings –
Lovely gifts from God

Life is extravagantly wonderful!

When the night sky touches your soul,
When other bloggers touch your inner core,
It’s a sign of the extravagance of others
That keeps you longing for more

In his “Keys to Living Life”

Today, January 24, 2021, Rahul Gaur wrote a blog so powerful that I HAD to share it. First I tweeted it. I have never shared someone else’s blog by tweeting it before. I have reblogged a few. This one is so impactful that I need you to click on Rahul’s name and go to it. See it for yourself. It is extravagantly beautiful! Here are a couple of sentences that particularly touched me:

“The soul is the lost intuition
and the listening switch of your body.
When you need to see things beyond as they are,
to see things as they were meant to be,
you listen to the orchestra of your soul.⁣”

I listened with my soul to today’s sermon

Sermon by Rev. Steve Hundley
at the Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
Ennis, Montana

Thy Kingdom Come

“Thy Kingdom Come” is
a political statement –
Except we believe
in a heavenly kingdom.

It’s not a worldly kingdom.
It is “THY” kingdom come.
Let God’s Kingdom reign,
Not MY domain – not MY will.

As a pastor, I am sometimes
Guilty of saying, “Look at me!”
I do the “my” and not “Thy” message
And have to learn to lose self.

We all need to learn to be
De-throned … and let
God’s Kingdom be the focus.
Peace, reconciliation & hope are God’s.

God’s Kingdom is not attainable
On our earth. It is not!
Utopia here in our world
Is not within our reach.

No earthly political order
Will ever be the Kingdom of God.
God’s Kingdom is like a seed.
It’s like a net in the water.

The seed one day will sprout.
The net will gather fish.
God’s work on earth is extravagant,
But the Kingdom is elusive here.

The Kingdom of God is at the door.
It takes eyes of faith to see
What lies beyond the threshold.
It is there though we see it not.

When we say “Thy Kingdom COME,”
We might more easily say GO.
Go from You into me…
God’s Kingdom lives in each of us.

It’s an awesome fact that
The Kingdom of God is in you.
We must not lose hope or faith
And we must not live in satisfaction.

Never be satisfied with what is.
Only when we submit to God’s Kingdom
Does it really COME. So care!
Care for the poor; release greed and pettiness.

It’s liberating to know when
We turn our lives and our futures
Over to our Extravagant God –
We’ll see His Kingdom coming into the world.

Amen?

“Listen to the orchestra of your soul.”
Rahul Gaur
Keep you ears open to soulful listening…
Thank you, Rahul, for your blog.
Thank you, Rev. Steve, for your message.
Thank You, God, for your Kingdom of Love.

Embrace Extravagance!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, blogging, Faith, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, peace, Poetry, prayer, sermon notes, writing

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