The Kingdom Tide

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

New Living Translation Chapter 13

31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:

“I will speak to you in parables.

I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”

New Living Translation Chapter 13

44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

Parable of the Fishing Net

47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”

“Yes,” they said, “we do.”

52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

This is the word of God for the People of God....Thanks Be to God.

Alone in Berlin

They were patriots. They believed everything that the government told them about the importance of world domination and the superiority of the race they were a part of. It did not matter that they were at war with the rest of the world…they were true believers. She was a member of the Women’s Nazi league…there job was to go to see women in their communities and convinces them that the Nazi party line must be followed by their family.

He was a foreman at a factory that built vehicles for the war effort…Their only son was serving in the Nazi army during World War 2. They were doing their part then one day the parents got the telegram no parent wants to get…their son had been killed...

In their grief they tried to continue to support the party but all of the nationalistic lines they once believed in began to ring hallow. As a matter of fact the more they heard from the party and their friends the more they began to realize that the party was not as interested in the good of Germany as they were for the own interest.

They decide that they wanted to stop the party but how would they do it? The Husband bought 500 post cards and began hand writing them. One at a time He would write a card then pick a high traffic place to leave them one at a time and hope that people would see them and possible be persuaded to change their minds.

This does not sound terribly effective but doing this during this time would mean death if he or his wife were caught....This post card writing campaign caused a large investigation from the Berlin police. This couple placed over 300 cards before being caught and executed.

Evil fears when the people of God share Eternal Truth even in small ways instead of worldly lies.

When we examine these illustrations more closely not only do we see the importance of outreach…or how a little has the ability to grow into a paradigm changing movement…but we see the power of truth being understood and shared.

The greatest danger today is not only a shortage of evangelism but the easy spread of misinformation. Last week I talked a bit about folk theology. Matthew writes about the importance of people understanding the truth behind the story not just understanding the story.

After the illustrations of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast Matthew quotes from the

Psalms 78:2 2 for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—

The stories we read and hear preached tell the story of God…the stories give us the seed that we need to create a rising tide of righteousness in the world we live.

When we listen to the story of God and share the meaning of that story with the story of our lives we will see a swell of truth wash the sins of the world away.

We will be part of a tsunami of life instead of an undertow of a worldly philosophy that leads to death.

The Central theme of the NT is Jesus entrance into this world establishing The Kingdom of God on earth Right now

The kingdom of God is like a man who finds a treasure....and pearls of great value that once found was worth significant investment, risk and sacrifice just for the privilege to possess the wealth.

This is ideas of investing a little money to receive the wealth that comes with treasure and the perfect pearl is a timeless way to illustrate the values of the Kingdom of God.

Money talks....power entices....Jesus was using these stories not to encourage selfish acquisition of these things but to say that in the same way we chase after wealth and power we should chase after the righteousness of God becuase the Loss of God’s treasure is in fact a matter of eternal life and eternal death.

Live the Christian Faith in a manner that seems worthwhile to people on the outside.

When we look at that illustrations of the pearl and the hidden treasure we see this idea played out. When it comes to our faith we struggle a bit in this not becuase it is not worth it to us but becuase some struggle with the perception others may have of us if we truly offer our entire lives over to the faith.

If those of us who call ourselves Christians do not joyfully and voluntarily live out our faith as worthwhile why would anyone outside the faith live that way?

This is more than a commitment to a worship service which is the most public way we can do this...it is a complete centering our our lives around Christian core values...

Presence // Be faithful in worship.

Worship is our response to God’s love. When we are present with God and one another, God uses us to encourage, challenge, love, serve, and pray for one another.....Now more than ever....online or in person.

Relationships // Participate in a small group.

It is in relationship and conversation with other believers that we figure out how to walk the way of Jesus in every day life. Our Small groups care for one another and talk about how to apply the Good News in our daily lives…The more we are ok with not connecting either on line or in person in venues people are comfortable with the more opprotunity we have to drift away from what is most important. Mission....

Compassion // Serve your community.

We want to serve our neighbors well, not just as a church, but as individuals. We want to do this by partnering with organizations throughout our city and offering each of our unique gifts in service to our community…I have been continuing to serve as a chaplain and in the New Orleans Square revitalization group.

Involvement // Serve your church.

Each of us has something to contribute, and together we strengthen the church to do God’s good work. Many of our volunteers are in the vulnerable age category. Serving in children’s and youth is still vital. We are also exploring ways to develop micro Churches or venues that you lead with the help of your pastor and staff...our church needs what you have!

Generosity // Be faithful in giving.

Your generosity makes the work of our church possible. . We give of our resources as an act of worship and statement of faith in God’s goodness. You have been so generous in this and we want to thank you.

Invitation // Invite people into a journey.

Everyone has a story. It is important that we never miss an opportunity to hear the stories of others and to share our story. It is through that connection with each other we can invite people on a faith journey.

These are the values that God has called this local church to live out…they are up and down the hallway as you come in and they are their to remind us all of what God has empowered us to do

Living this in our everyday lives is only hard if we allow fear of what others think or what activities or assets we might lose drive our thoughts and actions.

Values are perceived by what others see gets our greatest attention.

Today more than ever these core values are VITAL to spiritual health. Now is not the time to drift away from them it is time to draw closer to them. As we draw closer by embracing these values I promise that we can experience the peace we all desperately need.

New Living Translation Chapter 16

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Centering our lives on these Christian core values produce significance, meaning and substance for our lives. Take heart today…pandemic cannot separate you from the love of God or His mission.

God is with us right now…not just in our heat or in our mind but His presence totally encapsulates us....Before we come to the table I want you to participate in this exercise today and it will help you in the future as well

Imagine you are underwater....look around…every ones else is underwater…the presence of God is the water.

Communion is a way that we give our whole attention to the reality that Gods presence is always with us not matter where we go.

Communion