I used to think of the kingdom of God as some far off place that I hoped to get to someday. In practicing ministry, it has become much clearer to me that the kingdom of God is a reality in our world today. It really hits me when I preach a sermon about one of the main purposes of Jesus’ ministry. Luke records it this way in chapter 4 verse 43, “But he said to them, 'I must preach the good news of God’s kingdom in other cities too, for this is why I was sent. '" (CEB). Jesus kept saying that the kingdom of God was at hand and it was important to share that with as many people as possible. If God is the creator of everything, as I believe, then it must also be true that this world is also the kingdom of God. We profess this when we profess
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The principal knew that the poverty rate in the area is extremely high with 92% of the children being on the free and reduced lunch program. She had a plan for a Christmas program for all the students in the school. She wanted to raise enough money to give them a big breakfast and give each student a backpack with a shirt, sweatshirt, pens, pencils, crayons, a book from the book fair, and hat and gloves. The church I serve made a large contribution to the program and it was a success. Last year the principal dreamed bigger and wanted to add a pair of shoes for each student. She struggled raising the funds and again our congregation gave a significant contribution. Then, contributions came pouring in and she was able to get each student not only shoes, but boots, hats, gloves, coats, 2 books from the book fair, sweatshirt, shirt, and all the other goodies. The local news covered this story and she was invited to be on the Rachel Ray Show. While on the show a company donated $10,000.00 to buy shoes this year as well. Who would have ever believed that something like that could happen? It did though, and that is how I see the presence of the kingdom of God in this world. People are coming together to make sure the needs of these children are being met. Leadership in our congregation has been talking about figuring out a way to share this story with other churches and schools who have similar issues, showing how we have partnered with this school and the difference it is making in our own lives and in the lives of the students. We all hope this will
The principal knew that the poverty rate in the area is extremely high with 92% of the children being on the free and reduced lunch program. She had a plan for a Christmas program for all the students in the school. She wanted to raise enough money to give them a big breakfast and give each student a backpack with a shirt, sweatshirt, pens, pencils, crayons, a book from the book fair, and hat and gloves. The church I serve made a large contribution to the program and it was a success. Last year the principal dreamed bigger and wanted to add a pair of shoes for each student. She struggled raising the funds and again our congregation gave a significant contribution. Then, contributions came pouring in and she was able to get each student not only shoes, but boots, hats, gloves, coats, 2 books from the book fair, sweatshirt, shirt, and all the other goodies. The local news covered this story and she was invited to be on the Rachel Ray Show. While on the show a company donated $10,000.00 to buy shoes this year as well. Who would have ever believed that something like that could happen? It did though, and that is how I see the presence of the kingdom of God in this world. People are coming together to make sure the needs of these children are being met. Leadership in our congregation has been talking about figuring out a way to share this story with other churches and schools who have similar issues, showing how we have partnered with this school and the difference it is making in our own lives and in the lives of the students. We all hope this will