Kingdom PeopleSample

The Sermon on the Mount

Here’s the scene: Jesus has been going from place to place proclaiming, “The Kingdom of Heaven is here!” But He hasn’t just been saying stuff, He’s been doing stuff! People are getting healed; demons are being driven out, and paralytics are standing up on their own two feet! Understandably, Jesus’s fame is spreading and great crowds are following Him wherever He goes. But His message is still all about the Gospel of the Kingdom.

What is this Gospel? It’s the amazing announcement that through Jesus’s intervention in history, our God has once again become King; His Kingdom is coming to Earth, and everyone is invited in.

As Jesus is announcing the arrival of His Kingdom, He takes the time to sit down and clarify what this Kingdom is all about. He does this in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Arguably the most famous sermon Jesus ever gave, this message includes things like the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer. If you’ve grown up in church, you probably know of these things but may not get the Kingdom connection. Get ready to see Jesus weave this all together. If you don’t have any clue what a beatitude even is, welcome to this front row seat to the radical teachings of Jesus! 

The Sermon on the Mount is going to serve as our reference, our picture, our gut check for becoming Kingdom people. 

Why should this title describe us so well? Because as followers of Christ, we are not primarily citizens of any earthly nation, but of God’s Kingdom! So, our way of operating in the world should represent our true allegiance. We are called to look different from other people because we are Kingdom people. 

Realize that this calling to represent God’s Kingdom to the world is a high honor. Jesus picked you, as in intentionally nominated you, to be His ambassador. In the U.S., our ambassadors are hand-picked by the president to represent this country to other nations. You’ve been hand-picked by the King to represent His Kingdom to all nations! Take this seriously, but also, don’t be worried. God has given you everything you need to do this well. He is with and equips those He calls, and He has called us to be Kingdom people.

Challenge: Journal about what it might mean to be a Kingdom person; an ambassador; a living, breathing picture of heaven to our world. How does it feel to know you’ve been chosen for this?