SUNDAY SERVICES:

 In the "Lord's Prayer" we ask for the "Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven."  In my study this week I found an interesting reflection on the 5 sets of parables in Matthew 13 and the petition for the coming of the Kingdom.

1. What are we asking for in seeking His Kingdom to come?

      "The 5 sets of Kingdom parables have taught us at least this:

Your WORD come (the Sower, with understanding faith)

Your WAY come (the Wheat in the Weeds, with nonviolent love)

Your WORK come (the Seeds, with confident hope that Jesus' "little" work will one day prove immense.)

Your WONDER come (the Gems, with the joy of grace and the abandon of obedience.)

Your WARNING come (the Net, with the seriousness of repentance.)

1. To pray "Thy Kingdom Come," then, is to pray that the gospel may be under-stood, lived out, hoped for, "bought up," and taken seriously."*

*Matthew, A Commentary - Volume 2: The Churchbook p.56, by Frederick Dale Bruner

In Matthew 6.33, Jesus said that the Kingdom of God should be our number one priority.  We are to seek it first above all else and then everything else will be added.  Right after I came to the Lord I discovered this verse.  And since I had done work in 'values clarification' this jumped out at me as Jesus' number one priority for him and for us, and I began exploring the whole theme of the Kingdom of God.  I am excited to share some of my explorations this Sunday.

Blessings to you all!

Carl