This Sunday we are really exploring a difficult, if not life-changing, topic. The topic is this: how do we live as follo
wers of Jesus in our world?
Because if you haven’t noticed so much of our world isn’t Jesus-like. There is hate, anger, greed, self-interest, materialism, environmental abuse, violence, and difficulty. These are things that are both prevalent around our lives and affec
t our lives.
The truth is that our world in many ways is far from the Kingdom of God. In God’s Kingdom people don’t go hungry, in our world they do. In God’s Kingdom people are valued, in our world people are left out and alone. In God’s Kingdom
violence has no redemptive power, in our world we think it does. In God’s Kingdom the marginalized are
welcomed, in our world they are forgotten. This isn’t though a case of pessimism because Jesus is clear that his Kingdom is here, it is growing
, it is moving, and it is always also coming. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we can have hope in a better world, and not just one we find when we die, but one we can have while we live.
The question then is how do we change the world we are a part of? Because Christianity has been about chan
ge from the beginning. Transformation of personal lives, of communities, of neighborhoods, and even of the entire world. So in light of the major difficulties of the world, how are we to live so that we partner with Jesus in bringing change?
Well on Sunday we are going to be looking at a story that is all about changing the world around: everything from our communities right up to the world of politics around us.
We are going to be looking at the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den.
I remember a prof once joking that we shouldn’t talk about sex, money, or politics in church. And since I’ve already covered sex and money, I thought why not cover the last one.
So that’s where we’re headed on Sunday, but before we get there why not think about this question and post an answer if you have it. How do you change the world? And where does change start?