The pressures of life vary from day to day. The stress of responsibility and the weight of our own inadequacies or sinful hearts can become overwhelming. Perhaps you find that even the daily grind of the mundane chips away at your joy in life, purpose and motivation. There are many reasons why we find ourselves joyless, overwhelmed or even depressed at times. Yet by God’s grace, the truth of Scripture continues to correct my outlook on life when I saturate my thoughts with the promises of God. The parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13 do just that. I am reminded how little I am impacted by the knowledge of the coming Kingdom, because I give little to no thought of this incredible reality. I am too wrapped up in the here and now, blinded by my own busy agenda and self-centered desires. When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom there is an aspect of greatness and an aspect of duty, both of which I fail to grasp. I need to be reminded on a daily basis that as a Kingdom citizen, my affections and motivation are shaped by the eternal, looking forward to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Despite the burdens we carry and the sin that persists in this age, God will faithfully preserve His own (13:30), and in the end, we will come forth “shining as the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.” – Pastor Nate Wagner
Sunday at Liberty
- BTH: Russ Frederick–Exodus–Israel’s Dismay & God’s Provision (Ex 13:17-15:21)
- AM: Pastor Nate–Matthew 13:1-53–The Messiah’s Kingdom Disclosure, 2 (sermon notes)
- PM: Pastor Rory–Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45–Unending Dominion
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