We Are All About God’s Grace for God’s People

THIS MONTH AT CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH

Matthew 4:23 – “Jesus went throughout all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…”

What does Jesus mean when he speaks about and makes promises about the kingdom of heaven? He speaks about this kingdom quite a bit in the gospels. Is it a certain place? If so, where is it? Is the kingdom a future reality only to be revealed later? What kind of kingdom is this, exactly? Over the last couple weeks, and this upcoming weekend as well, we’ve heard a few parables about this kingdom can be received – through preaching and hearing the word, through faith in Jesus Christ and his mission to redeem this fallen world, and through the ordinary ministries of Christ’s church. The parables for this coming weekend speak of the growth of the kingdom; both visibly and and invisibly. The parables for this coming weekend speak of the value of the kingdom – so valuable that we would sell all we have to purchase this “pearl of great price,” this “treasure” which lay buried in a field.

So what do we make of this kingdom? Well, for starters, we can’t make this kingdom, it already has been made for us. We can’t bring this kingdom either; only the Lord God almighty can and, thanks to be God, He has in the person and work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is God’s merciful reign of power shown and given by what Jesus did and what Jesus said. The kingdom of heaven becomes tangible in the life of the church, in the lives of believers, justified by faith alone. The kingdom of heaven is also here, but not completely – “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The invasion of the joy of kingdom has begun in this fallen world because of the Resurrection, the standard of the cross has been placed to show the powers of sin, death, and the devil have been defeated and will one day be no more, and we get a taste of that kingdom in worship, in Christ’s church, in sacrificial service in the name of Jesus our King – the One who fulfills all the promises of Scripture and is the focal point and hinge of all human history. The kingdom can be complex to understand or fathom, yet Jesus reminds us elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel the simplicity of this very kingdom which conquers through humility, through suffering, through hope: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (18:3-4).

What is the kingdom of heaven like? Join us for worship this weekend and find out more!

Blessings to you and yours these beautiful summer days,
Pastor Chris Johnson

This week at Christ the King:
Monday, July 24th – 10:30 AM Audit Committee
Tuesday, July 25th – 2:30 PM Roof Bidding Meeting
4 PM Special Property Committee Meeting
Wednesday, July 26th – 9 AM Quilting
9:30 AM Bible Study: Ezekiel 25-32
1 PM Finance Meeting with Thrivent
Thursday, July 27th – 10 AM Coffee Clutch w/ the Staff
11:30 AM Thursday Theology “Surprised by Hope” DVD Discussion
6 PM Special Council Meeting
Saturday, July 29th – 5 PM Worship w/ Holy Communion
Sunday, July 30th – 8th Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 AM Coffee Fellowship Time
10:30 AM Worship w/ Holy Communion
11:45 AM Special Congregational Meeting for Church Roof
2 PM Worship at Bishop Noa

World Hunger Project

click here for more information

Worship
Weekend Worship is at
5 p.m. on Saturdays
and
10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings.
Communion is celebrated at every service and a staffed nursery is available during the 10:30 worship

Youth Faith Formation
(Confirmation)
(Sunday School)
Every Sunday from
9:00 – 10:15 am

Office:
Christ the King Lutheran Church
1230 N. 18th St.
Escanaba, Michigan
Phone: 906-786-7400