The Gospel.

That word means “good news.” But sometimes Christians and their message don’t sound like good news at all. Have you ever felt like the message of Christianity is “Get in line and go to heaven…and if you don’t, you have to go to hell. For ever. And ever.”

We get it - lots of people believe that. It’s just not what the Bible actually says.

So what does the Bible say?

Jesus envisioned the world being completely transformed through what he had to teach:

Love God and Love People. -Matthew 22:37-40

And it seems so simple that, at times, we gloss it over. But while the concept is simple: really think about the weight of what Jesus is saying:

  • Love your neighbor (Galatians 5:14)

  • Love your enemy (Matthew 5:43-44)

  • Prioritize forgiveness and reconciliation - even over religion (Matthew 5:23-24)

He expounds even more - and we’d love to discuss any time - but try to imagine a world where people actually lived these ways.

Jesus called that ideal world “the kingdom of Heaven,” and we can experience it right now.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.

Growing

We’re all trying to be a part of the kingdom like we spoke about above. But we all also fail. We get angry. We use language we shouldn’t. We gossip. Name it.

But we’re here to remind one another and lift one another up so that we grow.

We believe we can change for the better.

Loving

We have moments at church where we share what’s going on: what we need prayers about & what we need help with.

We have text threads and emails throughout the week.

We’re a family.

Sharing

We share our burdens with one another. We cry and laugh together. We open our homes to one another.

We look for ways to serve one another and our community.

This is the kingdom.