Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church

One of the reoccurring themes in our sermon series in 1 John is that the mark of a true follower of Christ is in the way that person treats others. “Walking in the light” means that we love our brothers and sisters. It is a part of who we are as Christ followers. It is something that we are to be known for in all our relationships.

I hope that you can join us at worship this Sunday as we celebrate the women in our lives with yummy cupcakes, a photo booth, and flowers for all the ladies.

What part of God’s Kingdom are you building?

I was asked that question once and pondered what my answer should be. I wanted to answer that I am planning on building something big, something that God and I would be proud of. I would want to build something that stood out and people would notice.

But as I thought about it for a few minutes, my grand thoughts turned. As I thought about what part of God’s Kingdom would He want me to build, it turned to the things that are right in front of me. I want to invest in the people that are a part of my life – my wife, my children, my friends, the people I know at church. These are the part of God’s Kingdom that I want to build, that I want to invest in. I want to build God’s Kingdom in the way that I treat others. The way that I am loving them.

I think that is what Jesus would want me to do. Big buildings, great acts of generosity, fabulous sermons aren’t necessarily what God wants in building His Kingdom. What He wants is for each of us to be faithful with what He has given to us and to treat others with love.

Jesus wanted to make sure that His people knew that the way that others would know about Him would be in the way that His followers treated each other, the way that we love others.

God’s Kingdom is built, it grows when someone we meet sees Jesus and they want to know more. I think that is what Jesus wants from us. It isn’t knowing more (although that is important), it isn’t in giving more (although that too is important), it isn’t in serving more (although that is another important part of God’s Kingdom). What Jesus wants is for us to love God and love others and point others to Him. When we do that faithfully, with those that are around us, God’s kingdom grows.

Our sermon series in John’s letters is helping us to do that. We are learning from the pen of John what a follower of Jesus should do in helping to build His Kingdom.

I hope that you can join us this Sunday as we learn a bit more of the basics in how we can build God’s Kingdom together from John’s first letter.