The label of citizen in our country has been in the news quite a bit these days.
As soon as you read this, some of you will turn your thoughts toward the politics of this term and how we should or should not apply it to our country and our borders. Let me quickly tell you to take your mind off of that and turn your thoughts instead to the storyline that is found in Acts 2:36-41.
Peter was addressing a large crowd and spoke of what it meant to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Interestingly enough, the crowd he was talking to was a deeply religious crowd, too. They were all in Jerusalem because of a religious festival. Yet he was telling them—those religious Jewish-background people— how to cross over and become a new citizen of God’s Kingdom. He was telling them how to be born again.
We are building his church! We did not build the church in the past, now needing only to manage it. We ARE building his church right here and now. We are building the first of four walls to HIS church—and that is the Kingdom of God wall. Please understand this critical point: only citizens of the Kingdom of God will build his church.
That’s what we’re talking about this coming Sunday morning, as I walk through the stories of not only John 3 and Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, but also the end of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2.
As you prepare for this Sunday, do a little bit of homework. Come prepared by reading…
I also want you to come prepared to hear a real, true gospel presentation. How it is that any of us can come into the Kingdom of God? I want you to consider not only asking yourself if you are a true follower of Christ, but also thinking of others you are praying for, that they may follow Christ with their lives.
We will see you Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Let’s build his church together.
