"Jesus says, 'The Kingdom that I have actually means detachment from everything you know and love and desire, and completely and fully attaching to me.'" According to the culture of the kingdom, it is those who are powerless and marginalized who are in a good position— because they are prime to respond to and receive from God ..read more

Mercy is... the healing we receive when our sins are exposed to God's forgiveness." Throughout “The Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus immerses us into a culture that tends to be counterintuitive and disorienting for most people: the culture of the kingdom of the heavens. Verses 3-5 laid out the progression of our awareness of and relationship to God. Verses 6-8 take the next logical step by highlighting characteristics we should strive to maintain in relationship to one another as members of this divine kingdom.  ..read more

"Peace is not natural. The natural person has a spirit of self-preservation and self interest," which is countercultural to Jesus' call in the beatitudes. Pastor Kelli teaches us, through Matthew 5:9-12, that we are to be "peacemakers," which means having: 1. a new view of self, 2: a new view of others, and 3: a new view of the world ..read more

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Jonah, a well-respected prophet in his home country, chooses to disobey God’s instruction, yet God doesn’t give up on Him. He serves as an example to us that while there are consequences for our disobedience, there is also an invitation to repentance and redemption.  ..read more

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