The Upside Down Kingdom Sermon Series Begins on Epiphany Sunday!

Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew’s gospel captures the story of Jesus: the One eternal God, come to us as the king and savior of the world. Jesus’ mission was to bring heaven to earth - described in the phrase repeated over 30 times in this book, “the kingdom of heaven.” This is so interesting because God’s plan from the beginning of time is to bring heaven to earth. Despite his plan being disrupted by human sin, the Bible begins and ends that way - with heaven coming to earth. And in Matthew’s gospel, we learn that the way of heaven is altogether different from the way of the world. Everything about the kingdom of heaven is upside down from the way of the world. But in reality, the upside down kingdom is the way things ought to be. The world is marked by self reliance and pride, selfishness, injustice, violence, and death. The way of heaven is marked by God-reliance and humility, self sacrifice, justice, peace, and life. So what does that actually look like? How does that translate to real life? Well, the clearest view of the kingdom of heaven is seen in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign: the gospel. The gospel story calls us to surrender to Jesus Christ as the Lord of the universe and Lord of our lives. When we do, we enter into God’s kingdom, where we get to partake and participate in how things are meant to be, bringing all the benefits of heaven to the people and places where our lives intersect. Through this series, my hope and prayer is that we will grow as Upside Down Kingdom people, that by God’s working in and through us, the earth would be one step closer to heaven.