Paul says it clearly: Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked in this world or in any world, and God placed all things under his feet. In short, Jesus is King.
If all things are under his feet, then no thing is more powerful than him, no thing compares to him. All this means is that even in the chaos, uncertainty, fear, worry, anxiety, tension, of our world, our nation, or maybe of our lives, all of it is under his feet.
But in the metrics of the Kingdom, this means we might not thrive, we might not win, we might not succeed, we might not survive. Because thrive, win, succeed, survive, are metrics of the kingdom of humans, not necessarily metrics of the Kingdom of God. So the invitation to you and me is to open our hands and surrender. Open our hands and trust.
Our church's mission statement is written in fancy metal letters—on the wall, in the lobby, over the water fountain, next to the coffee bar. It reads, "To invite people to experience the reality of life in the Kingdom of God."
What we're talking about the next two weeks—God the King and His Kingdom—is foundational and essential to the Christian faith. It is foundational and essential to the whole Christian story. In fact, a strong case can be made that the Kingdom of God is the Bible's favorite subject and primary theme. And in profound and incredibly practical ways, what we're talking about over the next two weeks can actually be a game changer in how we view God, how we live out our faith, how we discern the purpose for our lives, how we navigate through the various struggles in life, how we endure the brokenness and chaos of this world, how we endure the upcoming Presidential election, how we face our own death, and how we think about eternity. It's that important.
"God's plan is really simple. God's plan is to form a people, a community. And through that community's transformation, through that community's life together, through that community's Christlikeness (both at an individual level and at the communal level)—God's Plan A is to use that community to show other people who God is and what life can be like in His Kingdom with Him. That's the plan."
Rather than share a message on the topic of Mission, Pastor Mike Lueken interviews four sets of people who are living out mission in their lives:
• Caryn & Shawn Young (Mission in the neighborhood)
• Selina Zavala (Mission in the workplace)
• Cas Mastropaolo, Caelin Linden, and Greg Roeszler of The Playmakers (Mission with our Ministry Partners)
• Neena Conrad, Oak Hills Missions Coordinator (Mission as a community)
"A healthy marriage is the foundation of a healthy family, and a healthy family is foundational to a healthy society. A healthy marriage can create ripple effects through many generations, while a broken marriage, whether it's officially broken (meaning papers have been filed and spouses live apart) or unofficially broken (meaning papers haven't been filed but spouses live a part), often does the opposite through many generations, has the opposite ripple effect.
"Marriage is intended to be good. Marriage is intended to be fun. Marriage is intended to be appropriately fulfilling. It is intended to be a life-long relationship of mutual love and submission between a man and a woman where intimacy increases through the years. That's the intention. So marriage is worth the effort and worth the struggle and it's worth the pain."
"I like this time of year, I really do. It's a chance to look back, a chance to let go, a chance to celebrate, and a chance to look ahead. I just find it invigorating—as corny as it may be—to think about the close of one year and the prospect of beginning a new year. Henri Nouwen, in a book called Here and Now, said it this way: "We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes each minute, as a new beginning. As a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to the voice saying to us, 'I have a gift for you and can't wait for you to see it.' Imagine.""
"The Christmas story is a pivotal chapter in this big and beautiful story that God is writing and slowly unfolding because in Luke's gospel, when the angel announced, 'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord,' he was announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace. He was announcing the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's 700 year old prophecy.
"Now, just so we're clear, and we keep these people in these story being human, I don't believe any character in the Christmas story comprehended the full gravity of what was happening. Their reactions—the prime characters in the Christmas story—were all over the map, just like our reactions are all over the map. Doubt, disbelief, fear, astonishment, joy, hope, worship, disturbed, confused. The array of their reactions suggests at least they realized something profound was happening. And it seems to me we sit on the opposite side. We run the risk of tempering and taming the Christmas story so it fits nicely under a snow globe."
"When we think of "Mighty God," power probably comes to mind. The name, the title, "Mighty God" declares that the Messiah of Advent is powerful. So powerful that Isaiah 9 says that the running of the whole world is going to rest on His shoulders. In Isaiah 46:8-10, God is speaking of himself—with attitude:
"Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; For I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'"
"It is wise and it is good to remember that God is great, and He is powerful, and He way is above us and infinitely far beyond us. And His ways, as Isaiah 55 says, are not our ways."
"When you hear the phrase, "Wonderful Counselor," what comes to mind? Hard to find? Expensive? Maybe a thoughtful listener. Maybe Doctor Phil comes to mind. The phrase in Isaiah —- and this is crucial —— is way beyond what we can conceive of as a good therapist. The word "wonderful" here in this context is closer to "supernatural" or "miraculous." And so it's not just "wonderful" as we use the term. "Wonderful" here refers to God's acts and ways that are far above and beyond what any human being can conceive of or imagine."
In this closing message, we invited the Oak Hills Community to share — open mic style — what they've been learning from our six-week series.
Due to the nature of the sharing, this podcast only includes the opening remarks by Pastor Mike Lueken, and not the actual sharing time from the congregation.
"These two disciples are walking behind Jesus, and the language used in the Bible is that they were "following" him in the sense that they were walking behind him (John 1:35-42). But not yet in the sense that we're talking about today. He turns around and asks, "What do you want"? And this question, Jesus asks, and keeps asking those who say they want to "follow" him. What do you want? What are you after? Why are you here? I think we can make a case that Jesus asks us this question every single day, and many times during the day, from the moment we awake and face all of life's situations, until we fall asleep. And when we wake up the next day, he asks it again. How to follow Jesus doesn't mean anything unless I want to follow Jesus."