Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is worthy of our absolute devotion, and His invitation into that devotion is to lay down the heavy burden of religion and rest in a daily, abiding relationship with our Savior. Life with Jesus is not a performance to live up to; it is a surrendered relationship to live into. Embedded in the very words of Jesus is a promise, “I will be with you.” He is Emmanuel, God with us, and He has now given us His Spirit as a seal of that promise. Some of the ways we experience the with-ness of our God are through rhythms and practices that followers have implemented for centuries; things like study and memorization of Scripture, prayer, fasting, worship, community, silence, solitude, and many more. We are devoted disciples of Jesus.

We center our lives, individually and together, on the truth of this good news: Jesus, our King and Savior, was sent by the Father to live the life we could never live, die the death we deserved to die, and rise again to conquer death, darkness, and bondage. And now we, by Spirit-empowered faith, have life, light, and freedom. The gospel of the Kingdom has come, and is coming to make all things new. We see all of life as orbiting around this reality. Whether in marriage or singleness, career or homemaking, parenting or being parented, healthy or sick, poverty or prosperity, whatever our circumstances; the gospel pervades all. It is not simply a part of our lives, the gospel is our life.

We have been reconciled to God; therefore, also to one another. We are not merely a collection of saved individuals; we are one people, united by faith in Jesus. We are a new kind of community: A body of many members, a family of brothers and sisters, a temple of living stones. We don’t just confess this in our doctrine; we live it in our culture. Who we are in Christ transcends all other differences and breaks down walls of division and hostility. We live out our unity by loving one another tangibly, forgiving one another quickly, forbearing one another patiently, and serving one another selflessly.

We were formerly enemies of God, but through Jesus we have been welcomed as family to the banquet table of God’s lavish love. We belong to a Kingdom of abundance rather than a world of scarcity, and the God of all hospitality welcomes us each morning with surprises of delightful new mercies. As recipients of this hospitality, we get to extend the same to others. We welcome as Christ has welcomed us. Our hospitality is not of this world. We’re not here to solicit, but to serve. We go above and beyond to welcome well so that all people may experience the welcome of Jesus.

We choose to trust the provision of God, who, in infinite generosity, provided His own Son for us. We are transformed by the generosity of Jesus, who gave up the glories of Heaven and His very life for us. So we do not fearfully hoard, but faithfully steward. We see our resources as an opportunity to actively love God and our neighbor. We seek continual contentment in Jesus as we generously sow our time, talents, and treasure that we may reap a harvest of eternally enduring gospel stories.

God is on mission for His glory among all peoples. Jesus, the ultimate missionary, left Heaven to reach a world enslaved by sin and death. As recipients of the gospel, we participate with Him in pushing back death and darkness, wherever they are found. We proclaim Jesus with our words and demonstrate Jesus with our actions. Our task is marked by sacrificial love and urgency, knowing that Jesus is coming soon to make all things right and new. We dare to live into the belief that God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or imagine, so we spend our brief lives spreading the good news of His unstoppable Kingdom.