Learning the Value System of God's Kingdom

LEARNING THE VALUE SYSTEM OF GOD’S KINGDOM   

Unpacking and Applying the Unconventional Value System of God’s Kingdom

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: July 27, 2025

Series: God’s Household

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Could it be that the time has come for us to go deeper in sharing the love of Christ with the most vulnerable people around us? Could it be that it is time for our church family to increasingly become a place where the last, the least, and the lost find connection to God? Could it be that now is the time to make a more concerted effort to push out into the highways and byways of our communities with the hopeful message of God’s grace? Could it be that the hour has arrived to more clearly show the world the unconventional value system of God’s kingdom?

My message is entitled: “Learning the Value System of God’s Kingdom.” There are multiple factors that led me to land on this topic, including: (1) Vacation Bible School this week; (2) a Kids Ministry Summit in August; and (3) learning in my own life how important it is to demonstrate care and a sympathetic ear toward the outsider, the vulnerable, and the distressed.

When I say that we must learn the value system of God’s kingdom, I am specifically focused on the way in which we value people – which people we value, and why. This in turn relates to how we handle the use of power, authority, and influence: Do we use our power, authority, and influence in order to truly serve, protect, and enrich the most vulnerable persons among us? Or do we use our power, authority, and influence to serve, protect, and enrich ourselves?

Consider Luke 22:25-27

We know what the world does: “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them [the people]” (Luke 22:25). Then Jesus says: “But not so with you.” (Luke 22:26) The Lord doesn’t call us to boost our own ego, status, and wealth at the expense of other people. Instead, the Lord calls us to clothe ourselves with the attitude of humble service and use our lives and resources in order to lift up the people around us. Be like the servant who is waiting on tables, Jesus says, not like the polished executive who is full of himself and his caviar (see Luke 22:27). Jesus is the One who sets the example, saying: “I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:27) If we are followers of Jesus, then we must follow in His footsteps and imitate His example.

The main thing that I intend to do in this sermon is to remind us of how the values of God’s kingdom are topsy-turvy and upside down in comparison to the world at large. Then, flowing out of this river of gospel truth, I’d like to share some brief application.

THE TALE OF TWO CITIES

Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Tale of Two Cities – the two cities being London and Paris. But this concept of two cities may also be used to describe the entire unfolding history of the world. The 4^th and 5^th century church leader Augustine developed this idea.

The city of man

On the one hand, there is the city of man, which is man-centered. Like the people who attempted to build the tower at Babel, the citizens of the city of man seek to build an impressive city-empire-kingdom in their own strength, according to their own wisdom, and for their own glory. They are proud and lofty in their thoughts, they despise God and His rightful claim upon their lives, and they look down upon the people who don’t fit in or who get in their way. This phrase ‘city of man’ is simply another way of referring to what the apostle Paul calls “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4), “the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2), and “the domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). Human beings are born into this city of man and, in order to escape the judgment that is coming upon the sons of disobedience, we must be rescued out of it.

Speaking of believers, Paul says:

“He [the Father] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

The city of God

The phrase ‘city of God’ is a way of referring to this kingdom of God, this kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Sinners who turn away from their sins and entrust themselves to the grace of Jesus Christ are born again into God’s forever family, thus becoming citizens of God’s eternal city. Unlike the people who attempted to build the tower at Babel, the citizens of the city of God are being built into God’s dwelling place by God’s power and grace. We’re not self-made; we’re being formed and transformed by the Holy Spirit. Citizens of God’s city are poor in spirit, and they admire the majesty and mercy of King Jesus, and they learn to humbly love and serve all of their neighbors, and they aim to live for the glory of God.

Spiritually and morally speaking, ‘the city of man’ and ‘the city of God’ are worlds apart. And yet, both cities are operating concurrently in this present world. Where is the city of man? All around us, and it affects us. Where is the city of God? All around us, and it compels us to do life God’s way.

THE WORLD’S VALUE SYSTEM

Now “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). And what has happened in this present evil world is that a corrupt value system has grown up in it. What characterizes this corrupt value system? King Solomon, amid his long spiritual decline, epitomized the bent of the world: possessing great power, he amassed for himself wealth, properties, entertainments, and pleasures (e.g., see Ecclesiastes 2:1-8). Climb the ladder as high as you can, enrich your portfolio as much as you can, pack into your experience as much excitement and recreation as you can, and live your best life now. And be sure to build monuments or post photos of your awesomeness, so that you can be the envy of other people.

The love of money

Scripture says that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) Now we understand that worldly-minded people love their money. Our minds might run to the rich young man who refused the offer to follow Jesus, because “he had great possessions” and he didn’t want to part with them (Matthew 19:22). But we need to understand that religious people also love their money.

Do you recall the verse where Jesus said, “For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15)? Do you know the context in which Jesus made this statement? Jesus had just said, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:13) And the Pharisees, that special group of religious folks who were highly committed to the pursuit of holiness as they understood it, hated what Jesus said. Luke 16:14-15 says,

“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”” (Luke 16:14-15)

If unconverted religious men love it, God abominates it! And unconverted men love their earthly riches.

Unconverted men also love their earthly power. Power and wealth are closely related to each other, usually travel together, and sooner or later converge. An ordinary man with wealth can leverage that wealth for power and influence. An ordinary man with power can leverage his power and influence to gain wealth.

Ordinary people suffer

As it happens, the city of man has an awful underbelly. While men of the world fasten their grip on the riches of this world, many ordinary people get left behind to suffer disgrace and poverty.

In Ezekiel 34, the Lord blasts the leaders of Israel:

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.” (Ezekiel 34:2-3)

The shepherds are enriched; the sheep are left destitute.

The apostle Paul’s attitude was: “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” (2 Corinthians 12:15) But the attitude of these selfish leaders of Israel was: ‘I will most certainly enrich myself at your expense.’ Such self-absorbed leaders like their comfortable executive suites, insulated from the needs of the people, and they keep the lowly sheep in bondage.

When disciples think likely worldly people

When the young disciples were arguing among themselves which one was the greatest in Luke 22:24, they were thinking like worldly people, not like students of Jesus. When James and John in Mark 10:37 asked Jesus if they could be promoted to Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense after Jesus became King, they were thinking like worldly people, not like followers of the soon-to-be-crucified Lamb.

Worldly-mindedness in Corinth

The world celebrates wealth and power and eloquence and personal charisma. This worldly-mindedness was affecting the church in Corinth, which is why they were celebrating human personalities instead of celebrating their unity in Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 1:12 we learn that some said, “I follow Paul”. Others said, “I follow Apollos”. Still others said, “I follow Cephas”. The really spiritual ones said, “I follow Christ”.  Christians who make too much of their favorite human leaders are missing the point. How tempting it is to be able to say, ‘I was baptized by Paul’ or ‘I studied under the eloquent Apollos’ or ‘I was one of the first converts in the days when Peter was preaching in Jerusalem’.

The world likes to put forth that which is famous, flashy, polished, and dressed-up. Far too often, the church markets itself and its leaders just like the world. Far too often, Christians like to name-drop just like the world, just like the Corinthians. But Jesus sends forth quite ordinary people who are like fragile clay pots, and He calls them to serve in the strength that He supplies. As Paul said,

“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18)

GOD’S VALUE SYSTEM IS RADICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD’S

People like power and wealth, eloquence and charisma, signs and wonders, bells and whistles, state of the art and cutting edge, the latest idea or fad that is sure to make all the difference. But God’s perspective is radically different: He is determined to “[make] foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Corinthians 1:20). He makes a crucified Savior the centerpiece of His kingdom. The Jews wanted miraculous signs. The Greeks wanted sophisticated wisdom. God gave them a Man suffering a shameful death on a wooden cross. As Scripture says:

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

Thinking about that rich young man in light of James 2:1-5

Do you remember that rich young man who visited Jesus and went away sorrowful because he was unwilling to part with his possessions? Well, if we are thinking in a fleshly and worldly-minded way, we want the rich young man to become a part of our church. But we don’t him to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, as Jesus counseled him.

Instead, we want the rich young man to keep his possessions so that we can benefit from them. The rich young man – I mean, the rich young man’s wealth – is useful to us. We like the way he dresses. We like his upscale house, and we’re hoping for an invitation. We like the Lexus that he drives. And we’d like to have him to sit on the board, and thereby enhance our standing in the community. This is one reason why when the rich young man shows up at church, some churches would do the very thing that James blasts them for doing or potentially doing: they will roll out the red carpet for him, go out of their way to welcome him, and do whatever they can to cater to the prominent man among them. The rich man is financially and socially useful to us, so we welcome him. The poor man is financially and socially useless to us, burdensome in fact, and so we make sure that he sits in the cheap seats, and frankly we’d just assume that he never returns. You can read all about this in James 2:1-4. Then in verse 5 James tells the people that if they act this way, they are acting in a way that is totally contrary to God’s value system:

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5)

We must learn not to judge people according to the flesh, according to the outward appearance, according to physical, material, and social factors. We must learn to have a spiritual eye that is able to discern one who is “rich in faith”, and to unlearn the worldly eye that is preoccupied with earthly riches.

A devastating passage

Back in 1 Corinthians, Paul really hits the nail on the head in chapter 1, verses 26-31, which says:

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

The city of man gravitates toward the worldly wise, the worldly powerful, the worldly strong, the worldly rich and famous. By God’s grace, sometimes God calls such people out of their worldliness and unbelief, and when that happens, these worldly somebodies become poor in spirit and become gracious participants in God’s kingdom.

However, what we learn in this passage is that God deliberately chooses those who are foolish and weak and low and despised in the eyes of the world, and He draws them into His family. And He does this in order to broadcast to the whole world that intelligence and power and nobility and wealth and eloquence and charisma do not make someone acceptable to God. The only thing that makes someone acceptable to God is the grace and mercy of God. God abominates the pride of men who boast in their status and achievements. God dwells with the humble of heart who stand in awe at God’s grace, who marvel at God’s riches, who admire God’s power, who tremble at God’s Word, who celebrate God’s wisdom, who cherish God’s holiness, and who boast in the cross of Jesus:

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” (Galatians 6:14-15)

What matters? The new life that God has opened up for us through the bloody cross upon which the Prince of glory died for our sins.

THE CROSS RADICALLY CHANGES OUR OUTLOOK

Something absolutely remarkable takes place when we grasp these things. The cross changes our outlook. The cross changes our value system. The cross changes the way we view other people. The cross changes the way we handle our privileges and resources. Philippians 2:5-9 says,

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (Philippians 2:5-9).

While the city of man is thinking about upward mobility, our Lord Jesus Christ models downward mobility. Being a divine person, He enjoyed equality with God the Father. He enjoyed infinite privilege, unlimited wealth, and incomparable honor. Unlike Solomon, Christ Jesus didn’t use what He had for His own benefit. Instead, He used what He had for our benefit. He emptied Himself – the King left His throne in heaven above and became a servant on the earth, God became a human being among the distressed and lowly people that He came to save, the Prince of Life yielded to the Father’s will and submitted Himself to a shameful death. In all this, He paid the debt that sets us free. The city of man celebrates those who exalt themselves. But the city of God operates according to a different rule: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) If you exalt yourself on the world’s terms, God will humiliate you on the day of judgment. If you humble yourself on God’s terms, God will exalt you with a victor’s crown.

Jesus’s example of downward mobility must shape our lives

Now the point of Philippians 2:5-9 is that we would imitate our Lord and live our everyday life with a humble and loving orientation toward other people:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)

The implication is that we must use our life, strength, position, influence, and resources in order to promote the well-being of other people. This is not upward mobility that races to the security of a gated community that is insulated from the needs of other people. This is downward mobility that gets graciously involved in the lives of other people for their good.

WHO IS THE IDEAL CONGREGANT?

As I take a turn toward some application, let me pose this question: Who is the ideal congregant? Who is the ideal church attendee? Who is the ideal first-time visitor to a worship service on a Sunday morning? I’m not posing this question to necessarily nail down one right answer, but to get us thinking about the value system of God’s kingdom.

Spiritually speaking, of course, the ideal congregant is one who has a strong faith in Jesus and a deep love for other people, right? And if a person has a strong faith in Jesus and a deep love for other people, their outward characteristics, their ethnicity, their social and economic status, their physical condition, and their age don’t really matter, right?

True though that is, God is on a mission to turn the value system of the world upside down, and that has very much to do with how the world values people based on outward, ethnic, social, economic, and physical characteristics. Furthermore, God also knows that for churchgoers like you and me, far too much vanity remains in our hearts, far too much worldliness remains in our hearts. Far too often, the visible church acts just like the world, or worse. And so, God continually tests our hearts to see whether our value system aligns with the value system of His kingdom, to see whether our value system is being shaped by the cross.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-28, it is the worldly foolish, weak, low and despised, the nobodies of the world, that God has chosen. In James 2:1-5, it is the financially poor that God has chosen to be rich in faith. God abominates the value system of the world, and the coming of His kingdom represents a radical reversal of expectations.

Battered victims and blind beggars

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, it is the insider Priest and the insider Levite who fail to demonstrate love to the man who had been beaten by thieves; it is the outsider Samaritan who has compassion and proves to be in step with God’s kingdom. (See Luke 10:29-37.)

When Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, there was a blind beggar crying out for mercy, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47) If Jesus hadn’t been there, it is doubtful that the man would have gotten any help from anyone else. For after he cried out for Jesus, we are told him that “many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” (Mark 10:48) Shut up! We don’t have time for a blind beggar! But the man persisted, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48) “And Jesus stopped” (Mark 10:49) and called the man, interacted with him, and healed him (Mark 10:49-52).

Worldly-minded religious people don’t have time for battered victims or blind beggars, but God does. Are we still following the course of this world? Or are we learning to follow Jesus amid the brokenhearted people that are all around us?

Another look at Ezekiel 34

Back in Ezekiel 34, Israel’s leaders had no care for the weak, the sick, the injured, the strayed, or the lost; instead, the shepherds ruled sheep harshly and the sheep were scattered (Ezekiel 34:4-5). The Lord’s response is not only to judge the unfaithful shepherds but also to come for His sheep:

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out…. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.” (Ezekiel 34:11, 16)

God calls His people to care for the most vulnerable persons

God always calls His people to demonstrate care for the most vulnerable people in our midst. Exodus 22:21-22 says,

“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.” (Exodus 22:21-22)

Leviticus 19:34 instructs us to love the strangers who sojourn among us even as we love ourselves. In Deuteronomy 14:28-29, Israelite landowners were to make sure that every three years, when the tenth of their produce was devoted to the celebration of a great feast, that Levites, sojourners, orphans, and widows in their community were included in the great feast. In Deuteronomy 15, the Lord commanded His people, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11) The theme is clear: those who have stability, influence, and resources must see to it that they utilize their stability, influence, and wealth for the benefit of vulnerable people who for one reason or another are disconnected from the resources of the community.

Concerning social and cultural differences

In a similar vein, we who are members of the body of Christ must be diligent to welcome those who differ from us socially and culturally:

“Here [in the realities of the new creation] there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)

So, who is the ideal congregant, or potential congregant? Who is the ideal member of our community, or potential member?

The immature disciples didn’t think children were ideal congregants

Let me tell you who the immature disciples – the same immature disciples who were jockeying for worldly greatness – let me tell you who the immature disciples didn’t think were ideal congregants. Young children. The disciples didn’t think that young children were ideal congregants. And on this point, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

Mark 10:13-16 says,

¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Jesus’ disciples didn’t think it was a good idea for Jesus to get bogged down in ministry to children. So they rebuked the people who were bringing young children to Him. When Jesus saw what His followers were doing, “he was indignant” (Mark 10:14). Let that sink in. He was not mildly displeased. He was greatly displeased. He was very angry that His disciples would keep young children from coming to Him.

Children are ideal members of Jesus’s community

According to Jesus, young children are ideal members of His community in two senses. First, in their own right, God’s kingdom belongs to young children (Mark 10:14). Second, they stand forth as an example, for anyone of any age must “receive the kingdom of God like a child” in order to enter it (Mark 10:15). That is to say, anyone of any age must receive God’s kingdom in humility, unimpressed by his or her own status, but rather impressed with wide-eyed wonder at the greatness of God’s kingdom.

Matthew 18:1-6 also addresses this matter:

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:1-6)

Do you want to be close to Jesus? Warmly welcome the children and warmly welcome humble childlike people who trust in Jesus. Do you want to be far from Jesus? Then attempt to insulate yourself and the church from the children, from the lowly, from the weak, from the oppressed, from the impoverished, from blind beggars and from poor widows who only have two pennies to put into the offering plate (see Luke 21:1-4).

The bottom line

Thus I have attempted to set before you the value system of God’s kingdom, which is diametrically opposed to the value system that sinners have enshrined in the city of man. The bottom line is that we must learn to value people, not because of their social or economic usefulness to us, but because they are human beings made in God’s image who, like us, stand in need of God’s grace. If we have humbled ourselves like young children, if we know that we ourselves are blind beggars who taste and see only because of the Lord’s mercy, then we will not look down on anyone, and we will welcome anyone, and we will listen to anyone, and we will serve anyone. We want nothing more than for other people to receive God’s grace – and we are willing to spend and be spent so that they do receive God’s grace, and whoever does receive God’s grace, we give them a warm welcome in Christ.

SOME ENCOURAGEMENTS AND CHALLENGES

Now let me conclude with some encouragements and challenges.

Encouragements

First, some encouragements.

I commend those of you who worked hard to make our annual Block Party a reality yesterday. That Block Party is a good picture of what needs to happen on a larger scale: we are opening ourselves up to the larger community in which we live, we are making room for outsiders to rub shoulders with us, we are giving to others for the Lord’s sake, not trying to get something from them.

I commend those of you who have worked hard to make our Vacation Bible School a reality in the coming week. During VBS you will minister to precious children, you will make memories with them and for them, you will make them laugh, and you will impress God’s words upon their heart. For the next week, for two hours each night, you are being entrusted with the treasures of God’s kingdom. Let the one who has eyes to see, see the value of each child who stands before you.

I commend those of you who work hard to serve our children and youth, whether in the Nursery, or in Children’s Sunday School, or in Youth Group. May these ministries never devolve to glorified childcare services, but instead bear the marks of personal care for young souls and gospel instruction to impressionable hearts.

I commend those of you who work hard with Garments of Praise and Last Saturday Supper, which provide valuable goods, especially to the financially vulnerable in our community.

I commend our recently installed Deacons who, whether or not they are wearing their Deacon hat, are earnest about caring for individuals within our congregation. I could tell you about one Deacon or another who have conducted Deacon care visits to meet practical needs, who have accompanied me on pastoral care visits, and who are coming alongside others in order to bring spiritual encouragement. Deacon work is not supposed to be exceptional, but exemplary of how all of us are called to live our lives in practical service and helpfulness toward others.

In these and other ways, we want to continue to emulate the way of the early church, of whom it was said:

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common…. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly” (Acts 4:32, 6:7).

Challenges

Finally, I want to challenge us to grow together in a few areas.

LET’S HAVE THE RIGHT EXPECTATIONS

First, if we truly want the gospel to make inroads into our communities, then expect it to make inroads along the lines of God’s kingdom’s upside-down values. Our mission is to practice downward mobility for the sake of the gospel, and to show people that we care, and to proclaim God’s foolishness – the message of the cross, which is mighty to save. For our part, we should bring zero pride to our ministry to the lowly and despised nobodies or our time. How can I be proud? I am wretched; Christ is my righteousness. I am pitiable; Christ is my physician and provision. I am poor; Christ is my wealth. I am blind; Christ is my wisdom. I am lowly; Christ is the lifter of my countenance. And so, what I bring to others is not a proud sense of myself, but Christ, who made Himself of no account for sinners like us and them. We’re all in this together. As D. T. Niles put it: “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

LET’S ASK IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Second, if we truly want to incarnate the value system of God’s kingdom in our own church community, we ought to ask ourselves how we are ministering to the most vulnerable persons in our midst. Vulnerability is difficult to quantify and can sometimes be difficult to even notice. Even so, Hubert H. Humphrey, the former Vice President of the United States back in the late 1960s, wrote:

“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.”

That is very insightful. Bear in mind that my concern isn’t government or politics, but society in general, and specifically the church. Let the city of man do what it will, but what is this local church, this embassy of God’s city, doing? Questions present themselves: How do we welcome and minister to young children and their families? How do we welcome and minister to the elderly? How do welcome and minister to those who have special physical or mental health needs? How do we minister to the hurting, the lonely, the distressed?

LET’S EXPAND OUR MINISTRY TO CHILDREN

Third, I specifically want to call us as a church family to catch a renewed vision for ministry to 0 to 11 year olds – in other words, to young children before they reach the age at which they can begin attending Youth Group.

The Nursery has been understaffed. We were so blessed for many years to have Nathan & Kate Merrill and Janice Callina serving as the backbone of our Nursery Ministry. They represented years of experience. But the Lord collected Nathan and then Janice, and Kate is worshipping elsewhere now. It’s time to regroup. In addition to Nursery, there are a group of 3 to 6 year olds who could really benefit from deliberate ministry during a portion of the Worship Service. In addition to those two aspects of ministry, I am aware of at least three other conversations that are taking place about ministry to this age group, whether on Sunday morning or at other times during the week.

It’s perfectly normal for churches go through seasons and cycles. Way back in the day, this church ran the Awana program, and also offered a Junior Church. For various reasons, both of these things had faded out prior to my arrival in late 2017. But a new season is now upon us. The goal isn’t to simply reinstitute the programs of the past. The goal is to use the people, ideas, and gifts that God has given to our church family in 2025 in order to more effectively minister to our young children.

With that in mind, let me give you one of the most practical sermon applications I’ll ever give you. We are having two sessions of a Kids Ministry Summit in order to bring the right people and the right ideas together into the same room. If you are a parent of young children who cares about our church’s ministry to this age group, come. If you are already ministering to these children, come. If you would like to minister to these children, come. If you are a part of this church and you have a heart for this age group, come. If you are a child in this age group and you have something to say, come. I believe that we as a church have what we need to turn a corner into a fresh and fruitful season of expanded children’s ministry, but we have to communicate and envision together. Choose one session to attend, and come and participate. Session A will be Tuesday August 12 at 6:30pm. Session B will be Saturday August 30 at 10:00am. Few things can be as important as thinking together about how we can faithfully serve these ideal congregants, and to make sure that we are treating them that way, and to make sure that we are pursuing it with childlike humility!