Steve Sikes Blog  

“The gospel is not an offer of after-death fire insurance, nor is it even an offer of merely personal peace and serenity in the here and now. More, the gospel invites us to participate in the kingdom of God, that long-awaited rule of God, in which the rebellion, with its corollaries of lust and violence and greed and self-seeking, is undone. The gospel invites us to follow in the way of Jesus who embodies for us the way of the kingdom.” (Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World, by Lee C. Camp.)

The gospel invited our teens this past week to follow in the way of Jesus, and they followed! I love Tim and Melody Davis! I love their ideas of teaching, working alongside and effectively mentoring our young people to embody the reign of God in love and service!

The Davises “captured” our teens last week and took them on three, single-day mission trips within our surrounding area. Our youth had no idea what each day held until it unfolded before them. On Wednesday they painted curbs, parking lines, and an electrical box at the local Pitman High School and Middle School; on Thursday they helped move a widow’s furniture to her room in a nursing home and the rest into storage; and on Friday they worked on the grounds of Derek and Leza Davis’ youth center.

When Jesus announced, “I have come to serve and not be served (Matthew 20:28),” He identified service as an integral part of the rule and reign of God! “But seek first His basileian (rule/reign) and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33).”

WAY TO GO TEENS! MERE DISCIPLESHIP looks really good on you!

God’s reign is good all the time and all the time God’s reign is good!

Mr. Steve