YOU+

Week 2 | Embrace God’s Kingdom

Disciples of Jesus choose to live lives aligned with the Kingdom of God.

Read Matthew 4:17. Jesus said to rethink your whole life because God’s Kingdom had come near in and through him. He asked people to watch what he was doing and follow his way. When you think about Jesus’ way, what comes to mind?
The Kingdom of God is, according to Dallas Willard, the “range of [God’s] effective will, where what he wants done is done. The person of God himself and the action of his will are the organizing principles of his kingdom, but everything that obeys those principles, whether by nature or by choice, is within his kingdom.” How would you put that statement into your own words?
What does it mean for someone to live by the Kingdom of God today? Think of it in terms of the Kingdom of God on one side and the Kingdom of the World on the other side and you trying to live in the intersection of the two worlds.

As we continue this series, we challenge everyone to read the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon by Jesus helps us follow Jesus well. Read Amy-Jill Levine’s statement and discuss how what Jesus says in Matthew 5-7 might make a difference in our everyday lives. “The kingdom of heaven occurs when people take the words of Jesus in these chapters to heart and live into them…the Sermon on the Mount is in fact a beginner’s guide to the kingdom of heaven.” -Amy-Jill Levine, Sermon on the Mount
It’s not too late to join the 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. What small steps toward Jesus would you like to make this season? How is it going if you are already engaging in the 21 Days? Learn more at communitychristian.org/21days.
On January 30, everyone in our church will be challenged to sign up for a YOU+ Conversation. That conversation will help you create a YOU+ Plan – your plan for taking the next steps as a disciple of Jesus this coming year. How might engaging in a YOU+ Conversation be helpful to you as a follower of Jesus?