Kingdom
Jesus came, in Matthew 4, “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, he showed the signs of the kingdom. Show & tell.
God calls us as kingdom citizens, to live in such a way that our lives proclaim a kingdom that is not of this world. This means seeing all people as image-bearers, in need of compassion. There is no distinction between deserving/undeserving poor. All of us are undeserving. And God calls us as kingdom citizens to demonstrate the reality of the unseen kingdom by living upside-down lives of radical generosity, love-of-stranger hospitality. Not treating people as problems to be solved but image bearers who need God’s mercy.
We demonstrate our Dual Citizenship by word and deed.
Word: We want the nations to know Christ. We want to see Jesus lifted up as the hope of the world and therefore are actively involved in World Missions.
Deed: We want to see people experience the Shalom of God by addressing their physical needs with deeds. We partner with Jobs for Life to help provide job training for the unemployable. We also support Converting Hearts to assist men and families who are struggling with addition. We are also in partnership with organizations in downtown Raleigh to care for the homeless.
