Kingdom Centered Prayer

Today's scripture reading comes from the book of Acts, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3.

Acts 1:1–3

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all Jesus began to do and to teach

until the day that he was taken up to heaven,

after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

After his suffering, he presented himself to them

and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.

He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Please join us in prayer.

Heavenly Father, as we stare our eyes and minds in heavens,

we realize that everything in the universe, everything undersea, everything that's on earth,

all the people that's around, it's all about you, Lord.

It's all about us.

Father, as we come together as a church, please help us focus in you, focus on Jesus.

Fix our eyes upon you, Lord, and cast all our worries, fear, and pride behind us.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

God, we lift up our community, God.

We lift up our church.

Father, we just ask that you will just grow the relationships among our community groups, Lord.

And we pray that those who are not in community will find it, God.

We pray that we will always project and exude the image, Lord,

the life of you that is a welcoming, caring heart.

Father, I pray that we would love each other well.

Lord, I pray that where there are walls or hurts between us, God,

that we would restore those and reconcile those in your name, Jesus.

Lord, we just ask that this inward relationship among our church members, God,

would just be something so beautiful that would draw others to you, Father.

May we just continue to trust you, God.

May we continue to find unity as we walk towards you and rely on you, Jesus.

God, just make us into your bride to shine brightly, to shine purely, God,

and to love you so much, God, that we can't help but love those around us, Father.

We pray all this in your name.

Father, God, I also want to pray for our church as a whole, collectively,

that we will be a blessing to our communities, Lord.

Father, whether it be in our workplace or at home or in the place that we socialize, Lord,

we want to ask that you would walk with us and you be there with us as we shine for you.

And we want to pray specially for Sible Port, Lord.

You have placed us in a very strategic place.

We believe that you have a special plan for this area.

And we pray, Father, for you to lead us step by step to guide us

so that we can be a blessing to those who are here and be a light to them.

Lord, I also want to pray for the upcoming outreaches for all the community groups during the Easter time, Lord,

as they're planning that you will plan with them.

And then you will prepare the places and prepare the people to do the work that you have sent

so that we can truly be, you know, the center of good news that is extended beyond Jerusalem

but into Samaria and all the world.

We pray all this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Stand and join us for another song.

Just let's remain in that spirit of prayer.

Behold the throne of God above.

Before the throne that we can approach God.

We can share our honest thoughts with him.

And he hears us.

That's amazing.

It's so encouraging.

Just as we sing this, make it your prayer.

We're just taking communion together.

The presence of God is here.

He's in us.

And so let's just engage with him.

Good morning, Watermark.

How y'all doing?

If you walked in the church this morning or if you're new and you saw like people dress up,

when I walk in and I actually see our youth pastor in suit and tie, I know this is not,

don't feel underdressed if you are new.

Like we have a wedding coming up afterwards.

So some people will wear suit and tie today.

So don't feel you underdressed.

Watermark has been meeting a year and a half.

And I have not seen the youth pastor in suit and tie at worship.

We've been looking for the year and a half that we have been here.

We've been looking at the gospel of Luke.

And now we will take a little break after a year and a half.

And we're actually about halfway through, Tobin, right?

So we have at least another year coming up to continue to really look at the life of Christ.

So I'm really excited to kickstart a new series today for the next three, four weeks.

We'll be looking at the topic of prayer and what prayer really means.

So I've mentioned that we have been meeting for a year and a half.

But many of you here today probably have not even been with us for that long.

We are pretty diverse and a pretty new community.

So when we look around the people that we see here, there are people that may have come to Watermark

because you have just moved here to Hong Kong within the last year and a half.

And so you have made Watermark your church home or you have moved to Watermark

because there wasn't a church in this area before.

And you have decided to change your church membership to a church that's more in the proximity of your neighborhood.

Maybe you're just here to explore Christianity and find out more about what God is like and what it's all about.

But even if you're here and you've been in the founding team, the first 41 that decided to venture out and then start this church,

even those 41 came from very different places.

So with that diversity and we look at the topic of prayer,

we see that we will probably have a lot of diversity even in our prayer life.

There may be people here that have never really prayed at all.

Or when you look in your prayer life, it's more like a ritual or tradition and prayers you have learned in your upbringing.

And for others, it may be that the prayer is more something that you turn to in times of need.

When things go wrong and then you realize,

maybe I really have to turn back to God and seek his guidance.

But you may also be here and prayer is like a part of the structure every day for you

and you have a consistent prayer life.

But wherever you are in this, we just want to acknowledge that we come from all the kinds of different places

in the way that we view prayer and in the way that we practice prayer.

So as we're starting the series on prayer,

I just want to point out that this is just to lay a foundation,

no matter where you are in this journey,

that we have a starting point for a dialogue about prayer.

And before we start to look at the first scripture passage that the worship team read,

I just want to share a story with you and ask you a question.

Have you ever been in that place where someone close to you passed away

and then you were feeling like,

I really would like to have another day talking and sharing and just asking some questions

because I just really missed out on having this chance?

In my life, there have been several of these moments,

but one in particular has been when I was 18,

my father suddenly died from a heart attack.

And so the years coming after that, I wrestled a lot.

And I remember after he passed away,

there were moments where a door would open or a car would come

and I would look and see whether it was his car

or I would walk through the streets and I saw someone

and I thought I saw him.

And sometimes in my dreams, I would wake up and felt,

oh, you know, I just talked with him.

Like, isn't he still alive?

And it took me many years to really walk through that experience

and to really reconcile that experience that he had passed away

and that this time is not really coming in this lifetime.

And so I was wondering, like, what would be the things that I would ask him?

Because I would love to have this moment where I just share with him

that I found a passion to leave the banking business where I was before

and become a pastor or to just share with him about getting married

and just share with him about Christ.

And so the passage that you heard in the beginning,

I find it really striking because this is the passage

where that exact same thing happens.

In Acts 1, and you can follow along in your bulletin again

if you want to look at these verses.

In Acts 1, it says,

In my former book, Theophilus,

I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

until the day he was taken up to heaven

after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles he had chosen.

After his suffering, he presented himself to them

and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.

He appeared to them over a period of 40 days

and spoke about the kingdom of God.

What an amazing passage if we really see what's happening there.

And let me just first put that passage in context

of what we have been looking at as a church.

So it says here that this is the second volume of a book.

So the author is Luke.

And he writes Acts, but the first one was the Gospel of Luke,

which we have been studying all along.

So all the events that we have been looking at

over the past year and a half take place

and then there are still the chapters that are still to come

and then we have Acts coming.

And that's where we see these first few verses

starting out right away.

This is the second volume he's talking about.

So the events that are still coming,

Jesus will continue his ministry

and then he will return to Jerusalem

and in Jerusalem he will be betrayed,

he will be sentenced to death

and he will go to the cross,

nailed to the cross and he'll die.

And he'll be buried.

But then three days after his burial,

he will rise again from the dead

and appear to his disciples.

And so right here in Acts 1,

we find these verses where it talks about

this time where Jesus rises from the dead

and he appears to his disciples alive

in many different settings over a period of 40 days.

And I think that's remarkable.

It's not like a short little encounter

where you could say,

was it really Jesus that I saw there?

Did someone just pretend to be Jesus

or did I just imagine that?

It's in many different settings

over a period of 40 days he appears

and it's face-to-face meetings

in which he talked to them

about things concerning the kingdom of God.

So this is, again,

it's not that quick encounter.

It's more like an extended dim sum meeting

with Jesus or hours of talking

and there's no way to get this wrong.

And then it ends with

that he was talking about the kingdom of God.

And I think we can read over that

and actually not see what he's really saying.

Like, get this.

Like, if I had one more day with my dead

and I would sit with him,

I would want to talk to him

about the most important things

because I don't know how long I have.

I would want to make sure that, you know,

I talk about all these things

that have taken place

and the questions that are on my heart.

And here it says,

Jesus decided to teach about the kingdom of God.

So that's significant.

It's the last teaching topic,

the last instructional topic.

For 40 days straight

are lessons on the kingdom of God.

Now, I think there's another interesting thing.

When you continue reading,

it doesn't say anything that he says there.

Like, wouldn't you as a disciple say,

oh, now he instructs us for 40 days

on the kingdom of God.

We have to, like, add a couple of chapters

and giving you, like,

discipleship manual one, two, and three

on the kingdom of God

because you need to know everything

he talks about, right?

And I think the answer is pretty simple.

What Jesus is teaching to his disciples

over the extended meetings,

over 40 days,

is nothing new.

He has been teaching on the kingdom of God

for three years,

over and over again.

And so here we find Christ

just referring back to everything

that he has been teaching.

And now in the light of his death

and resurrection,

many things in the light of the kingdom of God

start to make sense.

And so he goes back

and explains all these things again.

If you have never read the Gospels

in the light of the kingdom of God,

let me just point out a few things

that happen in the Gospels

about the kingdom of God.

In the Gospel of Mark,

Mark 1:15

chapter 1, verse 15,

so the moment Jesus begins his ministry,

the first chapter,

it's actually the first thing

that Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark.

It says,

The time has come.

The kingdom of God is near.

Repent and believe the good news.

The first line that we hear is,

the kingdom of God has come.

Or if we look at other passages,

like in Matthew,

there it says that,

that in chapter 13,

that the kingdom of God

is like a treasure hidden in a field.

The kingdom of God is like a merchant

searching for a pearl.

It is like yeast.

It's like a mustard seed.

It's like a large net thrown into the sea

and all these stories

that explain the character

of the kingdom of God.

But I wonder,

why does Jesus not say,

the kingdom of God?

And now here's the definition.

Like write it down

because you need to know

what the kingdom of God is

because I'll talk about it all along.

So let me just give a definition

about the kingdom of God.

But instead,

we have all these stories

that talk about it.

And I just wonder,

what is that?

This kingdom of God thing?

It doesn't make sense to me.

So how can we explain it

and understand this?

So in my enlightened modern mindset,

I just want to have a definition

that makes sense,

that rationalizes

what is the kingdom of God

and give me a definition.

Let me give you an analogy about it.

If someone asked me,

can you explain and define

your wife, Katie?

And then I would say,

okay,

the human body is made

99% of six elements,

oxygen, carbon,

hydrogen,

nitrogen,

calcium,

and phosphorus.

And if you want to get

in a little bit more detail,

another 0.85%,

so altogether 99,

8.85%

of every human being,

the other 5%

are potassium,

sulfur,

sodium,

chlorine,

and magnesium.

So now,

you have about

a 99.85% definition,

right?

The reality is,

it doesn't,

the slightest bit,

say anything

about who Katie is

and who she is to me.

But I can tell you

how she is like.

I can tell

and share stories with you

about her steadfastness.

I can share with you

stories about her passion

and her kindness

and her love for people.

And then you'll get

a picture

that is so much more

than 99.85%

of what we would hear

as this definition.

And I think that's exactly

the kind of stories

that Jesus is talking about

in the kingdom of God.

In Jesus,

we see the kingdom of God

and its reality

breaking into this world.

And in Jesus,

we see what the kingdom of God

is like.

So when Jesus meets

his disciples

for the 40 days,

he reminds them again

about everything

that he has been taught

and he teaches them

what it means

in the light

of the kingdom of God.

Now what does that

have to do with prayer?

Now when everything

that he has taught

is now explained

in the kingdom of God,

if we truly gain

an understanding

of what the kingdom of God

is like

and how Christ

shows in his life

what the kingdom of God

is like,

we also will understand prayer.

Let me go to Matthew 5-7.

It's the Sermon on the Mount

and most of you

will probably be familiar

with you,

but let me just set

the framework

for those who are not.

The Sermon on the Mount

is the longest

instructional or teaching time

that we find

in any of the Gospels

where Jesus teaches

his disciples.

And so in the first verse

it says,

now when Jesus saw the crowd

and there are like thousands

of people gathered,

he went up to a mountainside

and he sat down

and his disciples came to him

and then he began

to teach.

And as he begins to teach,

he starts out

and he talks about

about murder

and adultery

and what adultery

really means

and what divorce is about

and what it means

to love your enemies

and what it means

to give to the poor.

And after all that,

he comes to the passage

in chapter 6,

verse 7,

and when you pray,

so now he begins

to teach on prayer as well,

do not keep on babbling

like pagans

for they think

that they will be heard

because of their many words.

Do not be like them

for your father knows

what you need

before you ask him.

This then is

how you should pray.

Our father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

You will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

And then you know

how the prayer continues

if you have heard

the Lord's Prayer

and you had to recite it before.

But then after that prayer lesson,

he continues

and then he teaches

on fasting,

he teaches on money,

he teaches on worry,

and then after all these things

he teaches about

sitting on that mountain

in front of this big crowd,

he says,

for the pagans

run after all these things

and your heavenly father

knows that you need them.

But seek first

his kingdom

and his righteousness

and all these things

will be given to you

as well.

Now I think there are two things

that really stick out to me

when I relate

prayer and the kingdom

because it says

when Jesus teaches

on prayer

that he instructs

his followers

to pray for his kingdom

to come

on earth

and it is already

in heaven.

And he points out

that we should first

seek his kingdom

and all these things

will be given to us.

So this is

a big concept

to grasp

and it's so difficult

for us to really

gain an understanding

of what this kingdom

of God is like

and what it really means

to pray

for the kingdom

to break into this reality.

Before I came to Hong Kong,

I lived in Germany

and England

and the US

but I had never been

to Asia.

And so when I first

heard my call

to come to Asia

to Hong Kong

and I had never been here

I had no clue

what this country

would be like.

I did not know anything

about really the culture

and the people.

I did not know

about the suffering

and the problems

and the challenges

people face.

So it's like

when people ask me

like so why are you

going to Asia?

Like what is it

that you would tell people?

I have no clue.

I have never been there.

There's a passage

in 2 Corinthians 5

that talks about

being an ambassador

of the kingdom of God.

So if I think

that I would be sent

as an ambassador

from the kingdom of God

the first thing

that comes to mind

is I have never been there.

Like how can I be

an ambassador

of this kingdom

that I have never been to

I have never seen it

and then I'm coming here

to this world

to be an ambassador

for the kingdom of God.

Like I can be

an ambassador for Germany.

I can tell you all

hey dim sum is great

but you need to

eat like pork knuckle

and bratwurst

and sauerkraut

and you're driving

actually on the wrong

side of the street

because the right side

is the one

that you should drive on

because that's what we do

and I can try to

tell you about

everything that we do

in Germany

and how we organize stuff

and engineering

and whatever

but ultimately

what can I tell you

about the kingdom of God?

What can any one of us

tell anybody else

about the kingdom of God?

And the amazing thing

for me is

that the kingdom of God

becomes a reality

in this life

because God

humbled himself

and stepped into this world

to be the ambassador

for God

coming to this world

and in him he says

in the first line

the kingdom of God

has come.

The kingdom of God

has been breaking

into the world

in Christ

and everything

that the kingdom of God

is like

we have seen

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

So as we turn

through the Bible

and we look at the gospels

we see what the kingdom

of God is like

and as we continue

to explore it

even we have not seen

the kingdom come fully yet

it's come

partially breaking in

through Christ

and here

as Christ dwells in us

and the kingdom dwells in us

as we receive Christ

we are empowered

to speak

as ambassadors

for the kingdom of God

proclaiming

this very kingdom.

Now

I think

there's a lot of

theoretical concepts

that we're trying

to wrap our minds around

but how does this

practically look like?

and so I want to share

two stories with you

about how that became

true in my life

after I became a Christian.

It was about three months

after turning my life

to Christ

I was 23

in the year 2000

and I was studying

business at the time

and I had been growing

a lot in my faith

but

there were still

some things in my life

that I really hadn't

reconciled

with the kingdom of God.

When I was sitting

in my classroom

I was heavily investing

into emerging markets

and very risky stocks

so I would sit

in my classroom

and check

what the stock exchange

was doing

and I would sometimes

walk out of the classroom

just making a quick deal

and calling back

to the bank

and that was just my day.

When I woke up

I would check

the stock markets

when I would go back

I would check

the stock markets

make sure that I know

what's happening

not just in Germany

but in America

and in Japan

and so

you just had to be

up to date

and that's just

what you had to do

in the role

that I had before.

Now I'd become a Christian

and then one morning

I woke up

and as I usually did

I would get on the computer

and I would check

what the markets had done

while I was asleep

and I spent about an hour

and after I was caught up

in making sure

that I didn't have to

sell something real quick

or buy something real quick

I went to my Bible

and sat down

and started my prayer time

with God.

And as I was praying

and trying to

just really see

what my life was like

with God

it just hit me

that I felt very distant

from Him

in that morning.

And I realized

that there was a kingdom

that I was serving

and I'd been serving

from the moment

that I got up

that had nothing to do

with the kingdom of God.

But that my mind

was wrapped up

in serving

the finances

my reputation

my status

that came out

of being connected

with the financial world.

As I was praying

that morning

and I really seek

God's heart

I realized

it was somewhat

like a gambling addiction

to me

and that day

I made a decision

I went to the bank

I sold all my investments

and don't ask me

what my colleagues said

that had seen me

for three years

day trading basically.

I sold everything

and put all my money

in a savings account.

Don't hear me say

that I'm saying

that you cannot invest

and don't feel

like you need

to run off

and sell everything

that you have

and put it

in something secure

because I think

even the illusion

of security

in a savings account

you all know about it

in the current

market situation.

That's not what

it is about.

I think it is about

that as you're seeking

in your heart

what it means

for the kingdom of God

to become true

in your life

you will see

where you're serving

your idols

where you are

serving kingdoms

that have nothing

to do with the values

of God.

Now I want to tell you

a second story

that happened

about two years later

in my journey

through business school

I actually took

another turn

and God called me

into ministry

and so I went

to seminary

in the US

and in my first

year in seminary

I started to do

some work

in an internet ministry

so I would write

articles about

the Christian faith

for this internet forum

on a German website

and after a few weeks

of doing that

I noticed this one guy

his name was Simon

he was posting

these things

and he was really rude

he called himself

a Satanist

and basically told

everybody that

they are stupid

to believe in God

and he used a lot

of other words

so he said

Christians are stupid

basically

and somehow

I began praying

for him

and I prayed

for him

to see the kingdom

of God

to break

into his life

and a few weeks

into this time

we started

to meet in a chat room

and we started talking

and step by step

I learned his story

and he shared his story

of how when he was

two years

his father

had left the family

that his mom

is extremely abusive

to him

that his first

childhood memory

was to be taken

and thrown on the wall

by his mom

and so as we were

talking

and sharing

and wrestling

and arguing

after a few weeks

there was this one moment

where we talked

about prayer

and in his

very provocative way

he just said

why do you pray

to dust

it's so ridiculous

like all this

praying thing

it's so stupid

it's scientifically

disproven

and as he was

talking and talking

I just kind of

lost my patience

after all that

and I said

who are you

to tell me that

you have no experience

about prayer

if you would go

and say

okay for the next months

I would pray

I would honestly

like sincerely

seek out God

and every day

I would look for God

and then after months

you would say

nothing happened

then you could tell me

out of your experience

prayer doesn't work

there's no power

in prayer at all

and God doesn't exist

but if you have

never even tried it

so don't talk to me

like you know anything

and I took a breath

and he says

okay

what do you mean

okay I'll do it

and so

he began to pray

and the following months

completely turned

around his life

one day

when he was at home

and his mom came back

and he was praying

God if you're real

then change my life

and somehow

he found the confidence

and he said to his mom

mom

for 15 years

you have been beating me

all the time

and I don't understand it

why do you do this

his mom breaks down

in tears

and says

when your father left me

I felt so overwhelmed

I want to be a good mom

I just don't know

what I can do

I really don't want to beat you

I just don't know

what else to do

up to this point

he actually never referred

to his mom as mom

he referred to her as it

he said

I don't think

she is a person

so I'm just using

it for her

that day

he called me

and he said

I think I reconciled

my relationship

with my mom

I've never understood

her struggles

in the time also

his depression

started to lift

and he started to

find more hope

in his life

and then finally

he decided

okay I'll go to church

and I see what all

this whole Christian

thing is about

so I connected him

with the church

I just looked about

on the internet

and so he went

and he sat down

so this guy

sits next to him

and says

oh hey

I've never seen you here

are you new here

and in his direct way

he says

yes I'm new

I'm a satanist

but he was not

prepared for the response

because the guy said

cool

I was a satanist too

but now I'm leading

a bible study

you want to come

this week

to make this story short

a month later

Simon gave his life

to Christ

the same summer

I flew to Bavaria

to baptize him

in the Donjub River

and a year later

I flew back to Bavaria

to see him baptize

his best friend

and brother

the kingdom of God

breaking into

our lives

restoring lives

everything being made

new and whole

this is what the kingdom

of God is like

so what does it mean

for our prayer life

what is your prayer life

centered on

do you pray

with the kingdom centeredness

that the kingdom of God

would break

break into your life

I think there are prayers

that we can pray

where we have to identify

the motive behind

how we pray

and why we pray

like let's think about

prayers that have to do

with your job

or your money

or your studies

in Hong Kong U

or the universities

around here

how do you pray

do you pray

like God

this exam is really important

and this job

I really need it

or this job

is really bad

can you just change

my boss

now there's nothing wrong

with praying for jobs

and for your exams

but we want to look

into the motives

what are the motives

behind why we pray

and what we pray for

you can pray for your job

or your exam

saying

God I actually have

stepped in right into

serving the idols

of this world

so I want you to

give me this job

or help me succeed

in this exam

because

when I have

success in this exam

and in this studies

then I will get a good job

and when I have

this good job

then I'll have

a lot of money

and when I have

a lot of money

then I can actually

provide security

for myself

and you suddenly

realize that

every step of the way

has been serving

your idols

from the beginning

or you can pray

God

I'm laying it all

down to you

you have given me

gifts

you have given me

the character

you have given me

this life

and I want to use it

in the best way

to glorify you

and whether it's

this job

or this exam

my studies

I just want to do

my best to glorify you

and bring honor to you

and as you begin

to pray for your jobs

and for your studies

I think the way

that it is about

bringing glory to God

and bringing the kingdom

about in this world

is a completely

different mindset

so as you pray

about these things

where are you

with that

where are the idols

that have been

crawling into your

prayer life

and dominated

like think about

your relationships

your marriages

the people

that you're looking for

as you want to get married

your sexuality

do you have a kingdom

centeredness

in your prayers

or do you pray

serving your idols

if you're struggling

with your marriages

are you looking for

the kingdom centeredness

that God wants

to restore

and heal

and reconcile

or again

are you saying

just change my spouse

or get me out of this

what is really

the motive behind

the things we pray for

do you pray

for trustworthiness

integrity

faithfulness

in your sexuality

do you pray

for righteousness

in your relationships

because this

is what we hear

Christ talk about

in the values

of the kingdom

so as we look

into the motives

and kingdom centeredness

as a guide

to identify

what the motives

are in our prayer lives

there's another story

that comes to my mind

that I want to close with

the story is about

Ashley

and many of you

know her

and have been

to the funeral

just a short while ago

if you don't know

who Ashley is

she is

a young girl

of 26

in our sister church

at Island ECC

and she just passed away

and I have never known her

but what I've heard

about her

amazed me

everybody that has

talked to me

over the last weeks

about her

pointed me

to the reality

that she had hope

in the kingdom

that is to come

that she didn't complain

but even in her suffering

that she was pointing

people to the hope

that she had

in restoration

and redemption

that everything

would one day

be made new

so people that came

in touch with her

that did not know Christ

and that did not know

the hope of that kingdom

that is breaking

into this reality

they would see it

in her life

now I didn't know her

but there's another guy

that when I heard

the stories about her

that came to my mind

about my life

someone that was

really close to me

his name was Kyle Lake

and Kyle was the pastor

of University Baptist Church

in Waco

when I studied

in the US

I went there

some people know it

because that's

David Crowder's church

in Waco

and so Kyle was 32

and he had three little kids

and he had an extraordinary gift

just bringing the kingdom

of God about

UBC was a melting pot

of about 800 to 1,000

college students

most of them

very broken

and hurt

in their lives

and they found

a lot of restoration

finding this community there

and when they got in touch

with Kyle's life

they were infected

by his passion

for the kingdom

and the way

that he longed

for lives to be restored

and one day

in a church service

Kyle got ready

to baptize

the young girl

and baptism

being that sign

of new life

and restoration

in Christ as well

he steps into the baptistry

and as he steps

into the baptistry

he reaches for the microphone

and the microphone

shoots to his breast

and he's electrocuted

in front of 1,000 college students

and as we were seeing

what is happening

and the drummer

jumps out

and pulls him out

of the baptistry

but on the way

to the hospital

Kyle died

Jesus said that

he would make

this world new

and that he came

so that we would

experience life

in all its fullness

God became flesh

and lived among us

so that we could taste

and see how he is like

and in Christ

we see the kingdom

break into

the here

and now

but not everything

that we will experience

in this life

will make sense

not everything

will be a reflection

of this kingdom

that is still to come

so much around us

and in us

is shattered

and broken

and hurting

but in Christ

we find peace

we find peace

about his grace

and his forgiveness

and we find hope

in the kingdom

that is

beginning to become

a reality

more and more

in this world

but one day

will restore it

in his coming again

so I want to close today

and I want to share

a few lines of a sermon

it was Kyle's last sermon

that he never was able

to preach

it was the papers

that were laying

on the pulpit

when he died

and I hope today

even his words

will bring

you hope

about what it means

to live life

to the fullest

to live a life

that would be

a symbol

of the kingdom

of God

coming about

in your lives

and in the lives

around you

so here's

how his sermon

ended

live

live

and live well

breathe

breathe in

and breathe deeply

be present

do not be past

do not be future

be now

on a crystal clear

breathy

70 degree day

roll down the window

and feel

the wind

against your skin

feel the warmth

of the sun

if you run

then allow

these first few breaths

of a cool autumn day

to freeze your lungs

and do not just be alarmed

be alive

get knee deep

in a novel

and lose track of time

and if you bike

then pedal hard

and if you crash

then crash well

feel the satisfaction

of a job

well done

a paper well written

a project

thoroughly completed

a play well performed

and if you have

recently experienced loss

then grieve

and grieve

well

at the table

with friends

and family

laugh

if you are eating

and laughing

at the same time

then might

might well

then might as well

laugh

until you puke

and if you eat

then smell

and taste

taste every ounce

of flavor

taste every ounce

of friendship

taste every ounce

of life

because it is most

definitely

a gift

let's pray

father

today

as we come

before you

we pray

that

every ounce

of the kingdom

would break

into this world

and into our lives

that every ounce

of Christ

is what we would

taste

as we share

life together

father

as we think

about our own

prayer life

we confess

that so many times

we are centered

on our idols

and we just want

you to serve them

and we just

lose

you in it all

so we just pray

that you would again

center us

on your kingdom

of wholeness

and perfectness

and restoration

and beauty

and grace

and love

and all the things

that you are like

father

and in it all

we realize

that so many times

we fall short of this

and so we're just

also grateful

for the peace

we have

that if we don't

have our prayer life

right

that you are

the father

that is not so

concerned about

us having the

questions wrong

and saying stupid

things

but that you

care so much

more about

a relationship

with us

so that wherever

we are

in our prayer life

that you

love us deeply

and that you

care more about

that relationship

with us

than anything else

and we thank

you that

2,000 years ago

you stepped

into this world

dying on the cross

as a symbol

of your kingdom

breaking into

this reality

that the forgiveness

for our sins

that comes to the cross

restores us

and points us

to redemption

in you

and we pray

that in this community

and in every life

here today

that that would be

a reality

and we pray this

in Christ's name

Amen