Book: Matthew

The church rightly has an impact on the world, bringing out the taste of God, but it won’t come from pedantic obedience.

Preparing the way of the Lord is not just a temporary clean-up for the visitor, but an embracing of the new possibilities that are opening to us.

Christ’s call to respond to his presence in the needy is a call for the church to embrace a lifestyle of radical communal hospitality (but we have often used it to justify empires built on the labour of guilt-ridden, over-extended, under-prepared Christians!)

Although all in the church may appear equally worthy, it is those who live the life (inward and outward) of the Kingdom now who are prepared for its coming.

Jesus summarised the way by saying “Love God with everything you have and love your neighbour.” We find that easy enough to accept as the answer to a question but much harder to really live by.

All that is required to inherit all the fullness of the Kingdom is to accept the invitation and throw yourself wholeheartedly into the celebration.

God calls the most ordinary people to be his followers and through following we become a blessing to others.

Baptism is a public affirmation of our openness to the God who transforms us and calls us to continue the mission of Jesus.

If we live as though Christ was reigning now, we will always be ready for what he is about to do.

Jesus calls us to follow his lead in rejecting easy comfortable paths and choosing the tough road of costly active love.

God’s love unconditionally seeks all people.

God will entrust us with more when we have proved trustworthy with what we have been given.