I Pledge Allegiance To...

In "I Pledge Allegiance To…," Pastor Joshua preaches from Matthew 5:1-12 and Matthew 7:24-29, presenting the Sermon on the Mount as the constitution of the kingdom of God, the preamble and the closing call to build on the rock by actually living Jesus' words. Allegiance, he argues, is single and total: we cannot mistake a political party, left or right, for the kingdom, because Jesus' kingdom is marked by mercy, care for the poor, love for the outsider and the enemy, peace instead of war, and a communal life in which we rise or fall together. The sermon presses the question of what happens when an earthly empire stands against the kingdom we belong to, and calls the church to the courage to be kingdom people with one king: Jesus Christ. Every empire will pass away while the words of Jesus will last forever.