Reflection on My 30th Birthday

Well, it was my 30th birthday today. I'm not sure how to feel about it all. In the grand scheme of things, it's just a number. I don't feel any different, and this day is just like the last one. But, there is something weird thinking that I'm entering my 4th decade alive! Yikes. I'm not one for mid-life crises, so I'm not really freaking out. I'm just a little sad that I'm no longer in my 20s. Everyone tells me though that 30 is the new 20. I don't know.

Despite all of this stuff, it was a pretty sweet day. The past couple of days we've been hanging out in Indianapolis doing some support raising. Today we spent most of our time with Brian and Karin. I got to eat steak, and I won at both Bohnanza and Settlers of Catan! So, all in all it was not bad.

On a side note, it was around this time 9 years ago that I accepted Christ. I remember that it was shortly after my 21st birthday. It's fun having my physical birth and my spiritual birth around the same time. Anyway, I'm 30 now. Society says that I should be an adult now. We'll see about that.

Reflections on the Kingdom

Last week, I was asked to fill the pulpit at our church in Dellroy. Even though I've done messages for youth groups and such, this was the first time I've ever done a sermon at a "grown up" church. The work and prep was pretty much the same, but some how it was different - it was more weighty. Anyway, I spoke on the Kingdom of God - what does it mean? What difference does it make for our lives? It was a good experience.

One of the sources that I used was George Eldon Ladd's The Gospel of the Kingdom, which is classic on Kingdom theology (and a great book to boot). Here's a great quote:

The Kingdom of God is a miracle. It is the act of God. It is supernatural. Men cannot build the Kingdom, they cannot erect it. The Kingdom is the Kingdom of God; it is God's reign, God's rule. God has entrusted the Gospel of the Kingdom to men. It is our responsibility to proclaim the Good News about the Kingdom. But the actual work of the Kingdom is God's working. The fruitage is produced not by human effort or skill but by the life of the Kingdom itself. It is God's deed.