Jesus began his ministry with the words: “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news (‘gospel’)!” (Mark 1:15)

It may come as a surprise to many that the gospel (or ‘good news’) in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (a.k.a. ‘the 4 Gospels’) is not so much about we humans being sinners, and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could escape hell and go to heaven just by trusting him. However true that is – and other parts of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) speak to it – the 4 Gospels themselves say very little about the significance and consequences/results of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

So what was this ‘gospel,’ this so-called ‘good news,’ that Jesus proclaimed? Very simply, it was about the Kingdom of God. Jesus claimed that he, Jesus, embodied (enfleshed) the Kingdom of God – God’s reign/rule, God’s Sovereign influence, God stepping into history as King – in himself, in his coming as God’s Messiah (=anointed/sent One). Why is that significant? The Good News is that everything that he said and did between his humble birth in Bethlehem and his cruel, unjust death in Jerusalem was a picture of a new reality of God becoming King among us. Jesus’ teaching, his miracles, his conflict and victory over evil/demonic spirits, and finally his death (with him generously forgiving his killers) and resurrection – all point to this new kind of Kingdom, and its King that is among us (Luke 17:21).

So where does DUMC – the United Methodist Christ-following and worshiping community in Doylestown – feature in this? I give you two (not original) pictures: we are like an Embassy, or an Ark (like Noah’s Ark). An embassy is people in a physical location in a foreign land (sometimes turbulent) that represents and reflects its kingdom and its government/king, but is not the kingdom. An ark is a sanctuary out in the water (sometimes turbulent) that holds the vulnerable and their guardians. Neither is meant to be permanent, though they point to the permanent through what (or who is contained in them – the Kingdom of God. As Christ-followers, we need to rediscover this Kingdom we represent so that we can do so faithfully, effectively and joyfully. And that’s what we intend to do through the months of September and October. Please join us!

With prayers and blessings
Pastor Sunil