The Elephant in the Room, Part 1 | 07/05/2026

Devotional

Day 1: Bread Broken in Shadows of Fireworks

The alarm clock’s glow interrupted by neighborhood explosions becomes a metaphor for life’s disruptions. Communion recenters fragmented hearts on Christ’s sacrifice, reordering priorities like plastic tables in a Mexican youth room refocusing ministry. This tangible act of remembrance anchors believers in grace when anxieties multiply. [24:12]

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:19, ESV)

Reflection: What current worry feels like fireworks shaking your night? How might holding the bread and cup today reframe that concern through Christ’s sacrifice?

Day 2: Dual Citizenship in Warring Kingdoms

Jesus’ declaration about His non-earthly kingdom clashes with red hats and ballot initiatives. Followers live as expatriates voting in a foreign land, their true allegiance shining through when political battles rage. The tension mirrors exiles building homes in Babylon while awaiting Jerusalem’s restoration. [34:18]

“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” (John 18:36, NIV)

Reflection: When has your heavenly citizenship most clearly conflicted with earthly loyalties? What practical choice reminded you where your passport resides?

Day 3: Prayers as Political Weapons

Intercession for leaders becomes subversive warfare when done through kingdom lenses. Like Jeremiah’s exiles praying for Babylon’s peace, believers’ petitions shape societies while exposing government’s limitations. These prayers form scaffolding for human flourishing, not partisan victory. [36:42]

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, NIV)

Reflection: Which current leader’s policies most trouble you? How might praying for their spiritual awakening change your posture toward them?

Day 4: Exiles Planting Gardens in Babylon

Plastic tables in a Mexican cinderblock room model holy engagement. Jeremiah’s call to “build houses and plant gardens” transforms political involvement from culture wars to seed-planting. Flourishing communities become gospel advertisements when exiles invest like permanent residents. [39:01]

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7, NIV)

Reflection: What broken fence or weedy lot in your neighborhood could become your “garden planting” for communal flourishing?

Day 5: Ice Cream Unspoiled by Manure

Campolo’s metaphor warns against gospel dilution through political entanglements. Just as libertarian pastors avoid endorsing bullet trains, believers protect the gospel’s purity by refusing to baptize policies. True transformation comes through cross-centered proclamation, not ballot measures. [01:11:28]

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16, NIV)

Reflection: When have you been tempted to equate a political victory with spiritual revival? How does the gospel’s “foolishness” guard against this?

Sermon Summary

Communion sets the tone. Christ’s body broken and his blood shed reorder priorities and pull anxiety back into truth. With eyes on Jesus, the table reminds followers that there are two kingdoms in view and only one claims ultimate allegiance. Jesus says, My kingdom is not of this world. That line immediately relativizes every flag, party, and platform.

John’s warning not to agape the world names the first principle. Politics belongs to the realm of the world, so the love that belongs to the Father cannot be handed to any party or policy. Yet Paul refuses a clean cut. Prayer, the business of the kingdom of God, runs right into the public square as intercession for kings and all in authority so that quiet, godly lives might open doors for salvation. Jeremiah’s word to exiles pushes the same direction. Build houses, plant gardens, raise kids, and seek the peace and prosperity of the city. If it prospers, you prosper. Engagement is biblical, but identity stays rooted in exile. Citizens here, yes. Primarily the people of God, yes.

Two hard dilemmas keep simplistic answers off the table. First, not everything in Scripture applies to government. Righteousness exalts a nation, sure, but 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a covenant word to Israel and cannot be pasted on The United States. Second, nothing in Scripture imagines a people who are both the governed and the government. Romans 13 speaks into empire, not ballot initiatives. The American system is a gift that requires humility.

So political engagement becomes an act of discernment. Biblical truth must be distinguished from personal preference. Rhetoric must be weighed against reality. Personal benefit must be set beside the common good, short term fixes beside long term costs, and curated bubbles must be punctured long enough to understand why the other side thinks as it does. To help, a triage is useful. First order issues draw a straight biblical line to the state’s God given task to protect life and do justice without bias. Second order issues name biblical goods like human flourishing, family strength, meaningful work, and ordered freedoms, while admitting the policy path is complex. Third order issues uphold clear morality and doctrine without delegating their enforcement to the state. Religion, honesty, general welfare, and most morality cannot be legislated into holiness.

A final guardrail is crucial. When the name of Jesus gets strapped to a party or platform, Scripture is misrepresented and witness gets damaged. Mixing ice cream with horse manure never hurts the manure. It ruins the ice cream. Only the gospel carries the power to change people and, through changed people, to bless a nation. Christ’s kingdom remains the center, not any earthly campaign.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus’s kingdom relativizes all politics. [33:54] Jesus’s word puts every other loyalty in its place. When his reign holds first position, disappointment or euphoria after any election gets sized correctly. Allegiance to him frees a believer to engage without panic and to disagree without contempt. That reordering is part of holiness in a hyperpolitical age. [33:54]
2. Seek your city’s peace in exile. [39:01] Jeremiah’s call to build, plant, and pray assumes long haul presence and patient blessing. Exiles do not withdraw or dominate; they contribute. Praying for a city’s prosperity is not compromise, it is mission, because a peaceful public square creates space for good works and gospel clarity. [39:01]
3. Political engagement is spiritual discernment. [52:28] Discernment refuses lazy binaries and asks hard questions about truth, tradeoffs, time horizons, and sources. It also requires understanding the other side well enough to state its case fairly, which kills caricature and opens real conversation. That work is slow, but it forms a wiser citizen and a gentler neighbor. [52:28]
4. Do not brand Jesus with parties. [01:08:45] Using Jesus to push a platform shrinks the Savior to a mascot and muddies the gospel. The church loses credibility when it blesses its own side’s sins and condemns the other’s. Keep the name of Jesus for Jesus and his kingdom, and moral teaching will land without partisan freight. [68:45]
5. Only the gospel remakes people. [01:11:03] Laws can restrain, but they cannot resurrect. The power that heals families, breaks addictions, reconciles enemies, and births holiness is the good news of Christ crucified and risen. Keeping that at the center preserves hope when politics disappoints and courage when pressure mounts. [71:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:14] - Series kickoff and honest fears
[24:12] - Communion to unify the church
[32:03] - Topic introduction: church and politics
[33:54] - Two kingdoms and ultimate allegiance
[36:18] - Pray for rulers, live peaceably
[38:25] - Exiles seeking the city's peace
[39:39] - Engage politically without losing identity
[41:52] - Why government cannot just do the Bible
[49:02] - Scripture's governments and Romans 13
[52:28] - Political engagement as discernment
[59:19] - First, second, third order triage
[68:45] - Stop using Jesus to sell politics
[71:03] - Only the gospel changes a nation
[73:53] - Prayer for unity and mission

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 18:36 (ESV)
“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’”

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV)
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Observation Questions

What does Jesus explicitly say about the nature of His kingdom in John 18:36, and how does this contrast with earthly kingdoms?
According to Jeremiah 29:4-7, what practical actions does God command the exiles to take in their foreign city, and what promise is attached to their obedience?
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, what four types of prayers does Paul urge believers to offer for leaders, and what ultimate purpose does he connect to this practice?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus’ declaration that His kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36) challenge the way believers prioritize political loyalties or anxieties?
How does Jeremiah’s command to “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7) redefine what it means to live faithfully as exiles in a culture that is not our ultimate home?
Paul links praying for leaders with the goal of “peaceful and quiet lives” and God’s desire for salvation (1 Timothy 2:1-4). How might these ideas connect to the sermon’s emphasis on political engagement as spiritual discernment?

Application Questions

What practical step could you take this week to intentionally reorient your heart when political anxieties arise, ensuring Jesus’ kingdom remains your ultimate allegiance? [31:07]
How might “seeking the peace” of your city (Jeremiah 29:7) look in your daily life—whether through relationships, service, or advocacy—even if you disagree with its values?
When forming political opinions, how can you distinguish between personal preferences and clear biblical principles? Share an example where this distinction is challenging. [52:46]
In conversations about politics, what habit could you develop to better understand opposing viewpoints without compromising your convictions? [57:43]
Have you ever felt tempted to equate a political party or policy with “God’s agenda”? How can you guard against misusing Jesus’ name for earthly causes? [01:08:45]
What area of society (e.g., justice, family, work) do you feel most called to pray for regularly, and how might those prayers shape both your actions and your hope? [36:42]
Reflect on a time when political outcomes left you deeply discouraged or overly euphoric. How might the gospel’s power to transform hearts reframe your response? [01:11:03]

Sermon Clips

46s

#JesusNotPolitics

“``When we use the name of Jesus to promote anything other than Jesus and his kingdom, we are both misrepresenting scripture and we are damaging our witness to the world. So so here's the problem is that very easily and and so often when we use Jesus to support our political party or our political position or how we wanna vote. And I don't care if it's on the right or on the left or like me, libertarian nirvana. It doesn't matter. You are using the name of Jesus, and you should not use the name of Jesus for anything else than to promote him and his kingdom.”

66s

#FaithfulCitizen

“Followers of Jesus should engage politically for the good of society and for our own good because we live here. Right? What's good for our city, what's good for our state, what's good for our country is good for us. Why? Because we do live here. We are citizens here. At the same time, the church must never become an arm of a political party or movement. You say, what does that mean? Well, Jeremiah reminds the nation of Israel they were not Babylonians. They were exiles. And oftentimes, we begin to think that our identity and our citizenship is here in The United States. It is here, but it's not. Our identity, our primary identity, our primary citizenship is that we are the people of god. And therefore, we will always be exiles until the lord returns.”

54s

#PoliticalDiscernment

“Why? Because political engagement is discernment. And if we are so blinded by our view that we cannot understand the other side, then we are going to continue having the polarization in our society where we can't talk with each other if we can't understand each other. And, unfortunately, in the church, I am beginning to see where churches are becoming known as the church where everybody is this political bent or this political bent. Oh, I don't go there because they're all this or that. And I think what ends up happening is it's divisive and it takes away from the the reality that politics is discernment. It is not black and white. Right or wrong.”

45s

#PoliticsVsScripture

“I need to be able to differentiate between my political views and what's biblically true. And far too many Christians can't do that. Everything's the bible. It used to be just on the right, but on the left now, there's this big movement of quoting scripture. And Jesus says you have to be for this policy. And if and I'm just my mind gets blown because there's no differentiation between, hey. I have political preferences, and I vote on those. You have political preferences, and you vote on those. That's different than what is biblically true.”

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The Elephant in the Room, Part 1 | 07/05/2026 | Grace Church Fremont