For The King - Week 1 Kernersville (9:30am)

What matters most is not a checklist item or a private compartment called “spiritual life,” but the kingdom of God—God’s active presence, reign, and purpose shaping everything. This is not a distant place to reach when life is over; it is the way of Jesus made real here and now, under the kingship of the risen Christ. His reign is not optional or localized; it affects every person and every sphere, whether recognized or resisted. The pressing invitation is to align life with that reality by trusting and following Jesus in concrete, everyday ways.

Modern life slices existence into categories—relationships, work, money, health, plans—and then tries to add God as an extra. Jesus refuses that arrangement. He taught that no one can serve two masters; the chief rival to God’s rule is not abstract evil but the practical pursuit of money and the anxieties attached to it. He pointed to birds and flowers as quiet witnesses of God’s care, then called for a reordering: seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. The promise is not a pain-free path, but provision and guidance as secondary things take their rightful place.

“Putting God first” is not solved by stacking priorities 1–10. It is solved by center. The kingdom must move from the margins to the middle, becoming the filter for decisions about relationships, finances, vocation, body, future, and past. This echoes the first commandment: no other gods. Whatever occupies the center functionally becomes the object of worship. The call is both bracing and liberating: live for the King. Expect imperfection and growth over time, but adopt a settled direction—submitting every area to Jesus’ way and trusting the Father to handle the rest.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The kingdom is the most important. Jesus identified the kingdom of God as the central reality: God’s reign, God’s way, God’s purpose in all things. It is not merely a destination but a present way of life under Jesus’ kingship. Aligning with the kingdom reframes every decision, priority, and desire. It is the difference between adding God to life and living all of life in God. [37:56]
• 2. You cannot serve God and money. Jesus named money, not the devil, as the practical rival to God’s rule because it promises control, security, and identity. The pursuit of money easily governs attention, time, and worry, silently becoming a master. Discipleship requires unmasking money’s claims and letting Jesus define enough, success, and generosity. Mastery shifts when trust shifts. [47:10]
• 3. Make the kingdom your center. “First” is not a sequence but a center—Jesus’ way over every area rather than one item among many. When the kingdom sits at the center, relationships, work, health, and plans take their cues from it. This is a daily re-centering, not a one-hour-a-week appointment. The aim is coherence: one King, one way, all of life. [55:45]
• 4. Seek first, and stop worrying. Anxiety shrinks life to survival; the kingdom enlarges life to trust and obedience. Jesus redirects attention from scarcity to the Father’s care, using creation as evidence and the cross as guarantee. Seeking the kingdom first does not erase hardship, but it relocates it under a faithful Provider. Provision follows priority. [52:00]
• 5. What you center is what you worship. The first commandment still reads the heart: whatever becomes central becomes your functional god. Careers, health, relationships, and dreams are good gifts but cruel masters. Making Jesus central dethrones lesser gods and restores good things to their proper place. Worship is revealed by what directs the rest. [58:54]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:12] - The Big Question: Most Important Thing?
• [33:42] - Many Important Things Compete
• [36:21] - Why Jesus’ Answer Matters
• [37:56] - Defining the Kingdom of God
• [41:26] - Categories vs a Kingdom Context
• [44:28] - Sermon on the Mount Lens
• [46:51] - Two Masters: God and Money
• [49:12] - Freedom from Worry and Anxiety
• [52:00] - Seek First His Kingdom
• [55:45] - Make the Kingdom the Center
• [57:40] - Let Jesus Shape Every Area
• [58:34] - No Other Gods: True Worship
• [59:39] - Not a Side Dish: Daily Centrality
• [62:12] - Live for the King

Bible reading

Matthew 6:24-34

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 6:24, what two “masters” does Jesus set in contrast, and how does that set up the “therefore” that begins verse 25?
2. What everyday pictures from creation does Jesus point to in this passage, and what is He teaching through them (birds, flowers)?
3. According to Matthew 6:33, what is the command and what is the promise that goes with it?
4. Which life categories were named as examples of how we tend to slice life up (relationships, job/career, finances, “spiritual life”)? [41:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would Jesus single out money—not the devil—as the rival master to God? What does money promise (control, security, identity) that so easily wins our trust? [47:10]
2. If “first” is really about center, not a #1–#10 list, how does that reshape how someone thinks about time, work hours, and worship? [55:45]
3. How does “no other gods” connect to Jesus’ call to seek the kingdom first? What does whatever sits at the center reveal about what someone truly worships? [58:54]
4. What is the relationship between anxiety and kingdom-seeking in this passage? How does the Father’s care function as both comfort and direction? [52:00]

Application questions

1. Two masters: Where do you notice money (and what it promises) quietly steering your decisions right now—budget, career moves, family plans? What would trusting God’s rule look like in one of those decisions this week? [47:48]
2. Worry audit: Name two specific worries that are taking up mental space (food/bills, clothing/image, future plans). What is one concrete act of obedience you can take while handing that worry to the Father today? [49:12]
3. Center, not sequence: Pick one area—your calendar, budget, phone habits, workouts, or planning. What is one small practice you will try this week to re-center that area under Jesus’ way? (Examples: a giving decision, a Sabbath block, a daily Scripture/prayer window before email.) [55:45]
4. Side dish or center? If “spiritual life” has been a side dish, what would it look like to make it the main context? Name one daily rhythm and one relationship you will run through the “kingdom filter” this week. [01:01:02]
5. The number-two problem: What good thing in your life refuses to be “number two”? Share it with the group. What would repentance and trust look like there, practically, over the next seven days? [53:46]
6. Birds and flowers practice: Where have you seen the Father’s care in the last week—an answered prayer, unexpected provision, a timely word? How will you memorialize that (journal, note on fridge, text to a friend) to fight tomorrow’s anxiety? [50:02]
7. One upcoming decision: Name one decision about work, money, health, or plans that you will intentionally run through this question: “What is Jesus’ kingdom way here?” How can this group support you as you follow through? [01:02:49]