The Kingdom is Us!

The Kingdom is Us!

Titus 2: 11 - 14

1 Peter 2: 5, 9 – 10

May 10, 2026

Let me start with a confession. When I was younger, I thought pastors had some kind of VIP access to God. You know - like clergy had some kind of spiritual fast pass that connected them to God much more quickly than us regular folks. I believed that their prayers got through faster, that their Bible opened automatically to the right page – no clumsy flipping through the pages relying on page numbers.

I used to sit up in the balcony of my Lutheran church just sure that God looked like, sounded like, and acted just like our Pastor Quentin Garmen. He just had that aura around him. Surely, he had some kind of premium membership subscription that the rest of us mere mortals – especially the children like me didn’t have.

The rest of us? Us mere mortal folk, well, we were in the regular line behind the guy who forgot his password. But then you read 1 Peter, and everything changes. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…..”

Not some of you. Not the ordained ones. You. Which means - whether you feel ready or not -we are all…, wait for it now, we are all members of the clergy, the priesthood of all believers. Congratulations. No one warned you, I know. Let’s think together about how we got to such a shocking place.

In our text from Titus, we are told some shocking things. The grace of God has appeared – not just for forgiveness, reconciliation, and new life - but also to train us. Now, most of us love grace - especially the forgiveness part.

Grace is like that friend who says, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got this one for you.” We love that. But Paul says grace doesn’t just result in forgiveness, grace also trains us. And let’s be honest, this notion of training sounds a lot less fun, doesn’t it?

“Training” sounds like joining a gym in January. You walk in feeling inspired, but then you walk out wondering why you no longer have any feeling in your legs.

Grace is like a spiritual trainer:

“We’re going to work on patience today.”

“No, you don’t get to skip this exercise.”

“Yes, we’re doing humility again.”

We respond, hmmm….. “Can we just do hospitality? I’m good at that one!”

But grace insists: “We’re forming your whole life, not just your favorite parts.”

Here at LNPC, many of us have spent decades, or are in the midst of, growing intellectually, professionally, and relationally. We value lifelong learning. That’s part of our DNA. But here’s the shift: Grace is not about adding more knowledge; it is about transforming how we live.

Because we all know it’s possible to:

Know Scripture….. and still hold grudges.

Give generously….. and still control outcomes.

Serve faithfully….. and still avoid surrender.

Grace says, “Let’s not settle.” “Let’s go deeper.” Grace calls us to kingdom life – the Kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of comfort, achievement, independence, consumption, or cultural Christianity.

Now, this morning, I have good news and some challenging news for all of us. The good news is this: the Kingdom of God is filled with priests. The challenging news? Those priests look an awful lot like you and me! And for many, that scares the bejeebers out of us.

If we’re honest, when we hear “priest,” we think special robes, special rituals, special training, and an accompanying special authority. And you’re thinking, “I can barely manage my calendar - I’m not priest material.”

But Peter flips the script. In the ancient world, priests were the ones who represented people before God and, correspondingly, represented God to people. Priests were a passageway to the divine, a mediator, a representative, a window to the sacred. There are many traditions that still hold to that unique view of the priesthood. However, we Protestants, particularly we Reformed types, do not.

Friends, that role of mediator, that role of representative, that position of a passageway to the divine….. well, that’s in our job description, as well.

You are functioning, serving, representing the priesthood of all believers when you listen deeply to a hurting friend, when you pray for someone who didn’t even ask, when you bring peace into a tense situation, when you use your position of influence to reflect Christ into the darkness.

Have you ever had one of those moments where someone starts telling you their entire life story in public? For the first 20 years or so of my ordained life, I often would wear a clerical collar on plane flights – sometimes it got me free upgrades. But I stopped, because inevitably the plane ride turned into a pastoral counseling session with the person seated next to me….. no matter how deeply I tried to bury my face in a book!

Maybe this has happened to you. You’re standing in line at the grocery store, and suddenly:

“I don’t usually share this, but…..” and a complete stranger unloads about a difficult situation that they are going through.

You’re listening, trying to at least LOOK compassionate, but you can’t help it. Thoughts like, “I just came for almond milk…..,” “Why is this happening,” “Do I look like a counselor,” flash through your mind.  

Congratulations. You’ve just been drafted into the priesthood. Because in that moment, you have a choice. You can deflect, escape, or step into something sacred. And here is the amazing thing. More often than not, it is no accident that you are where you are. A member of the priesthood of all believers was needed.

Peter says: “You are like living stones being built into a spiritual house…..” Now, I have been a part of youth mission teams that have built over 20 homes for needy families in Mexico, but we have never built with stone. I just don’t have that experience.

But I do know this. Stones don’t get to pick where they go. Stones get placed, where they are needed, where their shape and form – their purpose – best fit. God says to each of us, “You are needed for the structure to be complete.”

Friends, this means your presence matters, your participation matters, faithfulness  - your gifts and passions, your talents and abilities matter. The church doesn’t function well because of a few people. No, no, NO! The church faithfully functions because everyone is being built together, formed together, shaped together, and serving together.

We are at our best when everyone engages - not just financially - but personally, spiritually, relationally. Because it is a hard and critical truth: the future of this church is not built on staff performance, spectacular programs, or beautiful, debt-free facilities. The church is built on people who see themselves as part of the mission, together, all of us! Each of us doing our part. Each of us fulfilling our role. Our combined success is dependent upon our unity, obedience, love, and service.

Folks, this is not a call for a few people to be doing more. It is a call for more to be doing something. The priesthood of all believers is not about doing more. It is about being more aware of God’s presence in everything you already do.

Let’s name something honestly. One of the greatest challenges in a community like ours is not hardship. It’s comfort. Now, comfort isn’t bad. It’s a blessing. But it can quietly become a barrier. Because comfort can say, “Stay where it’s predictable”, “Avoid what’s messy”, “Keep faith contained.” But grace says, “Step into something meaningful – even if it is messy.”

What in your life right now, exactly as it is, is your ministry? Where are you reflecting, obeying, bearing the light of Christ as a member of the priesthood of all believers into your neighborhood, into your friendships, into your sphere of influence, with your resources right now, somewhere, somehow?

There’s a quiet kind of ministry that happens in this church all the time.

Someone makes a phone call to check in.

Someone sits with another in grief.

Someone gives generously without recognition.

Someone mentors quietly, faithfully.

No spotlight. No applause. And yet - that is the priesthood in action.

This week I want to challenge you – not to ask, “What more should I do?” But instead, ask yourself, “Where am I already placed… as a priest?”

Who needs your presence?

Who needs your wisdom?

Who needs your faith?

Because you are not just part of a church. You are part of God’s plan to reach the world. The world doesn’t just need more churches. It needs more people who realize that THEY are God’s expression of the priesthood for the world. Amen.