Follow the King

Mother’s Day is not joyful for everyone. For many, it carries comparison, rejection, loneliness, disappointment, or the feeling of never quite being enough.

 

In Leah’s story, we discover a powerful truth: people may fail to see our worth—but Yahweh never does. And when our hearts finally awaken to the love, acceptance, and identity already offered to us in Christ, striving gives way to worship. “This time, I will praise the Lord.”

Jesus’ authority was never the real question—the response to it was. Most of us don’t lack clarity—we resist surrender. The call of discipleship is simple: say yes to the King and live under His authority.

We can build structures. We can gather crowds.

But without His presence—what do we really have?

From the beginning, Jesus has been pursuing one thing: to dwell with His people.

From the garden to the tabernacle to the temple to the cross to us—the story has always been the same.

And today, because of the Spirit, His presence is here—with us.

A fig tree that looked alive—but had no fruit. Withered.


A temple system full of activity—but lacking faithfulness. Ended.

Jesus brought the temple system to a full stop—becoming the final sacrifice and taking His place as our High Priest.

Now we are the temple—cleansed by the Holy Spirit—and as we abide in Him, what was once empty begins to bear fruit.

The lives of Jesus’ followers weren't transformed by the empty tomb—but by an encounter with the risen King. And the good news is that King Jesus is still encountering lives today.

They saw the 👑 King—but not clearly.
They celebrated His arrival—but misunderstood His mission.
They looked for strength—but missed surrender.
They wanted victory—but didn’t recognize how He would win.

Not on a war horse 🐎—on a donkey. 🫏
Not to defeat Rome—but to defeat sin.
Not through power—but through sacrifice. ✝️

Jesus still works in surprising ways—often quiet, often unexpected, often right in front of us. Are we seeing Him clearly? 👀

It’s possible to walk with Jesus—and still not see Him clearly. Because His kingdom doesn’t look like ours. It’s upside-down.

A kingdom whose King was enthroned with sinners on His right and left.

A kingdom whose Messiah was recognized by the blind and missed by the religious.

A kingdom where serving the least is the way to greatness.

A kingdom where beggars are rich and the wealthy are poor.

Maybe our prayer should be simple: “Jesus, give us spiritual sight to clearly see You.”

Jesus said the kingdom of God often looks upside down.

The world tells us to hold tightly to what we have—while Jesus invites us to open our hands.

Hands full of the world can’t receive heaven’s treasure. But open hands discover the joy of God’s kingdom—and the blessing of being His family.

This week at Plymouth Community Church, we explored what it means to live in the upside-down kingdom of Jesus.

Marriage matters—because it reflects Christ and His church. And marriage is hard—because it joins two imperfect people.

And when marriage breaks, the grace of Jesus is still greater than our brokenness.

In Mark 10, Jesus reminds us of God’s design for marriage—and the restoring grace He offers when life doesn’t unfold the way we hoped.

Salvation often gets reduced down to “Jesus forgave my sins so I can go to heaven.” That’s gloriously true—but it’s incomplete.

Salvation offers more than forgiveness—it offers a family.

God does more than bring us into His kingdom—He brings us into His people. Which means the idea, “It’s just Jesus and me,” doesn’t tell the whole story.

Heaven is part of our inheritance—and so are the people around us. And here’s what we often miss: We don’t just receive an inheritance—we become one.