Disciple – Salt with Fire

“Salt With Fire” – sermon by Caleb Campbell, Desert Springs Bible Church, June 5, 2022

Who gets to be the greatest? Who gets to be the greatest? Who gets to be the most powerful? Who gets to
be the winner? Who gets to be the one who’s the boss? This is the question that many in our culture right
now are asking and wrestling through — who gets to be the greatest. Whether it’s the Democrats or the
Republicans, … whether it’s the rich or the poor, … whether it’s the gun rights advocates or the gun rights
abolitionists, … who gets to be the greatest? Who gets to be in charge? Who gets to take power and rule?
Who gets to be the greatest? In all of the divisions that we see in our community today, at the center of most
— if not all — of them is this fundamental question: Who gets to be the greatest? Who gets to win? Who gets
to be in charge?
And that question is powered, I believe — or at least to my understanding from scripture – the question is
about this desire for power. This thinking … if we could just get more power, then we would feel safer. … if we
could just take more power, then we would see our way — which is obviously the right way – reign. We could
just take more power. That idea — who gets to be the greatest – is operating at the heart of the majority of
these divisions. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these divisions, they’re killing us. They’re ripping us
apart.
You mention any issue — like if you go to social media and you just give your opinion … generally speaking,
what you will discover — if you haven’t discovered it yet — what you will soon discover is that there are not
nice things that people say. In fact, I’m concerned that we’re allowing these conversations to be relegated to
places like social media, and it just it feels like the world is a scary, horrible, evil place. And there are so many
scary, horrible evil people out there, and we get exposed to all their junk on social media. And then we can
kind of feel like the world is just spinning, absolutely out of control, and then that oftentimes creates fear
within us. So, we feel like we need more power. We need to be greater in order to make ourselves feel
better.
Maybe social media is not your jam, which I totally get. But maybe for some of us, we’re trying to make sense
of the world by looking at news media, and we soon discover that there’s a lot of hate and rage that’s being
sold and generated within us as we’re watching these us-versus-them conversations about who gets to be the
greatest. Who gets to win? Who gets to be the boss? Who gets to be in charge? In fact, even if you turned
off all the hater-tainment, and you logged off all the social media, just driving around in our neighborhoods
and looking at the bumper stickers and the yard signs generates within us this reality — this fight for who gets
to be the greatest.
And if this is all — if this is the best that the kingdoms of this world can offer to us, this wanton level of thirst
for power, who gets to be the greatest, who gets to be in charge, which ultimately leads to fear-mongering,
fear within our hearts, destruction and corruption, the breaking apart of human relationships — the question
that I that I keep coming back to is: Is there a better way?

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I want to invite you to the better way. I want to invite you to follow the Jesus way. The Jesus way has a view
or an answer to that question — who gets to be the greatest — that will radically change our lives, will change
our community if we follow it, will change the world, if we give it a fair hearing. Who gets to be the greatest?
Now, as a culture and a community, we’re not the first ones to wrestle with this question. In fact, some of the
earliest followers of Jesus were wrestling with the question: Who is the greatest? They, many of Jesus’s early
followers — which the Bible will refer to as disciples — they are jockeying oftentimes for power. Today I want to
explore with you a text in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9 where this very question is posed to Jesus
immediately after he says he’s going to be crucified, die and rise from the grave.
Who gets to be the greatest? I want us to watch how Jesus engages with this question, because I believe — in
fact, I’m convinced — that if we can follow the Jesus way, not only will it lead to blessing for our community,
but it will also be an opportunity for us to receive 10,000 gifts. Of peace and joy. Of calm. Of wonder and
awe and beauty. Though the road is difficult — I’m not going to lie to you, the road is difficult, the Jesus way is
hard — but it leads to beauty and flourishing in a way that’s often surprising.
So, I invite you to, at least for the moment, to consider following the Jesus way. This is the gospel of Mark
Chapter 9 verses 33 and on. I’ll have it up on the screen.
If you have your Bibles, I encourage you guys to follow along. If you’re in the room, you should have a
handout with the text available for you there. The reason that we print that out is so you can follow along.
You can make notes. Underline things if you disagree with me. That’s a great spot to write down why you
disagree with me. I would love to talk about it with you later. I’m not joking. I would love to talk with you.
I believe that the best study of scripture is when we can study it together with people who are different than
us to get different perspectives, different opinions, different ideas. But because I’m preaching today and
we’ve got a roomful of folks, dialogue is sometimes difficult, much to my dismay. So write your debate topics
down, and we’ll talk about it after.
For those of you that are joining us online, I encourage you to follow along in your Bible. Again, Mark Chapter
9. If you don’t have a Bible, just go to bible.com. We’re using the Christian Standard version today.
Let me just give you a little context. Right before this, Jesus proclaims that they’re going to Jerusalem, that he
is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies, that he will be crucified, that he will die, and that he will
rise from the grave.
“They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the
way?’” (Verse 33)
Notice the next thing that happens. They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them
what they were arguing about on the way. So, from the time that Jesus proclaimed his death, burial and
resurrection, they’re walking to a house in Capernaum, and they’re doing what? They’re arguing. Jesus likely
is leading the charge. He’s walking. And by the way, the word disciple means someone who walks the Jesus
way. Let me ask you question, where is the proper place for a disciple of Jesus — in front of Jesus or following
behind Jesus? So, it’s highly likely that Jesus leading the way, and they’re all following.
How many of you guys have ever taken children on a trip? OK, you guys know what I’m talking about, right? Is
it common for them, as image bearers of the kingdoms of this world, is it not common for them to be

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jockeying for power? Yeah, can I get an Amen from the parents in this house? By the way, thank God for
video games.
OK so for my junior high kids and high schoolers that are here, you know this. Don’t slough off the conviction
that’s coming from the spirit right now. You know this.
“What were you arguing about on the way?” Jesus heard them arguing. Jesus knew what was going on. I
think this is an invitation for a smack down. Watch this.
“But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the
greatest.” (Verse 34)
But they were silent. This ever happen with your kids? What were you guys talking about? Because they
know, right? They know, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was going to
be what. I just want you to catch the bitter irony here. Watch this.
Jesus has just told them he will be the God in the flesh, Jesus the Christ, the chosen one, the Messiah. Instead
of killing Caesar and conquering Rome and taking over the cosmos and planting his flag, Jesus says the way
that my Kingdom is going to be established is through crucifixion. By the way, they do not believe him, they
don’t get it. They don’t get it. Because on the way, what were they arguing about? Who is going to be the
greatest? They still have in their minds that Jesus is operating according to the power structures of the
kingdoms of this world , where you’ve got to be the greatest, where you’ve got to reach out your hand, and
where you’ve got to take power. And Jesus has just told them the way up is down, the way to the throne is
with a crown of thorns. They don’t understand, so they’re arguing about who gets to be the greatest. Who
gets to be the greatest?
“Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must last and servant of
all.’” (Verse 35)
Notice what Jesus says in verse 35. Sitting down, he called the 12 and said to them — here’s the smack down –
“If anyone wants to be first, they must be last, and a servant”. And if you want to be a leader — what kind of a
leader heads things up in the Kingdom of God? One who’s a servant to all. Jesus himself models this. There’s
this one beautiful image where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. Washing the feet is the position of a servant.
Jesus says the power dynamics in the Kingdom of God are upside down, compared to the power dynamics of
the kingdoms of this world. The disciples are arguing about who gets to be the greatest, which is a question
that we ask when we’re operating according to the kingdoms of this world. But Jesus says in my Kingdom, the
question is: Who can I serve? Who can I elevate?
“He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes
one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him
who sent me.’” (Verses 36-37)
He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes
1 little child, such as this and my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the
one who sent me here.” He’s associating himself with God the father.

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Notice here that Jesus again is elevating the lowly. By the way, children, especially in this culture, were
marginalized. They were the outcasts; they didn’t produce anything for the community and therefore they
were outcasts. But Jesus here receives the child, receives the marginalized into his space, and says anyone
who receives a child receives me. Notice how closely associated Jesus is with the marginalized. Whoever
welcomes a little child such as this in my name welcomes whom? Me.
Whoever brings in, whoever elevates the outsider, whoever welcomes into the Kingdom the marginalized is
welcoming me. Jesus will frequently throughout the Gospels associate himself just as God, the Father
associates himself with the poor, the widow, the immigrant, and the orphan. He says how you treat the
marginalized is how you are treating me.
If you think that sounds crazy, go home today and read your whole Bible. In fact, you don’t even have to read
your whole Bible. Just pull up a Bible app and type in “the poor” and read the more than 2000 verses that talk
about God’s listening to and associating with the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant, the orphan.
Mary Healy, who’s an excellent theologian, says this: “No one in their right mind would aspire to be a servant.”
She says in Jesus’s day, no one in their right mind would have heard this teaching of Jesus and thought that it
was a good idea.
The early church’s embrace of this new ethic was part of what made Christianity so novel and attractive to
many in the ancient world. Because in Jesus’s day it was just the most normal thing in the world that the rich
keep getting richer, that the powerful keep getting more powerful, and that the servants and the slaves just
keep getting treated like trash. In fact, a common phrase in Jesus’s day would simply be “know your place.”
So this idea of elevating others and actually humbling yourself and elevating others — no one in their right
mind would have done this, and this is what piqued so many people’s interest in Jesus.
You guys know this, don’t you — that is how the Kingdom works? How many of you have ever eaten school
cafeteria food? How many are we doing this, right? Or do you guys all just bring your own lunch? How many
of you feel really at home when it comes time for seating arrangements in the school cafeteria? Right. School
cafeterias are one of the most vivid places that we see the kingdoms of this world at play. Because what
happens in majority of school cafeterias is that the social stratification of who’s in and who’s out is seen very
clearly by who’s at which table. You guys with me so far?
If you’ll just pardon me, as a fellow young person, maybe the situation was different when you were in school.
It’s like it’s like the home crew, the jocks, the smart kids, the cool kids, right? I’m sure that the stratification
has changed names. But it’s the same idea, isn’t it? It’s the ones who are in and the ones who are out. And
here’s what Jesus says. If Jesus were to cruise into that cafeteria where the social stratification was clearly
evident, and there was a group of people who were his followers all around the table, and they saw an outcast
sitting by themselves in the school cafeteria, what do you think Jesus would say to his group of disciples? Not
just “Go sit with him.” Rather, “Give up your seat and invite him in.” Be a servant to all.
No one in their right mind would do that in Jesus’s day. And frankly, in this day, where we’re so tethered and
addicted to power and glory, no one in our right minds would do it unless there’s a better way, a Jesus way.
As a church family, this is something that we try to put into practice. Let me just put some teeth to this. What
we’re doing on Sunday mornings worship together is formative. I don’t know if you know this or not. What
we’re doing together forms us, especially over time. It’s kind of like going to the gym. You go to the gym, and

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once you come home, you look in the mirror. Nothing has changed, everything hurts, and nothing changed,
right? But if you stay consistent with it with that healthy practice, you will discover that over time, that
practice that physical practice is actually changing you, bringing you to health.
It’s similar to our corporate worship gatherings. We participate in a corporate worship gathering. We go
home and we say everything hurts, and nothing changed. Right? But one of the things I want to encourage
you is that the scripture actually calls us to not neglect gathering together, because when we gather together
for worship, for prayer, for the hearing of God’s word, it’s actually forming us. And here’s how it’s not forming
us, by and large. What’s generally not forming us is, “Wow. That was really high production value. Wow, they
really nailed that solo. Wow, Caleb really alliterated that phrase. Really cool.”
That’s not the formation we’re hoping for. In fact, what we’re doing programmatically during our service
simply sets the table for the 10,000 gifts that you receive and give in corporate worship. Here’s what I mean.
When we gather with a bunch of people who are different than us — which is our church, we’re a bunch of
misfits — when we gather, there are 1000 opportunities to defer to the other.
Whether it’s bringing someone coffee and a donut and sharing a laugh before service starts, … whether it’s
noticing that someone might not be in a space where they feel encouraged and just visiting with them, …
maybe it’s seeing or sensing from the spirit that the person sitting down from you might need prayer, and you
take that bold step and say, “Hey, can I just pray for you this morning?” Or maybe it’s seeing a need that’s not
in line with your own preferences or convictions but deferring or elevating the other.
And here’s the deal. When we’re all doing that — and I know that churches and our church, we’ve failed at this
thousands of times, we’re trying our best — when we’re all operating in good faith, deferring to the other,
seeking to love and elevate the other, seeking to give up our seat so no kids sit alone at the table, you know
that we discover when we’re all doing that, the tables all get congealed into one big, massive table.
We realize that we made space for each other, and we learned something about God in the process. You see,
when we engage in corporate worship together and consistently, we find that there’s 1000 gifts given to us. A
couple of the ones. Danny mentioned it a moment ago. One of the reasons why we do bilingual scripture
reading and why we do bilingual songs — we’re really hoping to figure out how to do bilingual sermons. It’s
not mechanical. It’s because it’s forming us.
If you guys can just pardon me for a second, I’m going to speak on behalf of a majority culture. I want to be
clear. I don’t ever actually have to put myself in a position where I don’t understand what’s going on
linguistically. But when I hear Theresa singing, it’s an invitation for me to lean in to elevate the Spanish
language and those of you who come from Spanish culture. It’s a way for me to feel the joy with you, to
celebrate what God is doing in and through that. And it’s an invitation to participate in the multilingual,
multinational Kingdom of God now on Earth, as it is in heaven.
We do it because it’s a means of deference. You can defer to me, and I can defer to you. I wear Dallas
Cowboys stuff here, and you suffer that. We defer to one another. Like Danny even did a country song. We
defer to each other, and we elevate each other. We honor each other. This is the Kingdom of God. Those of
us who have primary positions, positions of authority, positions of power, we elevate the other on earth, as it
is in heaven.

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This is the Jesus way, and I want to want to lean into this. You know, when we sing, we’re singing to each
other. And I got to tell you, there’s times where I need to hear my church family tell me the truth about who
God is. Because there are days where I’m here with you, and I don’t know if I believe in anymore. And then I
hear your voices telling me about the faithfulness of God, and your faith reminds me of my faith. That’s the
gift that you give to me, and it’s a gift I give to you, right? The gift is not in “Wow. We’re singing so
beautifully.” The gift is “Wow. This church family is centered on the truth of who Jesus is and wants to give
each other these gifts,” deferring to one another, living the first-should-be-last in all tenets.
So, I want to invite you to prioritize selfless worship — not to be a consumer and say what’s in it for me. Here’s
the deal. Have you guys ever heard it said it is more blessed to give than receive? The famous line, right? It is
more blessed to give than receive. If we posture ourselves around our worship experiences, and our
community groups, and our Bible studies, and our time together with our church family — if we posture it
around what gifts do I have to give as opposed to what gifts am I going to receive, we will actually discover
that we receive countless more gifts. Because it is more blessed to give than to receive. I want to encourage
you to prioritize selfless worship when you gather together in settings like this. Just asking the question, not
what am I going to get out of this, but, rather, what can I give? Can I pray with someone? Can I invite
someone out to lunch? Can I share a story of encouragement with someone? Can I meet someone new for
the first time? Can I offer to pray with someone? What gifts do I have to give, not to receive?
Let’s keep going. Oh, this gets better. OK, watch this.
“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him
because he wasn’t following us.’” (Verse 38)
Remember what we’re talking about? We’re talking about who gets to be the greatest, right? We’re talking
about power, the power dynamic, the honor, the power of honor and authority. “Teacher, we saw someone
driving out demons…” By the way, is that a good thing? A bad thing? Driving out demons is good. Does
anyone think it’s not a good idea? Just wondering. We’re all family here.
OK, so someone is driving out demons. In whose name? Remember, Jesus just got done saying “Anyone who
you receive in my name …” Notice there’s this stranger to us who’s driving out demons – what, in your name?
And we tried to do what? We tried to stop him because he was not following … now, time out. Because he
was not following … what do we think he’s going to say? We think he should say “Because he’s not following
you, Jesus.”
“Why did you try to stop him?”
“Well, because he wasn’t following you, Jesus, that’s what.”
We expect him to say that, but what does he say?
We tried to stop him, Jesus. He was casting out demons in whose name? Your name. Remember, Jesus just
got done saying “Anyone who receives a child in my name…”
“He was casting out demons in your name. But he’s a stranger to us, and you know what Jesus? We tried to
stop him because he didn’t follow …” Well, that’s strange. He doesn’t say “follow you, Jesus,’ which is what a
disciple does. He says ,“He doesn’t follow us.”

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What might that mean for us today, in a community that is racked with divisions within — thousands of
denominations splitting over differences. Sometimes warranted, so I’m not trying to slam it. We’re a non-
denominational church, so we’re like the ultimate, you know, splitting off. What people always say, when I go
to pastors’ parties — which are boring. — when I go to pastors’ gatherings, they’re always asking “Well, what
denomination are you?”
I’m thinking, “like the Lord’s. I say, “We are non-denominational.” And they look at me and they’re thinking
“You’re Baptists who have beer.” Well, OK, fine, yes, you’re right. OK, we’re non-denominational. We just
don’t have a name for it yet, right?
But here’s the deal. What is John saying? Remember, we’re talking about who gets the power, and Jesus is
talking about taking on the form of a servant. Then John sees someone doing miracles in Jesus’s name, but
he’s not one of us, so he tried to stop him.
“’Don’t stop him,’ said Jesus, ‘because there is no one who perform a miracle in my name who can soon
afterward speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to
drink in my name, because you belong to Christ – truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.’” (Verses 39-
41)
Jesus here dismantles this idea that there’s only one expression of what it looks like to follow Jesus. He
dismantles that. So, I think this is a cautionary tale for any of us who are Jesus followers who think, “We’ve
got it dialed in. And anyone who doesn’t do it our way, we need to tell them to stop.” I think Jesus says, “Hey,
anyone who’s following me — who’s following in my name — don’t stop them. Don’t stop them.”
As a church family, we’re so committed to this. We have relationships with hundreds of churches in the valley
and around the country, around the world. We love working with local churches, and it our posture is more
towards supporting and encouraging and working with them than it is about trying to figure out who gets in
and who gets out. If we’re sharing Jesus together, that’s what we need. That’s all we got. We do things our
way, right? We got our own convictions and practices and church family. I’m good friends with Pastor Jeff at
La Casa de Cristo. He wears robes to preach in. Their congregation is highly liturgical, and I love that. And I
love our congregation. I love the Tyrone’s congregation just down the street. Their tradition is Pentecostal,
way more fun. I love Harvest and Drew at Harvest, and I love Jason at Heritage. In fact, at least for me, being
connected to these other churches around the Valley is one of the the beautiful joys of being a part of the
Kingdom of God here in North Phoenix. I want to encourage you that you are part of something exponentially
bigger than what’s going on in this space. God is at work through all different types of congregations.
I think, just like we’re a bunch of misfits bound together by the love and grace of God made known to us
through Jesus, so, too, our local churches are all misfits bound together. We’ve all got our different ways and
our different traditions, but we’re on Team Jesus, and so we’re not going to tell each other to stop. We’re just
going to support and encourage, and I want to be clear, this is really hard, so you can pray for us. Unless it’s
toxic and abusive — which does exist — and boy, is that a wisdom call. So, pray for your leaders.
I was dumb. Yeah, I was talking to my good friend, Jason Fisher. He’s at Heritage Church, which is just down
the street, and we were kind of doing like a joint interview we made into a little podcast. Actually, it’s on our
on our church website, as well as theirs. We were just like interviewing each other about what it was like to
pastor through 2020, and one of the things that he reminded me of is that a bunch of churches up here in

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North Phoenix were praying through and trying to figure out how to return to in-person services. If you guys
remember, in 2020 there was this season where we weren’t meeting in person. One of the things that we
were praying through was: Is there a way for us to re-gather all on the same day, so that there’s not this
posturing of “We gathered first.” We just didn’t want any competition between the churches. Jason reminded
me of it, and that’s a beautiful example of how I believe that Jesus wants local churches to work together —
not a spirit of competition, but collaboration. And so, I want to invite you to being committed to honoring and
supporting and loving not only your local church, but the Big C Church here in Phoenix and around the world.
There are so many gifts that we get to give each other. Maybe one day I’ll convince Jeff to come and preach in
one of his robes. You can see if you like it.
“’But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away – it would be better for him if a
heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.’” (Verse 42)
This next portion of Scripture is hard, and I’m not at all going to resolve the tension. But whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in me to fall away, I think he’s just talking about believers. And the seas is
often used as an image of death in scripture. Kind of like the abysmal waters.
“’And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed that to have two
hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for
you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away,
gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown
into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at
peace with one another.” (Verses 43-50)
This is a really hard teaching, and I just want to give you a little note. We are committed to helping you and
equipping you to discern your own convictions by the power of the spirit, and I don’t think, and I did not think,
and still don’t think, that I could do this text justice in the context of a sermon. So, here’s what I’m going to
do. I’m going to invite you to a series of classes coming up this summer. They’re one-off classes, which means
it’s one topic for one gathering. We are hitting a variety of different topics, including the Kingdom of God and
heaven and hell.
I want to encourage you — if you want to know more about this text and other texts related to heaven, hell,
the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of this world and this earth — I want to invite you to participate. We’ll have
many other opportunities as we get into the fall. But I just want to say, as your pastor, I think that
conversations around texts like these are best done in dialogue — more like the rabbinic style that Jesus
models — than they are in me just giving you my perspective from the text. But if you don’t think I can preach
a good fire and brimstone sermon, you’re off your rocker. I want to invite you to join us for what we’re calling
summer sessions. You can find more information in your handout. There’s a link there. Just go to our
website, D-S-B-C dot church, and you can find those on the events tab. Again, they’re called summer sessions.
I want to land this plane, but first some quick comments on salt language. Salt was a preservative that also
increased the flavor. I think the salt that Jesus is referring to here is the is the integrity and fervor of our faith.
I’ll show you why. Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? That’s really
interesting language. Jesus is keying off of a metaphor here. Have salt among yourselves and be what? At

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peace with one another. I just want to lean in here on this saltiness and would love to talk with you a lot more
about this beautiful metaphor.
It’s this idea of being seasoned with a fervent, true faith that has integrity — to live in a vibrant way the Jesus
faith or the Jesus walk. I think that’s “salt of the earth.” Being salt of the earth I think is where Jesus is riffing
on here. But notice he says to have salt, among whom? Remember that the conversation started with the
question, “Who gets to be the greatest?” And Jesus said, if you want to be the greatest of all, you’ll be what?
A servant. The way up is down. The way to the throne is through a crown of thorns. This is the Jesus way.
And so, having salt among yourselves is living the Jesus way vibrantly, with integrity — with whom? With each
other, as a community that lives the Jesus way, that gets salty with one another. What seasons all of our
conversations and all of our interactions is the truth of who Jesus is and the teachings of how Jesus calls us to
live.
If we salt ourselves, we will truly find what peace. Now this word Shalom, it does not just mean the cessation
of hostilities. Another way to think about true peace or true Shalom is things are as they are designed to be —
true human flourishing. So, if we live the Jesus way with one another — especially in a group of people who
don’t naturally fit together — and we season our interactions with the Jesus way, we will find true and abiding
Shalom.
Now, this is not easy. The road is narrow. Some of us, we may be aware that today is Pentecost Sunday.
Pentecost Sunday, at least in in most Christian traditions, is a is an opportunity to reflect upon that day of
Pentecost, where the Spirit of God descended on his church. And this Jesus way, living salt with each other —
walking the Jesus way with each other in a culture that’s so violently and loudly demands to know who gets to
be the greatest — to live the Kingdom of God now on earth as it is in heaven, we’re going to face trials. We’re
going to face difficulties. We’re going to face resistance. We’ll even face failures with one another. But we’re
not in it alone, for the spirit of the living God is present with us.