Bible Reading: Luke 10:38-42 Matt 13:44-51

WATCH NIGHT WORSHIP SERVICE Matt 6:33-Seek ye first…… His Kingdom-Whose kingdom? The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. These are interchangeable Matt 19:23-24. Kingdom of God mentioned 68 times in 10 different places in the new testament; while kingdom of heaven is mentioned 32 times in the gospel of Matthew. Matt 6:33-Jesus admonishes us to a. seek first the kingdom. Why did the Jesus not say seek the kingdom-He already knows what human beings will do-Jer 1:5. b. We are to seek the things of God in time-as a priority over the things of the world. Isa 55:6 Jer 29:13 Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. Does this mean that we should neglect the reasonable and daily duties that help sustain our lives? Certainly not. But for the Christian, there should be a difference in attitude toward them. If we are taking care of God’s business as a priority—seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, and sharing the good news of the kingdom with others—then He will take care of our business as He promised—and if that’s the arrangement, where is worrying? We will rather seek other things of less or non-value rather than seek God- Luke 1:33-Everything in the world will pass away; after all we came with nothing, we will depart with nothing, But the kingdom of God is everlasting. What do we know about this kingdom? Eternal-a kingdom that has no end-Luke 1:33 Spiritual John 18:36 The contrast between anxiously seeking the cares of this life and confidently seeking the salvation of the kingdom (Luke 12:22-34) is exemplified in the account of Martha’s excessive preparations and Mary’s learning from Jesus (10:38-42). Jesus rebuked Martha for being worried and bothered with “many things,” things that the nations of the world also anxiously seek (12:29-30). She was not reprimanded for attending to the things of the house, but for doing so to the point of distraction and for criticizing Mary for not sharing her anxious toil. Jesus commended Mary for instead seeking the “one thing” that was truly needed, the salvation present in the word of the kingdom (4:18; 8:10-11, 15). Matt 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist…….