What is the job of a king? What does it look like to be the subject of a king?
Scripture describes God as our king many times. Even though our experience with monarchy is not as personal as it may have been for earlier hearers and readers of the Bible, the idea of God as king can still be a helpful one. In a culture that tells us that we are our own masters, it is revolutionary to declare ourselves subjects of, even servants of, God the King. But our Lord is a worthy and wise ruler, a good and gracious King deserving of this place in our lives. Let’s talk about some of what it means for us to have God as the King of our lives.
First Place
Read Romans 12:1-2
- What do these verses say about why God deserves first place in our lives?
- What are the ways that you often find yourself conforming to the patterns of this world rather than putting the Lord in his rightful place?
First Love
Read Revelation 2:4-5
- What do you think is the difference between putting God in first place and having him as your first love?
- How do these verses tell us to respond if Jesus is no longer our first love?
- In light of this, do you think Jesus is your first love?
First Priority
Read John 15:9-11
- These verses tell us that love for God leads us towards obedience to him. Why does Jesus tell us this?
- In what areas of your life are you finding it difficult to prioritize obedience to Jesus?
- What would it look like to obey Jesus as your first priority?
First Purpose
Read Matthew 28:18-20
- Jesus tells us a big part of his purpose for us in these verses. How is this purpose playing out in your life right now?
- What is a next step of obedience you could take in this area?
God the King
Read Luke 9:23-25
- What do these verses tell us about what it looks like to make God the king of our lives?
- Is this how you have understood God’s place in your life before? What is new or challenging to you today from what we’ve talked about?
- Have you made a decision to put God in this place in your own life? Why or why not?
If it helps, you can think about God’s place as the king of your life like this: if your life were a blank sheet of paper, could you sign the bottom and trust God to fill in the details, the wheres, whens, whys, and hows? Each day, would you sign that sheet – willing to go anywhere, at any time, at any cost, to do anything he asks of you? This is a big ask, and we will spend our lives learning how to do it. But this is the place God deserves and our call as Christians is to follow him, our King and our Lord.
