Episode 17 - Practicing Kingdom Culture - Praise

Heaven isn’t only a destination. It has a culture, a way of seeing and living shaped by who God is. We sit down with one simple goal: practice “heaven’s language” out loud, so we’re not stuck repeating the world’s scripts about fear, scarcity, and distrust.

We start with Exodus 34:6-7, where God proclaims his own name and character: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving sin while remaining just. Then we turn that Scripture into a living exercise, naming the attributes of God one by one, the way you might join the worship of heaven and let truth recalibrate your heart.

Along the way we talk about how easy it is to carry false narratives about God, even when we don’t realize it, and how naming what’s true can confront those stories gently but firmly. We linger on anchors like “God is good” and “God is love,” then expand into mercy, kindness, wisdom, trustworthiness, faithfulness, generosity, holiness, power, mystery, and the surprising nearness of a God who listens.

If you want a practical Christian spirituality rhythm for your week, this is it: Scripture, worship, and a steady stream of truth about God’s character that you can return to when your mind spirals. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with one attribute of God you’re choosing to believe today.

Transcript

Tempo: 120.0

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Well, good morning, listeners. This is Scott here with Amy, and we're excited you guys are joining us. Hopefully, you've been getting something out of these latest episodes, and uh we're glad that you guys are still listening in. So this morning we're going to do something different than what we've done before. We're actually kind of in my mind, we're referencing this back to uh episode two, where we talked about the culture of the kingdom. Have you ever imagined uh the kingdom of God, heaven, having a culture to it? And as we look at Jesus' teachings, I think that considering what Jesus is saying and how he's teaching, specifically through you know the Sermon on the Mount, I think it's fascinating to think of it as Jesus saying, back home where I come from, this is the way things are, and you can begin living that way now here on earth, and you don't have to be stuck living according to the culture and the patterns of the world, but instead following me and my teachings and have a completely different perspective on life and begin living similarly in your mind and focus as you would if you were in heaven. And maybe that's an invitation to consider you know what eternal living is may be like, at least from a limited perspective. And so our our conversation this morning is gonna be just that it's like an exercise of looking at things as they would be and as they are in heaven, and just leading you to consider those. So I'm gonna lead us into a passage this morning to get us started. And if you want to look this up yourself, you can. But I'm in Exodus chapter 34, and verses five, six, and part of seven. And so let me begin there. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, low to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. As you listen to that passage, I just encourage you to imagine that as truths that are being stated about the glory of God, about the goodness of God, about the faithfulness of God, about the works of God, that are words that could be said in heaven and should be said here on earth. And so as we dive into a list of words that Amy's compiled for us to talk about, we just want to begin considering those things, specifically like virtues of God. So, Amy, tell us a little bit about what your thought was in creating this list and this episode.

SPEAKER_03 3:01

Well, I am just so excited about the past two episodes we've done, and we I kind of told a story of a narratives about God were not right. Not all of them were wrong, but I didn't even realize that I had some narratives wrong. And so we've spent a couple of episodes talking about what's true about God, but of course, like there's so many things that are true about God, we can't even begin to detach all that God is so this was just a small exercise for you and I to be able to do together and to invite our friends in with us to just pour out a bunch of things about God that are true. And really, as you and I were talking about what we're gonna talk about today, we you use the language of joining with the angels in heaven. So I love it. Like what we're getting ready to do, we are just joining heaven here on earth to talk about what is true about God. We're inviting everyone to be pissed with us.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

And we're just in as Amy and I have discussed it in our minds, just trying to invite you to join with us in in bringing more words to that truth. And so the first word in our list, and we're probably going to comment on a few of these, specifically a few of these first ones, is God, you are good. You are only good. There is nothing but goodness in you. All that you do is good. Every thought that you have is good, every action that you have ever taken in all of history has been good. Everything that you will ever do is good. You are good.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

And God is love, and I tried a bit of butt after that. Oh, I don't want to do that. God is just love. I want to just sit in that and receive that and give that right back to him.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

God, you are merciful. You're a God who does not hold the things that we have done against us.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Lord, you forgive us, and you will show us mercy. God is kind.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

He is so kind, and it is his very kindness that causes me to change the way I think about things, and the way I do things, and the way that I live my life.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Because he's kind. God, you are wise.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

There is no impulsive action that you take. There is no, as a friend would say, no willy-nilly with God. You are wise. Everything that you do is brilliant and calculated.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

God is trustworthy. So often I find myself having trust in him for my eternal salvation, but I struggle sometimes to trust him with the little things in life, but he is trustworthy in all things.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

God, you are faithful.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

You are faithful despite the temptations of the enemy that want to lead me into a false narrative to think that you won't be faithful or that you couldn't be trusted. You are faithful. You have always been faithful, and you always will be faithful.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

God, you are generous. Oh my lands. What more could you possibly give in yourself?

SPEAKER_01 8:28

I love that you are a generous gift person. You are holy. You were set apart. There is none like you.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Self-sacrificing.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

You're creator. Everything that we see and know in existence came from your hand, came from your work. You're the creator of all things.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

God, you're able. You are able to do exceedingly abundantly more than I can even think in my little bee brain to think you are able.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

You are all powerful.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

There is no limit to what you're capable of doing.

SPEAKER_03 9:56

Gods are wonderful. And you're far too wonderful for me to understand.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

You're mysterious. Though we may not understand you in our finite minds, Lord, we celebrate your mysteries.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

And you bend down low to listen to us because you're personal with us.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

You and you alone are our savior.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

You're our stability, our rock.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

You were relational. You left heaven and came to earth to relate with us in a way that we needed to understand.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

And you're beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

You are the good, beautiful God. You are true.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

There is no faults or falsehood about you or that could come from you.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

And you're the god who speaks. You're vocal with us.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

You're the gardener. You're the one who cultivates and brings forth life.

SPEAKER_03 12:07

You're present.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

You're you're now with each and every one of us. You are a listener. You're a planer.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

You planned the world, and you have numbered each of our days.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

You are a priest looking over your people.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

You're a pursuer. You come after us with your great love. Like some have referred to you as the hound of heaven that you pursue us.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

You are the one true father.

SPEAKER_03 13:05

And you are like a mother. Yeah, as a imagery comes to find how you can't like a mother cannot forget a child that she's nursing.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

You're hospitable. You love to welcome us into your presence.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

And you're the good shepherd who cares for his sheep.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

You are the one king above all kings.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

You're the light. Darkness cannot overcome the light.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

You are righteous. All that you do is right.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

And you are active. You are moving and doing things all throughout the earth. You do not slumber or sleep.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

You are the judge who judges with mercy and what is just.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

And you are a teacher. You are a refuge. You're our deliverer. You are our helper. You're our counselor. You are our hope. You are our life. You are an author. Our lives are but a pen in your hand. You're joyful. You're sovereign over all creation. You're a redeemer. You are peace. You're our refuge. You are gentle. You are great. You are creative. And you are one father. You're a son. You are lowly. You are a healer. This gives me delight to say that you are a friend. And you see us.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

You are eternal. The beginning and the end, the Alpha, the Omega.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

And your order of life. I just think about how you created the world in such fascinating order.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

You are for us.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

And you are with us.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

You are the promise keeper.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

And you are the law of love. You are timely. And your prophet.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

You are a commander.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

You are the lover of our soul.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

As you have been for me so many times, you are a comforter.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

And you are supernatural.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

That is just thrilling.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

You're perfect.

SPEAKER_03 18:15

And you're a liberator.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

You are the great I Am.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

And when we talk about the great I Am, I think that it encompasses all of the billions of things that we cannot even put on a list. He is all of that.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Lord, would you take the words of our mouths that have been spoken here and the meditations of our heart, and may they be pleasing to you. We thank you for this opportunity to come before these people, worship you, and to bring glory to you and you alone. Thank you for being each and all of these things and so much more. We just want to worship you in spirit and in truth. That your presence leads us and guide us this day into all these truths that in your kingdom are so evident. We say, Holy is your name.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

And we worship you, Father, Son, Spirit. You guys have a great week.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

Oh I just wanted to say, God, just fill us with gratitude and thankfulness and joy as we go about our day and just remind us of all of these things, whatever we're doing on our way. And we wish you a great, great day. We bless you guys and we bless Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Amen. Have a great week.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Bye y'all.