Unpacking the Kingdom of Heaven
Cycle A Sermons Based on the Gospel Texts for Proper 17 through Thanksgiving
Peter Andrew Smith

The Kingdom of Heaven is not something that can be easily understood by human minds, so Jesus spent much of his ministry on Earth telling parables which indirectly communicate God’s unconditional love for his children and how God invites us to a new life through Jesus Christ. God invites all of us to be saved, to be loved, to know peace, mercy, and grace in our lives. To answer this invitation, we simply must open our hearts and accept these gifts of God.

Peter Smith uses Unpacking the Kingdom of Heaven to dive into these various parables and break down exactly how God wants us to act towards others, how we should love our neighbors as ourselves and be willing to forgive others as we have been forgiven by our Father in Heaven.

Just as we have been given grace through God, which we ultimately don’t deserve, we are called to give of ourselves to others, helping where we can and sharing the grace of God with the world around us to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Sermon Titles Include:

• Why Believe in Jesus?
• The Heart of Faith
• Leading as Servants
• More Than Thankful

Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada currently serving St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers, three volumes of Lectionary Stories for Preaching and Teaching (CSS), and numerous stories and articles, all of which can be found listed at peterandrewsmith.com.