Eden on Our Streets

     This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 19th July 2026, by Kavitha Emmanuel. For the audio , please click here.  For the worship, please click here.  

Eden on Our Streets: Living Heaven's Culture in a Broken World

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." — Matthew 6:10

What if the Garden of Eden wasn't merely a distant memory from Genesis but God's ongoing vision for every neighborhood, workplace, family, and city?

This profound truth was the heartbeat of a message that reminded us of God's unchanging desire—to establish His Kingdom wherever His people live.

Church: More Than a Gathering

The message began with a beautiful reflection on the early church. A recent visit to the ancient cave churches of Cappadocia, Turkey, served as a powerful reminder that the Church was never defined by magnificent buildings or large crowds. Hidden in caves, believers gathered in small communities, teaching God's Word through paintings because many could not read. Their lives testified that the Church is simply God's people faithfully living together.

The Church has always been about people—not programs, numbers, or buildings. Wherever believers gather to love God, encourage one another, and live out His Kingdom, the Church is alive.

Eden: Heaven's Embassy on Earth

Imagine driving through a busy city and suddenly entering an embassy. Although geographically located within one nation, an embassy operates under the authority, culture, and values of another kingdom.

The Garden of Eden functioned much like that.

God created Eden as heaven's embassy on earth—a place where His rule, peace (shalom), and presence were perfectly displayed. Adam and Eve were His ambassadors, commissioned to extend His Kingdom throughout creation.

Though sin disrupted that reality, God's mission never changed.

Throughout Scripture, God continually calls humanity back to His original design: places where heaven's culture transforms earthly chaos.

Jesus Reopens Heaven's Embassy

When Jesus began His ministry with the words,

"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near."

He wasn't simply asking people to feel sorry for their sins.

The Greek word metanoia means much more than repentance. It speaks of a complete transformation—a radical change in the way we think, see, and live.

Jesus was announcing that heaven's Kingdom was breaking into ordinary life once again.

Eden was returning.

A Radical Prayer

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray,

"Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

He introduced a prayer unlike any other.

Instead of centering prayer around personal requests, Jesus invited His followers to desire something far greater: the establishment of God's rule in every sphere of life.

Where God's Kingdom reigns, justice flourishes.

Brokenness is healed.

The oppressed find hope.

Heaven touches earth.

The Beatitudes: Heaven's New Identity

Jesus then turned to the poor, the grieving, the overlooked, and the oppressed and declared something astonishing:

"Blessed are you."

The Greek word makarios describes someone who is deeply favored, flourishing, and secure—not because of circumstances but because their lives are rooted in God's Kingdom.

The Beatitudes completely reverse the world's values.

The Kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit.

The grieving receive comfort.

The meek inherit the earth.

Those who hunger for righteousness will be satisfied.

The merciful extend God's family.

The peacemakers become known as God's children.

Even the persecuted belong to Heaven's Kingdom.

Before Jesus changed their circumstances, He changed their identity.

Salt, Light, and a Different Culture

Jesus didn't simply call His followers to behave differently.

He declared who they already were.

You are the salt of the earth.

Salt preserved, purified, and carried great value in the ancient world. In fact, Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, giving us the origin of the word "salary."

You are the light of the world.

In a culture where rulers claimed to be the light of humanity, Jesus bestowed that identity upon ordinary fishermen, laborers, and common people.

Heaven's Kingdom advances not through power or domination, but through transformed people living transformed lives.

Bringing Heaven Into Everyday Life

The world around us is filled with injustice, abuse, loneliness, anxiety, and hopelessness. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the darkness.

Yet followers of Jesus are not called merely to criticize culture, withdraw from it, or imitate it.

We are called to cultivate Kingdom culture.

Every act of mercy,

Every pursuit of justice,

Every reconciliation,

Every expression of forgiveness,

Every display of compassion,

becomes another glimpse of Eden returning.

Ambassadors of the Kingdom

Paul beautifully summarizes our calling:

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors..." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

As ambassadors, we carry heaven's values wherever God has placed us.

Whether we are students, engineers, teachers, parents, business owners, healthcare workers, or homemakers, our calling remains the same:

To bring heaven into our everyday spaces.

To embody reconciliation.

To reflect God's character.

To become living embassies of His Kingdom.

Pune as It Is in Heaven

The invitation is wonderfully practical.

Imagine your street.

Imagine your workplace.

Imagine your neighborhood.

Imagine your city.

Now pray:

"Pune as it is in heaven."

And then don't stop with prayer.

Become the answer to that prayer.

Live as heaven's ambassador.

Carry the culture of Christ into every conversation, every decision, every relationship, and every opportunity.

Because God's vision has never changed.

His desire is still the same today as it was in Eden:

Heaven's people, living Heaven's culture, in Earth's broken places.

May we faithfully embody His Kingdom until the whole earth reflects His glory.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

Pictures of the Church - Part 3

 

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 23rd February 2025 by Navaz. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here. 

THE CHURCH - A FAMILY

INTRODUCTION

The Bible records many pictures of the church. We are called the army of God, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the temple of God, the new Jerusalem, the body of Christ, etc. Which one do you identify with the most?

Today, let us look at the church as the family of God.

From the beginning, we see family on display in the trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are perfect in unity, love, and cooperation. As Christ's followers, we aim to become more Christlike in who we are and what we do.

GOD AND MAN

Creation -God always wanted to have a relationship with us. He created the most magnificent creatures and placed them on the Earth. Then, He made man by His breath and hands to enjoy a loving, intimate relationship with Him.

He did not just create us but gave us power, authority and dominion – to govern the earth as he would because Adam and Eve were His Image bearers.

Corruption -Then sin came in and ruined everything. First is fractured our relationship with God. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. They lost their power, authority, and dominion and, most of all, lost their relationship with God. Where God was once their Father, they are now orphaned. This orphan heart is passed down to all of humanity through Adam. The orphan heart is distrustful, hateful, competitive, selfish, willful, disobedient and everything else evil you can imagine. Darkness, evil, chaos and destruction become the order of the day.

Yet God does not give up on us. He still wants to carve out special people, a family that will display His glory on earth, as part of His redemption plan. He calls out Abraham and makes a covenant with him, saying that he will become a great nation, and all the nations will be blessed through him.

Fast-forward, and we see God make the nation of Israel a special people to display His glory. But the rebellion was so deep-seated in man's heart that they kept breaking that covenant with God.

But God always had an eternal plan. In the fullness of time, while we were rambling in our rebellion and sin, God sent His Son on earth to show sinful Adam’s descendants how true humanity ought to live. He lived a perfect life, and God placed Jesus in a family. He demonstrated what an obedient son looks like.

The Cross - Jesus fulfilled His mission on the Cross: to reconcile humanity to the Father. The flaming sword that puts a divide between us having eternal life is now replaced by sacrifice on a cross that breaks the barrier and tears the veil separating us. His blood made a way for us to approach the throne of grace boldly and by which we can now call Him Abba Father.

We who were once alienated from God and brought back to him are now Children of God as we put our trust in Him. We have been adopted into His family. What does that mean?

New Creations -We now have His Divine Nature Activated in us. We are new creations in Christ.

Our nature, identity, and purpose are restored to us. We go from orphans to sonship, abandonment to belonging, aimlessness to purpose, insecurity to security and perfect love in Christ.

All this takes a lifetime to work out as we submit ourselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. This process is called restoration or sanctification. We are being changed from one degree of glory to another. The more we obey, the more we change.

WHO WE ARE AS CHILDREN OF GOD IN HIS HOUSEHOLD.

What does scripture say about us as a family of God?

FAMILY FEATURES

·      Every family has a culture. Culture means a set of beliefs and behaviours that everyone has and does that are unique to that culture.

The culture of the family of God is simply Kingdom culture. Do you want to know what that is? Read Matt 5 to 7, the Sermon on the Mount.

·    We are multi-generational 2Tim 3:16

·    We all serve – We are not a restaurant where you look to be served, you can criticise the service, and your focus is on what you get to consume.

In a family, we all serve each other, are sacrificial, give, and look after one another.

GOD IS OUR FATHER 

Matt 6: 9, “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Rom 8:15-16 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

2 Cor 6:18 And, “I will be a Father to you, And you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

 

1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

CHRIST AS THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY

• Ephesians 5:23 – “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
• Colossians 1:18 – “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, and in everything, he might be preeminent.”

WE ARE JESUS BROTHER’S And SISTERS

• Matthew 12:49-50 – “And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”
• Hebrews 2:11 – “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.”
• 1 Peter 3:8 – “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”
• Romans 12:10 – “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.”

HOUSEHOLD

Eph 2: 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

1 Tim 3:15 If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Gal 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Heb 3:6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

UNITY AND FELLOWSHIP IN THE FAMILY OF GOD

• Acts 2:42-47 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
• Colossians 3:13-14 – “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
• Ephesians 4:3-6 – “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
• Hebrews 10:24-25 – “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

LOVE AND CARE WITHIN THE CHURCH FAMILY

• John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another.”
• Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
• 1 Timothy 5:1-2 – “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

There are 4 types of people in a family:

·        Infants, those who serve, the old, and those who hang around and do nothing. Which one are you?

This is who we are. Much more can be said, but this is enough to chew on and think about.

Next week, we will examine what a family does. Today, we just examined who we are.

CONCLUSION

Where are you in the family? An infant, one who serves, one who is old or the one that hangs around and does nothing.

Do you have a buy-in to this local household of God? Is it evident to the others that you belong, not that you just attend? If you do not attend the family gathering, will you be missed?

If you do not serve and contribute to this local household, think about what you need to change to make that shift.

Eph 4:11-15 - So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

This is the final goal for all of us – to attain maturity and reproduce.

We will look more into this next week.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

1 Peter Part 5

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 8th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

How to live in the midst of suffering 

Sandwich analogy.  

Today’s passage is like the prosciutto and meat of a good sandwich. 1 Pet 3: 8-22 and 1 peter 4: 12-19, Peter speaks about suffering to people who are undergoing tremendous suffering. He gives their suffering a purpose. He reminds them of Jesus who also suffered in the flesh - the righteous for the unrighteous so that he might bring us to God. And that now he is in heaven, at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers being subject to him. 

1 Peter 4: 1 - 11: “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking(thought out attitude), for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions (epithymia) but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Let’s pray 

While Peter is talking to the Christians about suffering, right in the middle of the passage, he talks about what to do in the middle of suffering? How to suffer well. And the model for us is Jesus Himself - Jesus willingly and even joyfully endured suffering, yet did not excuse sin. 

In our daily lives, we tend to look at sin as the solution to suffering - when we are rejected, we tend to lie and people please, when we feel lonely, we tend to comfort eat, when we’re stressed, we tend to gravitate towards drinking or porn or endless entertainment. 

So Peter says, arm (fortify) yourself with the same thought-out attitude as Christ who embraced suffering, but scorned sin - because those who suffer in the flesh have a completely different view of sin. They don't see it as something to excuse, but something to get rid of. (illustration of having to read the Bible in my bathroom) 

When we equip our minds with the kind of thinking as Christ we will live differently - not for our human passions / epithymias (Over desires) but for the will of God. Over desires, don't have to be evil desires - our desire for a family can result in dating and marrying an ungodly person, our desire for success can cause selfish ambition. But living for the will of God, is completely different because his desires become our desires. 

1 Thess 4:3-8 “3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, … 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

The will of God for our lives is to say no to sin and yes to him. How do we do this? What is the greatest commandment? Love God, love one another. So the will of God in suffering is that we are sanctified by loving God and loving one another. 

1.     Loving God 

Past: For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.  Peter is echoing the sentiment - that’s enough of that. Don’t procrastinate righteousness. A lot of us when we sin, invite shame instead of the fear of God. shame becomes a chain and keeps us stuck in our sin. 

Present: With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.  They malign you because they’ve not had victory over something that you have.  (When David defeated Goliath, it only attracted more trouble for him- his brother and his king hated him because he showed them up) 

Future: “But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” 

Purpose: v. 7 - The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Eternity perspective - the time we have to live on earth is a blink of an eye compared to eternity. 

self-controlled and sober-minded - alert in your heart and mind so you can give yourself to prayer. 

Why does prayer require us to be alert - The AMP version says ”so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him”. Our prayers are very different based on what we’re focused on. When we’re focused on the things of God, we start praying for a breakthrough, not a blessing, we pray for his kingdom to come and his will to be done and not just for our daily bread. 

 

2.               Loving one another 

Above all, love earnestly for love covers a multitude of sins - (ektenes (“love deeply”) is from ek “out” and teno “to stretch or strain.” Our words tension and tense are from this root.) - (illustration of Bollywood couples running towards each other v. an athlete or a basketball player dunking the ball) ektenes is an athlete’s word; think of straining in effort or stretching out every sinew. Think of an athlete or a basketball player dunking the ball. We need to love one another earnestly because we are straining to reach the kind of love that God showed for us. 

The book To End All Wars, written by WWII veteran Ernest Gordon tells the true story of Gordon’s time in a Japanese prison camp along the River Kwai. The torture turned the prisoners into something like desperate animals— as each man fought for his own skin and “to hell with everyone else.” One day a shovel was declared missing. The guards demanded the man responsible step forward. No one moved. The guards raised their machine guns, warning unless the guilty man stepped forward everyone would be executed. One prisoner stepped forward and was beaten to death. It was soon discovered no shovel was missing after all; there had been a miscount. The prisoner who stepped forward had sacrificed his life to save the others.

Comparison with Jesus’ own sacrifice that saved the lives of so many - covering a multitude of sins.

Peter suggested 3 areas of loving and said what ektenes might look like:

1.      Hospitality  - without grumbling  (illustration of long-staying guests)

2.      Speaking - as one who speaks oracles of God/ the very words of God. (illustration of my first sermon)

3.      Serving - as one who serves by the strength that God supplies (illustration of set-up teams) All the able-bodied people here have the grace gift of serving on the set-up or clear-up team. The strength comes from God and that is an inexhaustible resource. (illustration of Colin and Navaz’s business and church etc. Look at the fruit of that.) 

Purpose:

In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

The 1 Month Challenge

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on May 7th 2023  by Colin D Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here

The 1 Month Challenge

We will not meet like this for 30 days now as we take a summer break. Will it not be amazing if we all are transformed in these 30 days?

“And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” - Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37‬ ‭ESV‬‬

4 things:-

1. Physically - Love the Lord with all your strength - on one extreme, there are people who are completely focused on the body. On the other extreme, people don’t think about the body or care for the body at all. Neither of these are good. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬ - “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 

If you borrowed someone else’s car, you would be very careful driving that car. In the same way, our body belongs to God, so we need to take care of our bodies. 

1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬ - “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ‭‭

So there is some value in physical training. 

1. Dieting - don’t eat what is not good for you like sugars 

2. Exercise 

3. Sleep well 

2. Relationships - can we invest in spending time with someone who is not a believer? 

Psalm‬ ‭126‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬ - “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” ‭‭

We are here for the lost. Then do something with someone who is a believer. Encourage one another, spur one another to good works, build up one another. 

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬ - “and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,”‭‭

So whatever you do the must be an exchange of love. 

3. Spiritual - what can you do that can take your spiritual life to the next level? 

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬ - “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

We are commanded to grow spiritually. 

1. Bible reading, Prayer and Fasting - add fasting to your spiritual regimen. It is powerful and we are commanded in scripture to do this 

2. Pick up a book to read or pick up a sermon series and go through it 

3.  ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬  - “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

What is the spiritual gift that God has entrusted to you? God has given you a gift. Over the next 30 days how can you sharpen that and grow in your spiritual gift. 

4. Mentally - AI is taking over a lot of routine things that we would have to spend time on. We need to learn new things and new ways of doing this. For this our mind needs to be sharp. 

We have 30 days before us. How can we love the Lord with our strength (body), soul (relationships), heart (spiritual) and min (mentally).

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.