These are words we pray quite often. And most of us have a pretty good idea of what the kingdom is. And most of us understand the meaning of power.

But this morning, I want to invite you to explore with me the nature of glory.

You may have heard about the small-time college basketball coach who, while shaving the next morning, was reveling in the glory of his team's great upset victory the night before. Just then, the phone rang, and moments later, his small son called upstairs, "Dad, it's Sports Illustrated on the phone!"

The coach nearly cut himself with the razor as he reacted with great excitement. As he wiped his face clean, he sort of smiled in the mirror and wondered how he'd look on the cover of next week's edition of the famous magazine. He bounded down the stairs, took the phone and announced, "Yes? This is Coach Smith."

The voice on the other end said, "Mr. Smith did you know that for just $19.99, you can have Sports Illustrated delivered to your door..."

Glory. There is something in all of us that craves the attainment of glory. Not too long ago, our son Peter became engaged to a wonderful young woman. They're going to be married next August. When we were up north this summer, we noticed how Melissa would often greet people who hadn't heard the news not by telling them directly about the engagement, but by talking about something else while sort of flashing the ring on her finger. And when people noticed the diamond, they would erupt with joy and congratulations, and Melissa, with a bright smile, would extend her full arm to let the light reflect off the ring, and she would obviously enjoy the glory of the moment. Glory.

Do you remember your little girl's first dance recital when the big modern jazz number was over and how the smile spread across her face when applause from the audience came? Or maybe the first time your son got on base in a Little League baseball game and turned to look at you in the grandstands? Do you recall coming home from the hospital with your infant child and how everywhere you went, people gathered around just to sneak a peek and tell you how beautiful the baby was? Perhaps you have a memory of when you came home the first time to announce you'd received a big promotion at work - and a raise to go along with it.

Glory.

Those moments in our lives when glory shines its beautiful light upon us are among the most joyous experiences of human existence.

For Thine is the kingdom...and the power...and...the glory...

What is glory?

In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we learn that the Hebrew people were led through the desert wilderness by following a pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night. And this radiant cloud they followed is described as the shekinah - or glory - of God. In the Gospels, we read about the transfiguration of Jesus that night up on the mountain when he was bathed in brilliant light, and John describes the moment this way: We beheld his...glory.

I think I would define glory this way: glory is the revelation of a person's excellence.

It is the display of a person's magnificent beauty.

In today's Scripture lesson from Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, something surprising happens. Most of us by now are pretty used to hearing Paul tell us to do certain things as Christian people. We know we should pray, and forgive, and proclaim the good news, and live for others, and use our resources for God, and oppose evil things, and live uprightly.

But here in the second chapter of second Thessalonians, Paul calls us to a surprising goal. In verse 14, he calls us to obtain glory! Listen to his words:

I was watching a football game on television a few weeks ago, and one of the players who was being interviewed afterwards said of his accomplishments, "All the glory goes to God."

And that's a good attitude to have. To aim our lives at glorifying God.

But there's another side to glory that Paul points us toward today. And that is the glory God wants to us to RECEIVE!

Glory is the revelation of a person's excellence. It is the display of a person's magnificent beauty.

In other words, God wants to lift you to the excellence of Jesus. God wants to create within you the beauty of His Son.

When I was a youngster, I loved reading a series of books about a young man named Chip Hilton. Chip was the quintessential all-american boy, and the books had to do with his exploits on the football field and basketball court and baseball diamond. I didn't know then that the author of the Chip Hilton Series - a New York sportswriter by the name of Claire Bee - had modeled the character on a young man named Bob Davies, one of the great collegiate and professional basketball players of all time. I also didn't know that Bob Davies' brother is our own Dick Davies.

But even not knowing these fascinating historical tidbits, I was drawn to Chip Hilton as a role model. He was a person of high character. He was a team player. He was someone who gave himself to others, and the world was a better place because of him. I wanted to be like Chip Hilton.

And its probably just as true that role models have appeared in your life too. Parents. Coaches. Friends. Movie stars. Athletes. Siblings. Teachers.

There is something in the way that human beings are wired that makes us want to incorporate into our own lives the glory we see in others - their excellence and their beauty. This inner need is one of the most basic responses of the human spirit. In a very real sense, your soul is always tugging you higher. It has since the time you were born, and it is even today.

But...the question before us this morning is this: "How HIGH are you willing to go?"

I think I saw the glory of Jesus last Sunday. We were in Lenoir City at the dedication of a new Habitat For Humanity home. Its a beautiful house, the seventh one built in a subdivision of Habitat homes called Hidden Hills. Can you imagine that? Our intrepid builders - including many from our church - built a whole subdivision of homes for people who otherwise would not have adequate housing for themselves and their children. And just to see the kids and their families so obviously thriving in their new surroundings was evidence enough of the glory of God.

But as I looked around the circle of people there, I saw more glory. I saw it in Bob Hanna's face as he presented the family with the keys to the house. There was a tear in his eye and a glow on his face, and I could be mistaken, but I swear I saw Jesus in him. Marv Ude was there too, and Ken Muth and Shauna Oden and a bunch of others. And there was something about each of them that looked a little different - as though a kind of excellence and beauty was shining from within. Then Jody Brashear spoke to the group, and told about the miracle that saved the project. With a lot of money already invested in infrastructure, the cul de sac wouldn't pass the compaction test required by law. Several times they brought in fill and tried to strengthen the ground. Some of it helped, and at the end, there was just a two or three foot area that failed the test. But that was enough to stop the project. Jody was devastated. She saw her husband Hugh and one of the other Habitat people walking away, tearfully praying that somehow God would intervene.

And that's when the idea came. Jody felt jolted by it, and made some quick calculations in her mind. Then she went to the inspectors and said, "What if I move the whole STREET two feet? THEN would it pass?"

They said yes. So that's what Jody did. She moved the cul de sac. And that's how Hidden Hills came into being.

Do you remember how Jesus once said, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you'll say to this tree, 'Be plucked up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen"?

I used to think only Jesus had faith like that. But last Sunday, I saw it in another person. A woman - and others like her - who moved not just a tree, but a whole STREET... by faith!

Who are your highest role models?

May I invite you this morning to aim your life at the excellence and magnificent beauty of Jesus Christ?

Some of us are facing situations right now in which we really need the glory of Jesus' faith, so that we can live knowing that nothing is impossible for God. Some of us need the patience of Jesus in dealing with significant people in our lives. We need to see the best rather than the worst, and we need to give people time to grow and change. Others today are very likely facing huge issues involving life and death and the very future of our own and others' lives. How very much we need to learn to live each day confident that there is nothing outside God's hands, and that even the greatest evil or loss outside of God's will can be folded into God's higher purposes because he loves us.

Today, think about the moments that you will encounter this week. And consider the excellence and beauty of Jesus with which he faced similar times.

Go and take aim at a higher glory.

Go and reach for the glory of Jesus Christ!