When we talk about the culture of a place we are referring to the shared practices and values of its people. Although the values and practices of United States citizens are not identical, we can talk about a culture of the USA in which individualism, freedom of expression, and watching baseball in the summer are commonly practiced and celebrated. If the kingdom of heaven described in the gospel narratives is the place where God rules and where people live under King Jesus' authority and flourish in community with other disciples, what is the culture of heaven like? What are the habits and attitudes that characterize kingdom people despite their individuality?

These devotions focus on passages in Matthew's gospel account that highlight cultural principles of the kingdom of heaven, and I have supplemented the gospel texts with other Bible passages that reinforce the same principle. The aim is not to establish a checklist of behaviors with which to test your kingdom citizenship, rather to draw you into the biblical texts, allowing them to remind you of the ways in which your life already reflects the habits of a kingdom citizen as well as challenge you to more confidently represent the truth and beauty of God's kingdom and our glorious King.