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Politics Through the Lens of Jesus

August 31, 2026 Randy Phillips Collective
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Message Notes

In this opening message from the House of Cards series, Pastor Randy Phillips shepherds hearts through a contentious political season without telling anyone how to vote.

He contrasts two kingdoms. Earthly leaders can fix roads, schools, and borders. They cannot save a broken world. Hope does not belong on a ballot, a party, or a candidate. Hope belongs to Jesus. Randy’s line for the church: faith first, politics second.

He names three temptations believers face in an election year:

  • Apathy — sitting it out because the candidates disappoint. Romans 13 calls followers of Jesus to participate, respect governing authority, and pray for those in office.
  • Idolatry — treating a party or candidate like a messiah. “The ballot is not a banner. The voting booth is not a confessional. Your candidate is not the Messiah.”
  • Fear — panic about the “wrong” outcome. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

    • The center of the message is Jesus’ word to Pilate and His answer about the imperial tax in Mark 12: give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. Give government your civic duty. Give God your heart.

    Randy also offers four questions for the voting booth—ability to govern, view of Israel, presence on the world stage, and the sanctity of life—and walks through four hot-button issues as Bible issues, not merely party issues: sexual ethics, the value of human life, social justice, and immigration. A Christian, he says, should be “kingdom independent.” Jesus does not ride the donkey or the elephant. He is the Lamb of God.

    He closes with two charges: don’t hijack Jesus for a political party, and don’t demonize people who disagree with you. Then he prays for the candidates, the country, and every believer who will walk into a booth.

    Key Scriptures: Romans 13; 1 Timothy 2:1–4; John 19:11; Mark 12:13–17; Matthew 19:4–5; Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 140:12; Matthew 25; Deuteronomy 10:19; Joshua 5.

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