This Sunday, as we get into Ephesians chapter 4, we turn a corner in the letter. Paul's focus pivots from the doctrinal to the practical. He begins to answer the question, "Now what?". Up until this point in Ephesians, Paul has been proclaiming who we are in Christ how we became the Church. From this point on, he will be instructing us in what the Church is called to do and what the Church is supposed to look like.
The problem in the Ephesian Church was pride. This led to disunity. What was needed was right thinking, that would lead to love of God and the neighbor. We are weak. Unable to accomplish this, Christ must dwell in our hearts so that we love, and the Gospel must inform our thinking so that we see others the same way God sees us. It is for this reason Paul is driven to his knees, so that the glory of God would dwell in the Church through the glory revealed in Christ. That the glory of Christ would dwell in our hearts and minds!
This week, as we get into the third chapter of Ephesians, Paul proclaims the wondrous mystery that Gentiles are full heirs and recipients of the unsearchable riches of Christ. And just as amazing is the fact that Paul was chosen to be the one to bring that message - though now he does so in chains. Come and hear about the mystery made known to Paul...and to us!
This week, as we look at the second half of Ephesians chapter 2, we will again be confronted with some very bad news - especially for those of us who are Gentiles. However, that bad news makes the good news that Paul shares even better. Come and hear how those of us who were "far off" have been "brought near" through Christ. All the walls have come down!
In Ephesians 2:1-10 Paul reminds us where our confidence of salvation rests. It is not in our works, but it is in the grace of God. As we walk this path of salvation by grace through faith, we are reminded of where we came from, who we are in Christ, and why God saved us.
This week, as we finish the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul turns from praise to prayer - praying that the Church would be able to know and trust God even more. There are many in this culture who would say that there are certain things that we just can't know for certain - especially when it comes to religion. Thankfully, we have a God who not only wants to be known, but has made Himself known through His Word and especially through His Son.
This week, as we begin our new series, Grace & Peace, we dig into Ephesians, chapter 1, to see where grace and peace ultimately come from. Through this "salvation symphony", written by Paul, we will see that the Triune God is the doer of all the verbs and the only who gets the credit for these spiritual blessings.
This Sunday, in our final psalm of the summer, we will be looking at Psalm 42. In this psalm, we get an intimate look at the psalmist's conversation with himself. On the one hand he feels like he is spiritually dry and deserted. On the other hand, he knows of the steadfast love of his God. Hear why what we know about God is more important than what we feel about ourselves.
In Psalm 14, we see a "fool" who says there is no God. But, as we get to the heart of the matter, we see that this is not an intellectual problem, but a moral problem. Our issue as sinful humans is that we don't want a God who will bring justice. However, in the end, the justice our Savior God brings is our only hope.
This week as we continue our Summer in the Psalms, the author of Psalm 146 invites us to ponder Who Will You Trust? We are reminded of the mortality of human beings and because of this, our only hope of salvation is in the One true God, specifically as he has revealed himself in Christ Jesus our Savior.
