Ephesians: Gifted

Ephesians 4:7-14 

Likely, we’ve all heard someone described as “gifted”. Usually, this word is used to describe a special type of person that possesses unique qualities. It carries the idea that most people—us common folks—cannot and should not be described as gifted. In our church experience we tend to regard orators, music leaders or outgoing winsome personalities who are good at evangelism, as gifted. In honest moments we wonder why others are gifted and we are not. But the Bible does not support these notions at all and, in fact, teaches us that every child of God is gifted by God to contribute to the grand design of God in building the Church of God. 

Ephesians: Unity

Ephesians 4:1-6

We find ourselves living in a world filled with people who we disagree with about a great many matters. As Christians, we also find ourselves in a Church world filled with people we disagree with about a great many matters. Is unity even possible? What can be do to foster unity with others? This talk comes from Ephesians 4:1-6 but also comes from the many experiences I’ve had over three decades of deep involvement in the Church. Unity is not only attainable for God’s people, it is the very prayer of Jesus (John 17). This message is very practical in helping us to work through disagreements with others.

Ephesians: The Power Within

Ephesians 3:20-21

One of the greatest tactics of Satan is to try to convince us that we are powerless. He lies to us and tells us that we aren't holy enough, righteous enough, prayerful enough to be effective. He tells us we are still too sinful for our words and actions to make any real difference in people's lives. When we allow ourselves to be duped, the result is discouragement, silence and inaction. The benediction of Paul in these verses is a reminder that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can imagine - through us! We are more powerful than we know! This is a message of encouragement to the child of God to not shrink back in unbelief but speak out for God and keep laboring for the advance of the gospel.

Ephesians: Experiencing God's Love

Ephesians 3:14-19

This message from Ephesians 3 is a prayer for God’s love to be made real in us. When we come to faith we begin to understand the Father’s love in small measure, but this understanding grows more and more through the years. Even after we learn all the Scriptures about love and hear countless teachings about God’s love, even after singing songs for years about God’s love—we still need fresh revelations! The prayer of Paul is, essentially, that we would fully comprehend what we already know, namely, God’s love. Knowing this love is more than head knowledge. God Himself, at times, opens the eyes of our heart and enables us to see it in all of its glory. My prayer for this message is that it would create in us a greater hunger to experience the love of God above all else and that we’d be stirred to seek after it. Nothing is more transformative than experiencing the loving embrace of the Heavenly Father! 

Standalone Sermons: Good Samaritan

I intended on resuming our sermon series on the book of Ephesians but about the middle of this week I felt moved to stay on the theme of racial justice. I’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of content lately and trying to get perspectives from every angle. Listening to a black pastor (TD Jakes) share his story this week with Hillsong NYC pastor (Carl Lenz) left me undone. I admit that there is so much suffering in the world that I can hear about and feel numb to. But when I listened to this pastor, it was as if the Lord Himself was helping me to understand and feel empathy. In one point of the conversation the pastor was talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan and it became the seed for this week's sermon.

Ephesians: Another Layer of Grace

Ephesians 3

Continuing on with our Ephesians series, we find ourselves at the beginning of chapter 3. In this passage, Paul writes about the Grace of God in a way we don't often think. Looking deeper at this word we reclaim an even fuller meaning of this amazing, unmerited favor of God.

Ephesians: Household of God

Ephesians 2:11-22

As this terrible pandemic is affecting our planet there is another kind of pandemic that has been going on for years and shows no signs of letting up soon. I’m talking about the spiritual pandemic of God’s people being bored, sour, cynical, divided, ungrateful and cold in heart. It’s not surprising that this widespread problem is happening because the prophets, apostles and Jesus himself predicted it would happen in the latter days. The verses in Ephesians 2:11-22 are a medicine for the mind. When we take this “medicine” consistently through the practice of contemplation we will find ourselves full of health and life. This message aims to evoke awe and gratitude. 

Ephesians: Workmanship

Ephesians 2:10

It is a universal belief that we humans are responsible to shape our own lives into something significant. The Christian faith actually teaches the opposite - God Himself is the shaper, the artist, the potter. The implications of this are wonderful! Instead of floundering in our moral inadequacies in the effort to become people of virtue, we trust God Himself to fashion us into the image of His Son. This message is an encouragement to all who struggle to live up to the high standards of the Word of God. We can relax on the Potter’s wheel and allow the Master Potter to do what He does best. 

Ephesians: Amazing Grace

Ephesians 2:4-9 

This was a message born out of much prayer, tears and anguish. It wasn’t merely another Sunday sermon but I felt like the truths in this passage were life to me in helping me to get through a severe trial. God is so good! He always provides what we need. This life can be hard and many are struggling with anxiety and fear during this pandemic. Scripture encourages us amidst the afflictions of life to set our minds on the glory of God and his glorious plan. When we do that it puts everything in perspective and a certain confidence emerges. My prayer for this message is that it would overwhelm hearts with hope! 

Ephesians: Dead in Sin

Ephesians 2:1-3 

In order to appreciate how amazing grace is, we must understand how desperate our condition would be apart from grace. That’s what this message is all about. The first few verses of Ephesians 2 describe who we are apart from grace. It’s not just that we needed a little help or that Jesus made our already good life a little sweeter. The writer of the epistle describes our life apart from grace as spiritually dead. A dead person cannot hear, cannot see, cannot respond. We were hopeless. The Apostle Paul presses us to remember how desperate our condition was in order that the glorious grace of God would be magnified. It is humbling and even painful to consider that apart from Christ we would be enemies of God under His wrath. But the more we understand just how lost we were the more our hearts are moved to gratitude, awe and worship.