Ephesians: Sexual Purity

Ephesians 5:3 

We live in a generation with unprecedented sexual temptation. Inappropriate content is not only easy to find but it aggressively finds us. It comes at us from every direction. As a result, many of God’s people have fallen into deep dark struggles. Some carry a burden of bondage and guilt daily. The Christian sexual ethic stands in stark contrast to what is generally acceptable in society. The standard of purity that God intends for His people goes way beyond just outward abstinence. As new creatures in Christ a whole new way of thinking emerges. The mind is renewed and people we may be physically attracted to are no longer viewed lustfully as objects but, rather, with honor as people made in God’s image. Sex is good. It is designed by God to deepen intimacy between a man and woman in the covenant of marriage. It is holy and not to be trifled with or cheapened. This message is a clear call to sexual purity with practical instructions on how to live pure in a sex-crazed society.

Standalone Sermons: Revival or Survival?

This message is not so much of a sermon or teaching but is what I call a pastoral talk. There is a prophetic element to the talk, as well. In other words, there's a strong sense that this is a timely word from the Lord for the Church. The message was birthed out of an unshakable burden I've carried during this pandemic over countless believers who are drifting away from the Lord. The enemy of the Church (Satan) is taking advantage of the pandemic to push God's people into addictions, doubts, discouragement, fear and other snares. The message is intended to be call to the Church to stand firm. And also a call to pray for our dear brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling. 

Ephesians: Forgiving Each Other

Ephesians 4:32

Remembering our God’s great works of the past enables us to trust God for tomorrow so that we may be faithful to our Lord today. The Lord calls us to be faithful daily by forgiving others as we have been forgiven.

Ephesians: Replacing Hate With Love

Ephesians 4:31

Since the first batch of humans were made, there have always been tensions between people. To be human is to experience being hurt, being slighted, being wronged by people. It’s also very natural as humans to respond to certain people with anger. It’s easy for us to become bitter and even malicious. The Christian faith, however, teaches us to do the opposite. The first part of this message shows what each of these words are: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Because the verse urges us to put all these away, the last part of the message talks about the importance of continual renewal of the heart and fresh infillings of God’s love. 

Ephesians: Grieving the Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 

I probably say this too frequently but this message is one of the most important to understand. It’s on just one single verse—“do not grieve the Holy Spirit”. Most Christians have heard the verse, and it’s sometimes used to really bang Christians over the head. But the meaning is so much deeper than “hey, you better behave or you’ll tick off the Almighty”. It’s really about love and, specifically, this love relationship we have with God that is the supreme motivation for doing right. We all struggle at times to find within ourselves the motivation to resist sin, to love others, to forgive, to do the right thing. This message will open up a fountain of revelation to put within you a deep and abiding motivation to do what is pleasing to the heart of God.

Ephesians: Power of Words

Ephesians 4:29

This message is intended to help us understand the power of the words we speak. Every single day we speak things to people around us, and our words can be a fountain of life. They can be refreshing and grace-filled. Our words can be Gospel-saturated, Holy Spirit-drenched words. Words aptly spoken, tailor-fit gems that enrich the soul. This message is a reminder that we are representing God with our words everywhere we go. Our whole lives speak. We are, in fact, called “living epistles”, living animated letters speaking important things to the world. Let our words be kind and gracious, wise and compassionate. Let us not speak unhelpful words or words that confuse or words that hurt. May our words heal and build; may they advance the kingdom of God in our generation.

Ephesians: Thieves to Kings

Ephesians 4:28

Chris Waugh shares a message from Ephesians 4:28: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Ephesians: Taming Anger

Ephesians 4:26-27 

Anger has caused more ruin than perhaps any other thing. It has destroyed marriages, friendships, churches, companies, music groups and entire nations. It is the reason for violence and has led to hundreds of thousands of people being slaughtered in battle. Many people are in prison for life because of anger. It’s not a new problem but is as old as Cain and Abel. Learning to tame this “tiger” is essential in order to possess a joyful life. Many people are in despair secretly over the way anger hijacks their heart and drives them to say and do foolish things. Or the way they are plunged into an inward confusion. There’s hope. Even the most angry people can learn from the Master (Jesus) and become meek and lowly in heart. This is the wonder and glory of God’s grace! This message will teach you not only how to control your anger when it surfaces, but teach you how to become the kind of person who is slow to anger by default.

Ephesians: Speak the Truth

Ephesians 4:25

As the nature of truth has become increasingly unclear in our culture, the church is charged to “put away falseness” and “speak the truth” to our neighbors. This message focuses on how the church interacts with the God of truth and how we ought to interact with each other more deeply in truth.

Ephesians: You Must!

Ephesians 4:17-24

As humans we find ourselves being commanded to do a great many things by various people throughout our lives. When we hear a command we immediately begin to process whether we really need to heed the command or not. In other words, we decide how serious we should take the command. That's what this message is about. It's centered around the urgent words of the Apostle to us - "you must". The real punch of the sermon is about the way we have a tendency to desensitize ourselves from God's commands. It's a call to (as Scripture describes) tremble at the Word. This message is for everyone but especially for those who feel a measure of hardness of heart setting in.