Episodes
Sunday Jul 28, 2013
Ephesians 6: On A Mission From God - We Stand Firm...
Sunday Jul 28, 2013
Sunday Jul 28, 2013
We stand firm.
Paul wraps up his letter to the Ephesian church
with a solemn reminder: on our mission from God, we have enemies
actively looking to sabotage us, oppose us at every turn, & attempt
to take us out. These enemies are not people, political rivals, or
military adversaries; rather, they are identified as the devil & the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
So, what are Paul’s instructions for us to follow so we can endure in the face of such opposition?
Be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might. Put on the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the
devil… Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
He reminds us that our source of strength & power, as well as our
ability to stand firm in the face of opposition, is firmly rooted in our
faith in & dependence upon Christ. Paul uses the mental picture of a
fully armed & armored Roman soldier as a means of communicating the
ways we are prepare ourselves for the daily onslaught of evil.
We do this when we stand firmly in truth, holding fast against the
lies, imaginations, deceptions, & alternate realities/futures
confronting us. We stand righteously, doing right, living in a holy
manner, repenting of our sin/wrong-doing, & rejecting indecency
& dishonor. We stand in the peace that comes from the Good News of
the gospel, which is a stark contrast to the chaos & conflict of the
world around us. We stand on faith, reliant & assured that the One
we put our trust in, Christ, parries every attack of fear & doubt
the enemy launches at us. We stand confident in our salvation by Christ,
knowing that He is bringing us to wholeness: body, soul, mind, &
spirit. We stand on God’s Word, the Scriptures, which transform our
hearts and minds, exposing lies, imaginations, & attacks of the evil
one. We stand in prayer, empowered, filled, & led by the Holy
Spirit for every area of life.
We stand in the strength of the
LORD & the power of His might. And when the day of evil comes, we
will STILL be standing firm.
Sunday Jul 14, 2013
Ephesians 6: On A Mission From God - Navigating Relationships
Sunday Jul 14, 2013
Sunday Jul 14, 2013
As we've been trekking through Ephesians over the last several weeks, one of my takeaways has been that we Christ-followers are on a mission from God, & each of us are called to live for the praise of His glory in our local context - looking to do good... Basically, as Jesus' representatives, our role to do & be what Jesus would be "doing & being" if He were in our shoes. As I have been thinking through the WHENs, WHEREs, & HOWs to live out my mission, I found that I was thinking in abstracts, not about specific relationships where I can "do good." Fortunately, the section of Ephesians we're looking at this week gets up close & personal about this, & challenges us to start with our 'common relationships' e.g. the people we interact with the most, including (but not limited to) our spouse, kids, co-workers, bosses, family, & friends. As I re-read this passage, I am convicted & challenged - it doesn't do any good for me to do some seemingly great thing in Christ's Name if I am being a tool to my wife, frustrating/provoking my kids, slacking at work, & disrespecting my boss, etc... To live incongruently like that undermines the mission I've been entrusted with & drags my (& Jesus'!) name & reputation through the mud. Instead, I want to take the time & expend the effort to be the best man, husband, father, friend, & employee I can be - because the people I interact with in those situations are worth it. And, one day, I will stand before God to give an account of how I lived... I have a feeling that He's not going to start asking about the mission trips I went on, or the people I led to Christ. I believe He will start with asking about how I lived my mission with my wife. Kids. Friends.... you get the idea...
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
Ephesians 5: On a Mission from God
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
Sunday Jul 07, 2013
I didn't play organized sports until I was about 10 years old - I can still remember the butterflies from my first trip onto the baseball diamond for tryouts for a REAL league. I'd played catch with my dad, but I'd never been a part of a baseball team, & I didn't really know what I should do when I made my way out onto the field... so I looked for someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. And I followed him. His name was Robert, & this wasn't his first rodeo. I imitated his confident demeanor. Went where he did on the field. Circled the fly balls like he did, & hit the cut-off man with my throws. Like he did. He never knew that I was looking to him as my example, but my tryout was a success largely because I'd had him to copy, & for that I am eternally grateful. Having someone to imitate, someone WORTH imitating is priceless - & in Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul tells the church at Ephesus (& us!) to imitate God in all of our behaviors - just like a little kid would imitate someone they looked up to... like I did with Robert on the baseball diamond. Imitating God gives us an example to follow that helps us in the words we speak with others, with holiness & sexuality, & in our interactions/relationships with others. God never intended that we would have to just figure stuff out on our own - rather, He sent Christ so we would have an example to follow & we would know what it looks like for a person to live a life submitted to God, obeying Him in every area of life, navigating through the myriad 'grey areas' that life is full of. The goal is that each of us would be able to say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," & serve as living, breathing examples of Christ-followers...
Friday Jun 28, 2013
Ephesians 4: On a Mission from God - Be Like Jesus
Friday Jun 28, 2013
Friday Jun 28, 2013
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working through the first 3 chapters of the letter to the Ephesians – there are a few recurring themes Paul touches on that jump out at me:
- We are each called to live for the praise of His glory – namely, to make Him famous
- God, in His mercy has saved us by His grace through our faith in Christ, not by our works, so no one can boast about it
- We are God’s handiwork (His masterpiece), created new in Him to do good in His Name wherever we go
- We are ALL on a mission from God – to do what Jesus would be doing if He was walking in our shoes
Sunday Jun 16, 2013
Ephesians 3: On A Mission From God - Fuel for the Mission
Sunday Jun 16, 2013
Sunday Jun 16, 2013
In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul proclaims what he calls “the mystery of Christ.” This mystery, revealed at just the right time, is that ALL people (not just those of Hebrew descent) can become part of God’s family because of the gospel good news of salvation by grace in Christ (Ephesians 3:1-6). The mission from God Paul is pursuing is directed by this good news & God’s desire that all would see & know the hope available in Christ Jesus. In that context, what really jumps out at me from Chapter 3 is Paul’s prayer for his readers; it’s a prayer that describes what he sees as the essential “fuel” for the mission which God has given to us. He prays the following: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV You get that? Central to living out our mission from God & our being filled with everything we need from Him requires that we:
- -Be strengthened by the Holy Spirit
- -Have Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith
- -Be rooted & grounded in His love
- -Come to an ever increasing awareness, comprehension, & experience of the BIG-ness of Christ’s love
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
Ephesians 2: On A Mission From God - Embracing Grace
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
There’s a section of Ephesians 2 that has been bouncing around my head: God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith... Ephesians 2:4-8 ESV God brought us out of sin & death & into wholeness & life in Christ by the gift of His grace. This grace isn’t something we could ever earn or deserve; God’s grace not only provides our salvation (vv.5&8 - by grace you’ve been saved!), it is also an ever present reminder that it is THROUGH His grace & BY His grace God promises to always interact with us. Think about it: there is no amount we have ever (or could ever) sin that would be too much for God’s grace to cover. It is big, wide, & deep enough to cover a multitude of wrongs that we have done. That isn’t an invitation to sin with reckless abandon (Romans 5:20-6:4); rather, it gives us confidence & security that our standing with God isn’t dependent upon us! God’s grace frees us to have & exercise living faith in Christ, & to persevere in this faith for as long as we have breath. Grace to you!
Sunday Jun 02, 2013
Ephesians 1: On A Mission From God
Sunday Jun 02, 2013
Sunday Jun 02, 2013
Today, we're beginning a 7 week series through Paul's letter to the Ephesian church. Truly, this is one of my most favorite books in the Bible as it highlights the lived out mission that Christ has given to every one of His followers - to live our lives on purpose - whether we're at work or play, with friends & others, to intentionally live for the praise of God's glory. Our text for today is Ephesians 1