Sermon Video: Beyond Our Imagination - Ephesians 3:20-21

What is God able to do?  More than we can ask or imagine.

What does that mean?  Set aside whatever ideas pop into your head about personal enrichment, God isn't in the business of giving you wealth, power, or fame because those ideas as much too SMALL.  God's plans and purposes exceed or imagination, they don't fulfill it.  

What God will actually do is utilize the Holy Spirit that resides within God's people to continue their process of transformation into Christ-likeness.  Remember, when Jesus performed miracles it wasn't the healing that caused the furor from his critics, it was when Jesus forgave their sins.  Spiritual miracles are far more impressive than physical ones, and God has committed to this transformation of each and every person that has been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.

Sermon Video: How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ - Ephesians 3:14-19

The Apostle Paul relates to the church at Ephesus his prayer for them: that they might be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to enable Christ to dwell in their hearts.  Paul also prays that they might be fully "rooted and established in love," a necessary step to grasping the full extent of the love of Christ, which is our path to being truly filled with "the fullness of God."

Sermon Video: The Mystery of Christ - Ephesians 3:1-13

Paul interrupts his own thought about being a prisoner of Christ Jesus to reflect upon the journey that brought him to the place of being the Apostle to the Gentiles.  That act of God's grace was part of the revelation of the mystery of Christ: God's plan to include the Gentiles in his covenant people by calling all men equally to repent and  believe in Jesus.

Sermon Video: We are God's Dwelling Place - Ephesians 2:19-22

Leave it to God's grace to go far beyond our expectations.  The Apostle Paul begins by telling the Gentile followers of Jesus at Ephesus that because of Jesus they are no longer foreigners and strangers, but instead citizens of God's kingdom, AND members of God's own household.  This would seem blessing enough, it is a tremendous boon to all who come to Jesus by faith.  And yet, Paul goes further, telling us that not only has God made us citizens of his kingdom, and members of his household, God has gone much further by choosing to dwell within us.  

In the Ancient World, having God dwell among us would be a big deal.  The tabernacle and Temple reflected this blessing.  Having God literally take upon himself humanity, in the Incarnation, was an shocking step forward.  This is more.  God isn't just WITH us (amazing as that is), God is WITHIN us.  The implications are many and varied, all wondrous to consider.

Sermon Video: One Humanity United in Christ - Ephesians 2:15-18

Having made peace with God through his own sacrifice, how does Jesus envision his followers moving forward?  Jesus sees us as one humanity.  All divisions, distinctions, barriers, and whatever else the human heart may attempt, are made null and void.  In Christ we are one.

In Paul's day the focus was upon unity between his Jewish brethren and the gentile believers who had come to God through Jesus.  The Covenant of Moses at Sinai stood between the two groups, which is why God as its original author chose to set it aside in the New Covenant.

Sermon Video: Brought Near to God by the Blood of Christ - Ephesians 2:11-14

The amazing salvation provided by Jesus Christ has implications that ripple across every area we might consider.  In this case, the Apostle Paul focuses on how the Blood of Christ has brought us near to God.  Previous barriers have been eliminated.  Previous assistance (Temple, Priest, animal sacrifice) has ceased to be needed.  Now, because of Jesus, was can commune directly with God.

To illustrate this wondrous development.  Paul tells us that Jesus has destroyed the dividing wall that separated into groups (Gentiles, Jewish women, Jewish men, Jewish priests) those who sought God's presence at the Temple.

Sermon Video: God has a plan for each one of us - Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:8-9 is an amazing ode to God's plan to save those who trust in Christ by grace.  However, God's plan for his people doesn't stop with saving their souls, God has a plan for each one of us here in this life.  What is it?

To do good works.  In a mind-blowing revelation, Paul reveals that God has prepared opportunities ahead-of-time which those whom he has renewed through the Holy Spirit are equipped to accomplish.  When a potential good deed is in our path, it isn't a random moment, rather it is our Heavenly Father's desire to partner with us in fulfilling his will.

Sermon Video: Saved by Grace - Ephesians 2:8-9

The essence of the Gospel is our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is a simple message, but also the most powerful one that ever has been.  It challenges human pride and it rests upon the love of God.  Attempts have been made to supplement God's grace with human effort, these have all ended in the failure that such folly deserves.  In the end we are left with this joyous message: By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

Sermon Video: Seated at the Table with Jesus - Ephesians 2:6-7

We don't deserve to be there, but that's not something that God worries about.  Instead, God chose to bless us, all of us who believe in Jesus, by offering us a place at the heavenly banquet alongside our Lord and Savior.  The kindness of God never ends.

Because of His Great Love for Us - Ephesians 2:4-5, Sermon Video

The Apostle Paul offers us hope with a well placed "But."  Immediately after proclaiming that humanity is spiritually "dead" Paul continues by telling us that God didn't leave us in that woeful state, but did something about it "because of his great love for us."  Love was the answer to humanity's turmoil, God's love.  God worked with mercy to provide salvation through Jesus Christ.

The (Spiritually) Living Dead - Ephesians 2:1-3, sermon video

The diagnosis is terminal.  The patient will not survive.  That's what the Apostle Paul wants us to understand in the verses prior to his great ode to salvation by grace through faith in Ephesians 2:8-9.  He demonstrates the seriousness of humanity's plight by calling those who are Lost apart from God "dead."  They are physically alive, but spiritually dead.  The grip of sin is tight upon them.

This is the state of humanity, individually and collectively, apart from our Creator.  For this reason we need to be saved, we cannot save ourselves.

Sermon Video: Jesus: The Name Above All Names - Ephesians 1:19b-23

In one of the Apostle Paul's beautiful rabbit trails in his letters, he muses on the power of God that both works in/through his people and raised Jesus from the dead.  This thought leads Paul to contemplate the glory and authority that belongs to Jesus, as the risen Lord, declaring it to be above all others that every will be.

Sermon Video: Thanking God for you - Ephesians 1:15-19a

After reminding the church at Ephesus about God's wondrous blessings given to them in Christ, the Apostle Paul continues by sharing that he personally thanks God for them.  Not only is Paul thankful to God for saving them, Paul also prays for them that they might grow in their faith and know God more.

Sermon Video: The Holy Spirit is our guarantee - Ephesians 1:11-14

Already in Ephesians Paul has shared with us the awesome benefits of being "in him," that is, in Jesus Christ: (1) We have become the adopted sons and daughters of God, (2) and we will be a part of the unification of all things with God at the final fulfillment of God's will.  Here he offers yet another blessing: We have a guarantee that the first two things will certainly come to pass.  That guarantee is none other than the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, God himself now dwells not simply among us, but within us.

Sermon Video: The Endgame of God's Grace - Ephesians 1:7-10

What is the ultimate goal and purpose of God's grace?  There are many amazing purposes that lead to this conclusion, among them the adoption into the family of God of the redeemed, but the endgame of God's grace is unity.  Unity of everything under Christ to God.  At present, everything suffers from disunity, even the world itself.  The final triumph of God's grace will be the full reunion that restores the original created order and purpose of God.

Sermon Video: An Introduction to God's Grace - Ephesians 1:1-6

The first half of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus is an ode to the wonders and majesty of the grace of God.  Fittingly, Paul delves into that very subject as soon as the customary introduction is completed.

As Philip Yancy's book asked, "What's so amazing about grace?"  Paul has the answer for you.

Sermon Video: A Grieving Abraham is Swindled - Genesis 22:20-23:20

Following the death of his beloved wife Sarah, Abraham seeks to buy a plot of land from his neighbors for her tomb.  For both religious and cultural reasons, Abraham rebuffs their offer to let him "borrow" space, and the offer to take the tomb for free.  After Abraham's need is well known, Ephron offers to sell him the cave, with its adjoining field for an exorbitant price.  In other words, he takes advantage of Abraham's desperation.

The parallels to our modern legal and economic systems are legion.  Payday advance schemes, legalized gambling corporations beyond count, cryptocurrencies, medical scams, religious and political fundraising designed to line the pockets of those on the receiving end, Wall street get rich quick schemes, fraud in government programs, unscrupulous landlords and tenants, and last but not least, the straight-up scammers who lie to steal from the most vulnerable.  We are awash in people trying to take advantage of the vulnerable.

What do we as followers of Jesus do about it?  We refuse to participate in such things, even when legal, we warn others about them, and we stand with the vulnerable to protect them.

Sermon Video: Abraham: A foreigner in a foreign land, Genesis 21:22-34

The interactions between Abimelek and Abraham serve as a template for God's teaching on the respect and kindness God expects from his followers with respect to those on the outside-looking-in.  Whether those in need are foreigners or outcasts in our own society, the followers of Jesus are called to imitate his compassionate outreach.  For Abraham, this meant promising Abimelek that in the future when his descendants had the power to do so, they would treat Abimelek's descendants with kindness.

The modern Church has struggled, especially in the West, to fulfill this calling, we need to set aside our own political or cultural notions and instead truly embody the Fruit of the Spirit.

Sermon Video: The God of the downtrodden - Genesis 21:8-21

After the birth of Isaac, both Sarah and Abraham fail to treat Hagar and Ishmael with kindness.  In fact, Sarah seems to hate them both, and Abraham does little to provide for either of them.  God is different.  God chooses to intervene and protect them both.  When they are at their lowest point, having lost hope of even living to see tomorrow, God provides.  Why?  Among others reasons, it is because God is the God of the downtrodden, the lost and forgotten, the outcasts and rejects.  Why?  Because God's love and mercy delights in it.

Sermon Video: God's Promises - The Birth of Isaac, Genesis 21:1-7

 

After decades of waiting, the promised son of Abraham and Sarah arrives. What does this miracle birth tells us about God's promises? About us as we wait for them to be fulfilled?