A Place Of Grace

It was the first Sunday of this year when we first opened this powerful letter that God, through the apostle Paul, sent to the church at Ephesus. And now here we sit— twenty-five messages later—coming to the close of this incredible letter. For many of you, this letter has become familiar ground. Week…

The American Revolution gave rise to dozens of rallying cries— In March 1775 in an address by Patrick Henry, written was an immortal line calling his fellow man to stand, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! ” Henry’s speech convinced the Second Virginia…

I had to chuckle as I read Paul’s opening words to the next portion of this letter… “ A Final Word: ”… It’s like a pastor’s last point in his sermon, you know we are not done yet, but we are getting close. There is still yet a crucial point to be made and these words draw the listeners ears to attention.…

Paul, in Ephesians 5:22-6:9 presents a vision for family life that is deeply rooted in the gospel. He calls for a radical transformation of household relationships, framing them as opportunities for demonstrating submission and mutual respect, reflecting the relationship between Christ and the church.…

Who we are before God is what matters most ... this is true in all of our relationships and situations of life… and our workplace is no exception! Today we have a passage that still remains in the household text. It concerns slaves and masters. While we have a particular view of slavery in America, and…

It’s a special day as we look at celebrating our young people stepping from childhood to adulthood. That transition sometimes in our minds and hearts creates a dynamic in the home that tends to become less clear. They remain our children yet they have now grown into adulthood. What does this dynamic…

Let me begin AGAIN where Paul began in verse 21 with a command that applies to every believer : “ Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. ” That means the tone of this entire passage ( from husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters ) is not domination. It is humility.…

Today we’re stepping into a passage that, if I am honest, carries a lot of weight. For some, it raises questions. For others, it brings tension. And for some, it may even carry pain. We’re going to be in Ephesians 5:21–33 —a passage that talks about marriage, about submission, and about love. And before…

In our passage today we are shifting form looking at and dealing with specifics in our lives and hearts to more GENERAL areas for us to consider. There is a strong emphasis of some BASICs here of living and walking this Christian life! As we make this shift our passage begins with “SO” or “THEREFORE”…

When I originally started my sermon last week it was going to be one message… due to time constraints and a desire for us to get a fuller picture I broke this into two Sundays. Verses 1-7 developed a picture for us concerning the DARKNESS of this world and even that we can find ourselves struggling with…

My wife and I could not understand why our two year old son was hitting his face with his toy phone. As new parents we felt this was not normal. It was a few days later that my wife determined it was my fault that our son was hitting his face. As Lisa observed me speaking on the phone she noticed how…

Someone once stated: “ If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down .” This statement is true of our Christian walk as well. Fortunate for us, we are not left wondering what is is that we need to “ give up ”. As we continue in this letter of Ephesians Paul clearly lays out for you and…

Friday we saw Death Had No Power At the Cemetery we celebrated Death Has No Grip NOW… consider with me how Death Has No Victory! The resurrection firmly establish Jesus Christ’s VICTORY over Sin & Death… HE HAS RISEN! Why do we answer “Indeed”??? INDEED= without question, undeniable, it is reality or…

Some may look at the title I have for tonight as we just finished remembering Christ Death ( communion )… no doubt each of us in this room have been impacted by death… and all of us face death one day. In Romans 5:12 we read… When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death…

There is a popular Naval Incident shared: A captain's order in a crisis carries authority because of their rank . A famous story tells of a battleship Captain encountering a light while at sea. He sends a message, "Change your course 10 degrees south." The reply comes: "Change your course 10 degrees…

CHI Health Article … Some 30 trillion cells make up the human body. Miniscule but efficient, cells do the work that makes the body function… (Each cell has a function and a lifespan. A healthy cell in a healthy body will do its function effectively during it’s lifespan) When the body gets cancer, normal…

For our passage today I will be taking two weeks to cover this in its entirety. There is a wealth of vital information and some pertinent directives in this passage that I feel deserve our time and our focus. I do not want to rush our study through this wonderful letter to the Ephesians and I am sure…

We have reached the literary HINGE POINT of this book of Ephesians. There is a distinct shift… We read in Ephesians 4:1 the opening word “ THEREFORE ”... This is a very common and effective way that Paul communicates his points in his letters, a shift occurs that drives home the emphasis:. There is an…

There’s a cherished moment in history when King Louis 14th of France was attending a sumptuous banquet. The hall was filled with nobility, all more than a little intimidated by the king's stature. Suddenly, a small figure dashed in — the king's son! Ignoring the opulence around him, the boy climbed into…

I think some of you had a difficult week. Some of you may have more questions than answers as this week closes… I read an interesting quote this week that has stuck with me as I prepared for my message this week… When Charles Swindoll was asked by a student what is the most impacting thing God had taught…

Paul writes this letter to the Ephesian church around 61AD … It would have been roughly 30 years earlier that Jesus would have His disciples around Him, standing at what some called the gates to the underworld… a center for worship to Satan and many other false gods. It is here that we have the words…

When we think of walls coming down or great barriers coming down for many of us the thought of the Berlin wall that separated East and West Europe comes to mind. The great Iron Curtain. This wall was very physical (Baltic Sea to Adriatic Sea), but it was also political (communist on one side and capitalist…

Today we are looking at GOD’S WORKMANSHIP and discovering the MASTERPEICE WORK OF GRACE ... In Genesis 1 we see God’s workmanship… after six days of creation with mankind being the pinacol of this creation God says “ It is VERY GOOD! ”… The Greek word for workmanship or masterpiece is Poema (poiema)……

I love the hymn sweet hour of prayer… There have been men of God who spent 3hours in prayer because a day was going to be harder and many of us if we pray for 3 minutes feel as though it was an hour!!!! Prayer is HARD WORK ! It is a POWERFUL privilege God has given the believer! Today we are looking…