Union Church

Ephesians: For a Life of Love

Today we looked at Ephesians 4:7-16 and saw how Christ supplies us and stabilizes us for a life of love.

 

Sermon Quotes:

Ephesians 4:7-16 

“We need only open a newspaper to see that religious beliefs can cause harm. But to say that religion is bad for you is like saying, “Drugs are bad for you,” without distinguishing cocaine from life-saving medication. In general, religious participation appears to be good for your health and happiness. Turn this data on its head and the trend toward secularization in America is a public-health crisis…Does religion cause violence? It certainly can. But millions of people are driven by their faith to love and serve others. And Christianity, in particular, has served as a fertilizer for democracy, a motivation for justice, and a mandate for healing. If we think the world would be less violent without it, we may need to check our facts.” - Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity

“Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God's mercy and grace.” Tim and Kathy Keller 

“He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.” - Ephesians 4:11-16, The Message Translation

 

New Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you for your love and your truth. We are grateful that Jesus has come to us, forgiven our sins, and is making all things new.

As we navigate this life, we ask for your grace to sustain us. Help our hearts to be centered on you. May your Spirit guide every thought, word, and deed. Increase our love for you and the people around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen.

Matthew 4:18-22 - Practicing the Way

Listen in as Anthony and Jon walk through Matthew 4:18-22 and look at how the word and way of Jesus help us discover his will for our lives.

Ephesians: The Power of One

Listen in as we look at Ephesians 4:4-6 and see the 7 things that hold God's people together.

 

Notes//Quotes:

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Cor 12:12-20

“If we truly love the church, we will bear with her in her failings, endure her struggles, believe her to be the beloved bride of Christ, and hope for her final glorification. The church is the hope of the world—not because she gets it all right, but because she is a body with Christ for her Head.” - Kevin DeYoung, The Glory of Plodding

Hopelessness stems from identity crisis:

I am what I have

I am what I do

I am what other people think of me.

Henri Nouwen

“Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things-the weather, human relationships, the economy, the political situation, and so on-will get better. Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.” - Henri Nouwen

“Eighty six years I have served Christ, and he never did me any injury, how then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?” Polycarp

 

“The truth of God’s limitless power would be absolutely terrifying were it not paired with the truth of his limitless goodness.” Jen Wilkin

“I have come to feel that the primary reality of which we have to take account in seeking for a Christian impact on public life is the Christian congregation. How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross? I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it. I am, of course, not denying the importance of the many activities by which we seek to challenge public life with the gospel– evangelistic campaigns, distribution of Bibles and Christian literature, conferences, and even books such as this one. But I am saying that these are all secondary, and that they have power to accomplish their purpose only as they are rooted in and lead back to a believing community. - Lesslie Newbigin

One Body - We belong. We are not alone. We are family.

One Spirit - We are empowered. We are gifted. We are free.

One Hope - We have a future. We will be made new. We can rest in Him.

One Lord - We have a King. Our King is worthy. We live surrendered.

One Faith - We are His children. We believe and trust. We follow our Good Father.

One Baptism- We are pure and forgiven. We walk in newness of life. We will be raised with Him.

One God and Father - We are known. We are loved. Help is near.

One God and Father - We are known. We are loved. Help is near.

Ephesians: The Walk

Listen in as Anthony Garcia walks us through Ephesians 4:1-3 and shows how we are to walk in unity with Christ and one another.

Ephesians: The Prayer

Listen in as we look at Ephesians 3:14-21 and see Paul's prayer for God's people.

Quotes/Cross references: 

Opening quote from the gathering:

"Worship works from the top down, you might say. In worship we don’t just come to show God our devotion and give him our praise; we are called to worship because in this encounter God (re)makes and molds us top-down. Worship is the arena in which God recalibrates our hearts, reforms our desires, and rehabituates our loves. Worship isn’t just something we do; it is where God does something to us. Worship is the heart of discipleship because it is the gymnasium in which God retrains our hearts.” - James K.A. Smith

Ephesians 3:14-21

“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.” - Brother Lawrence, Practice of the Presence of God

"The modern loss of faith does not concern just God or the hereafter. It involves reality itself and makes human life radically fleeting. Life has never been as fleeting as it is today. Not just human life, but the world in general is becoming radically fleeting. Nothing promises duration or substance. Given this lack of Being, nervousness and unease arise." - Byung-Chul Han - The Burnout Society

Prov 4:23

“The reach of a tree depends on its roots. Choose roots over reach." - Karen Swallow Prior

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky." - Fredrick Lehman

"The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands” ― Martin Luther

John 3:16-17

"Jesus is a teacher who doesn’t just inform our intellect but forms our very loves. He isn’t content to simply deposit new ideas into your mind; he is after nothing less than your wants, your loves, your longings…Jesus’s command to follow him is a command to align our loves and longings with his—to want what God wants, to desire what God desires, to hunger and thirst after God and crave a world where he is all in all—a vision encapsulated by the shorthand “the kingdom of God.” - James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love

1 John 3:1

“Prayer does not (merely) equip us for greater works, Prayer is the greater work.” Oswald Chambers

“If you have never known the power of God’s love, then maybe it is because you have never asked to know it - I mean, really asked, expecting an answer.” Fredrick Buechner.

"I will let myself not be overwhelmed with the season, but be overwhelmed with the goodness of God, so I can then overflow with the goodness of God to others. I will be experienced as a blessing by others, to the extent I have slowed down — and counted blessings — and first experience myself as blessed. The greatest gift God graces a soul with is His own presence.” - Ann Voskamp

Ephesians: The Plan

Listen in as Jon discusses Ephesians 3:1-13 and shows how Paul encounters the plan of God in the midst of the paradoxes of life.

Ephesians: A New Covenant Community

Listen in as Anthony Garcia teaches Ephesians 2:19-22 and explores how the church is a city, a family, and a temple.

Ephesians: What could the church look like?

Listen in as we continue our series through Ephesians and look at chapter 2 verses 11-18. What could (or should) the church look like as a response to what Jesus has done? 

Ephesians: Grace, Faith, Works

Listen in as we look through Ephesians 2:8-10 and se how the gospel connects to our lives. 

 

Dorthy Sayers article on "Why Work?"

"Every Good Endeavor" by Tim Keller and Kathy Alsdorf - here

Ephesians: But God

Listen in as we continue our study in the book of Ephesians and how the power of God saves us from sin and makes us a people that pause.