God Pitched His Tent
John 1:14-18
While I was in college I spent two summers working at a camp in Branson, Missouri called Kanakuk. It’s been thirty years, but I still have so many wonderful memories of my time at camp. At K-2, the camp I worked at, we had the same kids for 26 days. During our 26 day terms [...]
“In The Beginning…”
John 1:1-2
I was taught, somewhere along the way in English class, that when you write a paper or give a speech you should “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” I found out much later that it wasn’t my English teacher who dreamed up [...]
The Good News of John
“So That You May Believe…”
If God was going to pick someone to tell His story, John wouldn’t have been a likely candidate. He wasn’t a theologian. He was a fisherman. He wasn’t even-tempered, kind, and loving. He was temperamental, harsh, and difficult to reason with at times. He didn’t meet Jesus at a church picnic. He met Jesus while [...]
Spiritual Warfare: Going on the Offensive
Ephesians 6:17-18
Last week we began studying the last section of Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus. Throughout Paul’s letter he has been encouraging the brothers and sisters in Ephesus by teaching them about the many, many, blessings that God has showered upon His people. Paul taught them that they have been blessed with every spiritual [...]
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Romans 1:1-7
This week, in our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are going to take a look at Romans 1:1-7. These seven verses, in large part, summarize the entire message that Paul wanted to communicate to the brothers and sisters in Rome. It is the “gospel of God,” the good news of [...]
Spirit Filled Work
Ephesians 6:5-9
Several weeks ago we began to take a look at a section of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus that began back in Ephesians 5:18 where Paul encouraged the folks to be filled with the Spirit instead of being filled with wine. We learned that being filled with the Spirit of God leads to [...]
Transformed Relationships
Ephesians 5:21
There is an ever-growing awareness in our society of a general malaise that has left us feeling uneasy about our lives. We are unfulfilled with our present situation and uncertain about our future. We are not content with who we are or what we are doing. There is a gnawing feeling that there has to [...]
Under the Influence
Ephesians 5:18-20
We are living under the influence. There is no way to escape it. There is a conspiracy of influence taking place all over the world. You turn on the television and there are those peering at you through the screen that are doing their best to influence your buying habits, shape your beliefs, and change [...]
Making the Most of the Time
Ephesians 5:15-20
Our God is such a gracious and kind God. Long before we ever recognize His wonderful blessings, long before we ever recognize His involvement in our lives, long before we ever bow our knees and acknowledge His goodness and mercy…He blesses us. Jesus said, 45 …He causes his sun to rise on the evil and [...]
Behavior That Fits Our Belief
Ephesians 5:3-14
The last time we were together and taking a look at Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus we were urged to “imitate God.” If that were the only direction Paul would have given the brothers and sisters in Ephesus, and us, then we would be overwhelmed with the mere thought of imitating God. He [...]
The Imitation of God
Ephesians 5:1-2
Thomas a Kempis was born in 1380 in the village of Kempen near Düsseldorf, Germany. The period in which Thomas was born and lived was called the “Calamitous Century,” because of all of the chaos and turmoil that seemed to be pervasive. Europe was in a state of constant upheaval. The Hundred Years War was [...]
Out With the Old and In With the New: 2
Ephesians 4:25-32
The last time we were together, and studying Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, we talked about the innate need within each of us for change. Believer and unbeliever alike sense that there is something more to life than what we are experiencing. The desire for change is something that believers and unbelievers share [...]
Out With the Old and in With the New
Ephesians 4:25-32
We are in the middle of the year so the thought of New Year’s resolutions are the farthest thing from our minds. As the weeks and months rock along the thoughts of “change” will begin to creep in. It happens every year. You and I will watch the evening news and they will talk about [...]
One Subject. One Professor. One Classroom.
Ephesians 4:20-24
In our study last week we took a look at Ephesians 4:17-19 and we heard Paul tell the followers of Jesus, in Ephesus, that they “must no longer live like the Gentiles do.” He insists on it. He’s adamant. He’s uncompromising. He’s fully aware that the people who will hear his letter read are Gentiles [...]
No More…
Ephesians 4:17-19
What we were is not what we are. That is Paul’s consistent message to those who are “in Christ.” What were we before we came to know Christ? Well, we were just like everyone else who does not know Christ. That may catch some of you off guard at first glance because we live in [...]
What is the Church?
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is much confusion today about the Church? What is it? Why does it exist? How did it come about? What is the purpose of the Church in our modern society? I would say that if you took a poll of people from around town today you would find many different answers to these questions. [...]
Maintaining the Gift of Unity
Ephesians 4:1-3
This morning we are going to focus our time together on the first three verses of the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. As I have studied these three verses this past week I have been drawn again and again to verse 3. Let’s read the first three verses, and as [...]
The Transcendence and Power of Prayer
Ephesians 3:14
Prison can be a lonely place. In a small prison cell the world can close in on you. Confinement is, well, it’s confining. We were born to be free, to move about, and to experience life to its fullest. It is not in our nature to be confined, to be isolated. Yet this was the [...]
Sharing the Truth Whatever the Cost
Ephesians 3:1-13
Over and over again in Scripture we are reminded that there is a cost to be paid for following Jesus. There is a price to be paid if we want to follow faithfully in our Lord’s steps. Jesus said, 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny [...]
Access to the Father
Ephesians 2:14-18
In a world of seven billion people you would think that everyone has at least one friend. In a world of seven billion people you would think that there wouldn’t be anyone who would feel isolated or alienated. In a world of seven billion people you would think that everyone had at least someone to [...]
Alienation to Reconciliation
Ephesians 2:11-13
Paul’s life hung in the balance. While he was traveling with some of his companions he stopped in Jerusalem. One of the men that was traveling with Paul was a Gentile, a man from Ephesus named Trophimus. The Jews were looking for a reason to kill Paul and when they saw Paul at the temple [...]
We Are His Workmanship
Ephesians 2:10
God took Jeremiah down to the potter’s house to teach him a valuable lesson, a lesson that each of us desperately needs to learn this morning. The lesson is so important for us to learn because somehow, some way, we have convinced ourselves that we are the final authority, we are the determiner of what [...]
“But God…”
Ephesians 2:1-3
God had a plan. He made a promise. It was a promise to Abraham to bless him and to make him a great nation. There were twists and turns. Things didn’t go as smoothly as Abraham or his descendants would have liked, but God had a plan. The Jews were a nation, a unique people [...]
Who Am I? I Am His!
Ephesians 1:2-14
God’s ways boggle our minds. His methods of accomplishing His will in each of our lives, and in the history of all of creation, are beyond our comprehension, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t interject our thoughts and opinions about what we think God can do, should do, or will do in any given [...]