“If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you.” (Ephesians 3:2)
These two little phrases are important regarding Paul’s ministry, and our own: “TO ME”/“FOR YOU.” God gave His grace “to” Paul; but God did not give the message of this grace to him just for himself alone; it was so that he could minister it “to” them! Continue reading
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas program last weekend was when B.J. and Amy and Greg sang that beautiful song of the annunciation, which is right out of Luke 1:28, where the angel appeared to Mary and said: “Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you.”
To know that God is “with you” is the greatest blessing there is. That’s the comfort that David knew in Psalm 23, when he said “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME.” He knew he could face anything – even death – because God is with him.
And that is the blessing we celebrate at Christmas time: that God the Son came to earth, to be “with us,” just as our passage for today says:
“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” Continue reading
A few weeks ago, we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation which Martin Luther initiated when he questioned the unbiblical teachings of the church of his day. Emory University in Atlanta actually has a big collection of Lutheran writings, and a couple of years ago, they found this old document, which was printed in 1520, 3 years after the Reformation had begun, on which someone had handwritten a note. It turns out after study that this note is from the hand of Martin Luther himself, who had written a comment on this page, mocking the Pope, who had excommunicated him for his beliefs! It was a surprising discovery, and now of course that document is one of the treasures of Emory University, as they have the very words of Martin Luther Himself on that document!
But although that pamphlet is quite a treasure; the fact is, every one of us has something far greater in our hands today: the very words of God, in the Bible! Our passage for today talks about the confidence we can have in God’s word, and the comfort we can find in it, as well as the attention that we should pay to it. Continue reading
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints …” (Ephesians 1:15)
The smallest little words in scripture can sometimes have the biggest impact — if we are paying attention to them! Such is the case here in Ephesians 1:15, where Paul commends the faith that the Ephesians have in Jesus, and their love for “all” the saints.” Continue reading
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers.” (Ephesians 1:15-16)
Many people seem to think of Christianity solely as their own personal relationship with God. That personal relationship with God IS essential in true Christianity, but it is also not the whole story. Continue reading
After our morning service today, we have the opportunity to stay for soup and sandwiches, sponsored by our student ministry, to support the Hamburg, Germany mission trip that they will be going on this summer. I’m excited that a dozen of our young people are going — because they are following in the footsteps of the mission that Jesus undertook when He came to earth to save us.
We do all of our mission trips, because Jesus first went on mission for us. And He gives us an example here in Philippians 2 of what we should do whenever we go on mission — whether it is across the seas to Germany, or down the road at the CoMMA this week. Let’s look first of all at:
I. Jesus’ “Greatest Mission Trip”
The first thing we see here is that we are to model our own mission efforts after what Jesus did for us. Verse 5 says “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” So JESUS is the model for us as we go on mission.
So what did Jesus do, that we are to model ourselves after? The next verses tell us: Continue reading
“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.” (Ephesians 1:9)
What is God’s will for me? Ephesians 1:3-14 contains a list of “every spiritual blessing” that God gave believers in Christ Jesus, for which we should be thankful. Here in :9 we find the particular blessing listed, that God made known to us the mystery of His will. But this blessing may not be what many people might imagine it to be. Continue reading
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)
Ephesians 1:3-14 is notable for its list of blessings which God has given us as believers. But just as notable is the common instrument through which every one of these blessings comes: Continue reading
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)
Paul opens the letter of Ephesians by giving thanks to God for all the blessings He has given us as His people in Christ. But Paul’s list of blessings may differ greatly from what we might typically give thanks for. Continue reading
Some of you remember the bad weather we had a few weeks ago, with all the high winds, and a tornado in the area, and the downpour of rain we got — several inches in very short period of time. They put out several weather advisories, including a tornado warning, and also a flood advisory. Cheryl & I were actually on the way to church the Wednesday the tornado warning sounded on our phones — and we looked around at the sky and said, “Well, we don’t see anything …” and just kept on going (that is NOT the wisest course of action to take, by the way!). We did keep on the alert for a tornado, but one thing I did NOT worry about that day was our house flooding. Some of you know we live at the end of a cul-de-sac off of Hwy 70 east of Morganton, and it is situated up on hill. The street drops way downhill from our house and is much lower at the other end — there is a little creek down there; I might worry if I lived there — but our house is set up on high in a safe place from any floods which might come against us.
It is good to have that kind of peace of mind about the security of your house. But it is even more important to be certain about your “spiritual house,” and the storms which might come against you spiritually. And that is what Jesus talks about in this passage. As He brings this Sermon on the Mount to a close, He says there are two kinds of “spiritual houses” you can have: either a house built on the rock, or a house built on the sand. He shows us the importance of having your house “built on the rock” spiritually — and He also teaches us exactly what that means. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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