Grace Baptist Santa Clarita: Service Podcast

As Paul begins the practical section of his letter, he states the theme of the last 3 chapters succinctly: Be eager to maintain the unity you have as a result of your union with Christ! Unity in the church is a very important truth, but it is often easier to talk about than actually accomplish. Paul describes what is needed: First, a commitment to persevering love for one another; and Second, a persevering commitment to truth.

With another year’s passing, it is right to look ahead and consider how God wants us to view the challenges and opportunities the New Year holds. However, peering into the future is always little more than conjecture simply because we can’t know what lies around the corner. But we do know who does know all that the future holds, both good and bad. So the only good strategy for the future is to reflect on the goodness of God in the past, recognize His promises to us, and dive into the future committed to walk in righteousness, love, and truth.

The message of Christmas is the announcement that the power of God has come, as He promised, in the person of God the Son, to rescue and transform all who will believe. What the angels announced has become a reality. In Christ we see the glory of God in the highest, and come to know the peace that is promised to those “with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). But how is this possible? How can we who are broken and sinful ever be at peace with a holy, just God? The Apostle Paul has the answer, and it is the best Christmas gift ever!

The Israelite King Solomon was world renowned for his wisdom. God had gifted him with understanding in a broad array of subjects. As such, the “wisdom of Solomon” has become synonymous with great knowledge in our culture to this day. But as great as human wisdom and knowledge may be, even in our day, it can never measure up to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in God the Son, the Christ of Christmas.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were a demanding bunch! They wanted Jesus to perform for them, on demand. But they got more than they asked for! Jesus declared that a great preacher than Jonah, with a greater message, was in their presence. And if they rejected Him, the men of Nineveh would witness against their folly in the day of judgment. What does this mean for us today? Just this: Advent is a celebration of the greatest news ever, that God the Son is the Gospel incarnate, and to hear and believe is to live!

Our Advent series this year is built on Jesus’ statements in Matthew 12 that “something greater” has come. Three times Jesus declares that His incarnational mission is to be understood as a massive upgrade to humanity’s relationship with God. As we follow along, may the Lord enlarge our hearts’ capacities to adore our Savior, and celebrate His birth well!

Perhaps no six verses have been so comforting to the people of God as Psalm 23. And yet its message never gets old. This weekend we take time to reflect on the joys of being shepherded by the great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord.

Paul recognized that his call to unity in a church comprised of those whose animosity had made them enemies for centuries would not be easily accomplished. But the answer to God’s commands is never disobedience in the face of great obstacles. Rather, God will enable our obedience but only as we labor according to His strength, seeking to travel deeper and deeper into our knowledge of His eternal, unmeasured love for us.

Paul’s message of unity between Jew and Non-Jew in Christ would have been shocking in his day. Yet, as he explained in 3:1-7, this had always been God’s plan. But why? In our text Paul explains: “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known …” Today we explore the way the Gospel entrusted to us fits into the even greater plan of God to manifest his glory everywhere. It is essential that we come to see the privileged place we, the Church, have in God’s eternal purpose.

The surprising unity of the people of God was not an afterthought. It was God’s plan all along to bring glory to His name by destroying walls of division and creating an entirely new people in Christ. Paul is so excited about this concept, and so determined for his readers to grasp it, that he interrupts a sentence in today’s passage to revisit what he calls “the mystery of Christ.” In the process, he makes the teaching intensely personal – we would be wise to do the same.

Up to this point in the epistle, Paul has centered on the work of God whereby believers have been redeemed through their union with Christ. Now he turns to the main theme of his letter, which is the unity of all believers in Christ. Specifically, he speaks about the power of the Cross whereby all ethnic differences have been nullified and all peoples brought into unity in the church.

Up to this point in the epistle, Paul has centered on the work of God whereby believers have been redeemed through their union with Christ. Now he turns to the main theme of his letter, which is the unity of all believers in Christ. Specifically, he speaks about the power of the Cross whereby all ethnic differences have been nullified and all peoples brought into unity in the church.

Just what is “God’s workmanship?” Paul makes it clear that he is referring to the church as a united worshipping community. But what does this mean for us as Grace Baptist Church?

Have you ever been at a loss to think clearly through the Gospel? In this text Paul gives the essentials of the Gospel message and provides a simple game plan for understanding it ourselves and sharing it with others.

Paul has proven that all who are “in Christ” – both Jew and non-Jew – have the same blessed privilege to be in the family of God. Now he prays that they would grow in their understanding of God’s redemptive plan and come to see that the power of God is meant to be displayed in and through the church, who are the visible “Body of Christ.”

Paul continues listing the amazing “divinely given enjoyments” that we have received “in Christ.” He moves from those that occurred before time (election and predestination) to those that happened within human history: redemption, forgiveness, understanding, inheritance, and security.

The first step in Paul’s attempt to call the Ephesian church to an uncommon bond of unity is to make sure they know the ins and out of their mutual union with Christ. This weekend we look first at the work of God on our behalf in eternity past. These are mysterious things, but Paul considers them reasons to exalt and praise our great God. So too should we!

Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church has been studied, loved, and proclaimed as a favorite of Christ-followers throughout its history. Coleridge called it “the divinest composition of man” while Calvin confessed it to be his favorite letter in the New Testament. But for all of its grace and grandeur, Ephesians is intensely practical. In 6 chapters, Paul puts his mind to the central point of Christianity: salvation calls us into a vital union with Jesus Christ AND this union with Christ demands our unity in Christ. Today we will introduce the author and original readers and then trace the “melodic line” of this great letter through all six chapters. Then over the coming months, we will be able to hear and follow Paul’s exhortations for our church and individual lives. Our prayer must be: Lord, show us your truth and grant the courage to obey it before a watching world!

Joseph, like so many others, suffered at the hands of evil men. At the hands of these men, Joseph was forced down into a pit, down into Egypt to be sold as a slave, and from there down into prison. To make matters worse, these men were his brothers; but God had a plan. As the “Beginnings” series through the book of Genesis comes to an end, we will see God’s faithfulness to His covenant to bless Abraham’s descendants with righteous obedience in the face of evil and temptation. We will see human responsibility work in concert with God’s sovereign plan. We will examine the life of Joseph and watch the power of God turn that which men meant for evil into that which God meant for good.

No one comes out looking very good in the text we will study today – if the phrase “dysfunctional family” existed in the day, Isaac and Rebekah’s would have definitely qualified. And yet this is the family that God chose, and this is the family through whom He would accomplish His mission. What does this account teach us about Him?