Ephesians 5:15-6:9 is a third installment of lessons in the school of Christ. We see what the Spirit-filled household looks (or better yet, sounds) like. In one, the people are (1) addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all their heart, (2) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and (3) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Thus we get to hear what submitting to one another in our music sounds like and how we should give thanks for one another rather than complain about our preferences not being met.

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Labels: music, spirit, submission, thanksgiving

Colossians 3:12-17 shows us to keep Christ in all our thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving Day, we gathered to give thanks to God in Christ. It is appropriate that we do this no matter what our circumstances might be.

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Labels: thanksgiving

Ephesians 5:1-14 is training for the Christian's conscience in how to talk again. When we are born again, we have to learn how to walk and talk again. We have to learn how to speak the gospel -- how to speak words of grace. The world tries to train our conscience through words that tear people down and through dirty jokes. This is a second installment of the school of Christ. The two main lessons being that words of thanks to God should replace trash talk and words that expose works of darkness should replace words excusing or approving of bad behavior.

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Labels: conscience, grace, learning, speaking, words

Ephesians 4:17-32 offers us an introduction to the school of Christ. Some of the lessons for Christians include that honest labor leading to sharing replaces stealing, speaking the truth in love to build one another up replaces speaking the lie to tear one another down, and forgiveness and kindness replace anger. This is training for our conscience. The world would rather train our consciences to be desensitized to sin. But in the church we want to continue to learn these lessons with one another in practice. We do not master them in this life but as we learn them we grow in our maturity.

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Labels: anger, conscience, forgiveness, kindness, learning, sharing, speaking, stealing, truth

Ephesians 4:1-16 highlights the metaphor of a body growing up to describe the church. The church is a called people who have received a gift. The church is the saints who do the work of ministry. The church builds up one another. This message spells out the role of the equipping pastor (teaching shepherd) and how that relates to the roles of the other parts of the body of Christ in building one another up. Josiah was a visual aid for this message.

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Labels: church, grace, pastor, Spiritual gifts

Ephesians 3 says that Paul has a reason for preaching that you (those who believe) have the Spirit and praying that you would be filled with the Spirit. The reason for doing so is found in the previous section of Ephesians: that Christ is our peace, has made peace between us and God and between Jews and Gentiles, and has preached peace through the apostles. That you have the Spirit is the content of much of my preaching and that you would be filled with the Spirit is the content of much of my praying. My purpose in preaching Ephesians first is that it is all about the church and it briefly hits on most of the major themes of faithful preaching and prayer.

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Labels: peace, prayer, sermons, spirit