WELCOME
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
Our call to worship is from Micah 6:8
God has told you, O mortal, what is good.
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Let’s pray:
It is good to be together, God,
on these screens, with these people,
together listening for your voice,
united by your Spirit.
In this time of worship
tell us about your kingdom of kindness
so that we can seek it.
Show us your justice.
We want to walk with you,
humbly, closely, daily.
Come Holy Spirit – Come
FBK, WELCOME TO WORSHIP!
Songs
Prayer
Prayer of Confession & Assurance
Friends, as we gather our thoughts into quietness,
we confess our sins to the One who knows us best.
Father, as we will hear later this morning, we know ourselves chosen, adopted as children of God.
We dare to believe that you and we are together, part of a plan
conceived before the foundation of the universe.
But are we living as God’s children?
Are we honouring our inheritance?
We know ourselves called, but we’re so easily distracted.
We know ourselves loved, but we balk at the cost.
Hear us know as we confess to you where we are not living as you have called us to….
Time of Silence – Amen
Words of Assurance
Church, our God has poured out grace upon grace,
on you, even on me.
though we never earned it and don’t deserve it.
In Christ we are made new through his blood,
Know that you are
released into hope to live for Him. Amen.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
The Church in God’s Plan
Today's Message: Pastors Marlee and Dave Page
This morning, we are going to launch into an epic journey together – through the Book of Ephesians. We are really excited to go here with you folks. In the current season of our journey together, as your still ‘fairly new’ Pastors, and as FBK, moving forward into the post-pandemic, post-Christian culture of our time in Canada – we are really, really intentional about wanting to spend some significant time in this letter of Paul. Paul writes passionately to an important Church and influential Church in a pivotal time in the first century.
You don’t have to be a long time “pew sitter” to recognize that the modern church seems fragmented and divided Today. By some estimates, 41,000 Christian denominations and organizations exist worldwide. These numbers seem to clash with Paul’s description of the church as Christ’s body (Ephesians 1:22–23) and God’s temple (2:19–22). We’ll see in this journey together that Paul stresses that believers should be united, in Christ.
We think a question that Christians are really wrestling with today is this:
Can the modern Church, with its thousands of separate denominations, really display the type of unity Paul writes about in Ephesians?
Will we truly be able to work through the myriad of divisions, that today, seem to be defining the Church – rather than that which should truly define it – Jesus and his call upon our lives, to know and love God and serve each other through that same love. This period of time, that we are in, is truly a watershed moment for the western church.
Several years ago, a well-known restaurant chain produced a video to use as part of new employee orientation. They wanted the video to remind their employees of a simple fact: Every person who came into one of their restaurants was a human being first and a customer second. Panning over the various people in the story, the camera would sometimes pause and linger over one person as words were superimposed next to them describing the circumstances of that person’s life—unemployment, depression, the loss of a family member or, alternatively, the welcome news they had beaten severe illness or had recently received a promotion at work. As this video reminded trainees, we encounter people in ignorance every day, having no idea what challenges they face or what blessings they have been given. These same people are, nonetheless, made in the image of God and each of them have a story, even if we do not know it.
“You have never met a mere mortal,” C. S. Lewis once said.
Of course, when someone points this out to us, the hope is often that this fact would drive us toward our neighbors, that it would help us to see them with empathy, that it would motivate us to treat them gently and, ultimately, that it would cause us to love them. Actually, remembering that it is difficult at times. Indeed, there may be few societies where it is more difficult than our own. Instagram feeds, Facebook timelines, hashtags, memes, and the ease of on-line arguments make it easier than ever to see our neighbors as figures and not people—without ever meeting one another, we can shout #FakeNews.
We don’t know the stories of the people at the other end of our social media tirades. As many news reports, pundits and cultural commentators have noted, we are facing a crisis of neighborliness in the Western world—namely, that we don’t know (or, often, trust) our neighbors.
This makes it challenging to remember that every person we meet has a story, that they are significant, that they are beloved by God. Yet that is precisely what Jesus followers are called to do.
How can we fulfill this call in a world that makes loving one’s neighbor so difficult? The Apostle Paul has an answer for this question.
When one takes up the study of Ephesians, you will find that commentators and preachers outdo themselves in lavish praise for this letter. It has been called:
- “The crown and climax of Pauline theology,”
- “The sublimest communication ever made to men,”
- “The quintessence of Paulinism,”
- “The consummate and most comprehensive statement which even the New Testament contains of the meaning of the Christian religion. It is certainly the final statement of Pauline theology.”
For us, the grand theme of Ephesians and its dual focus on Christ and on the Church — the “mystery” of “Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32 is where we will spend our first two weeks on this journey. We have always found that a good way to clarify a theme in a book of the Bible is to compare it to another book of the Bible. When we compare Ephesians to that of Colossians for example. Colossians explains Christ’s person and work in relation to the whole universe — the cosmic Christ; whereas Ephesians explains what the Church’s role is as the Body of the cosmic Christ. That’s the beauty of Pauls’ writing here – these are some of the greatest and grandest doctrines in our faith, broad sweeping doctrines with eternal and yes cosmic implications. Paul then narrows them down and they are brought to focus on you and me, on each of us – as Jesus followers and as the Church.
Ephesians reveals the position and job description of the Church in effecting God’s plan. It answers the question, what does it mean to be in Christ, and what does this demand of us? – sometime in April, when we finish this journey, we are going to revisit these questions as a way of summary.
You see, when carefully, reverently, and prayerfully considered — the content of this letter will change our lives. I’m not overstating this Church. If we allow it, it is not so much a question of what we will do with this letter of Paul’s, but what it will do with us.
Now to get an understanding of the setting, open your bibles and I want to read to you the beginning of the church in Ephesus – Acts 19:1-17.
This is Paul, planting churches – a singular church specifically but one that would have spawned others in the area as well. In fact, we should also note that the Letter to the Ephesians is meant for more than just the Church in Ephesus. The designation “in Ephesus”, at the beginning of the Ephesians letter, is not in the earliest manuscripts, and scholars conclude that it was really a circular letter meant for all the churches in Asia Minor.
That’s why we would say this letter is ecumenical, its message is for the Church everywhere and in every age: namely, that Jesus reconciles all races and cultures by bringing them to himself and making them one with him and with one another. It is a message of unity, a message for the world, and a message for a fragmented, church.
The structure of the book is typical Paul: first Paul states the doctrine (chapters 1–3), then he states the application (chapters 4–6).
Let’s talk about Paul for a minute, because we haven’t really done that with you to date. Some names in history we identify immediately, and “Paul” is one of them. His name was originally “Saul” (Acts 7:58); and, since he was from the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5), it is likely he was named after the first king of Israel (1 Samuel. 9). Unlike his namesake, however, Saul of Tarsus was obedient, and faithfully served God. As a devoted rabbi, and a Pharisee, Saul became the leader of the antichristian movement in Jerusalem (Acts 9:1–2; Galatians 1:13–14). But amid this activity, Saul was “arrested” by Jesus Christ and was converted (Acts 9:3ff; 26).
Saul of Tarsus became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15).
While James and Peter were stationed in Jerusalem…. Paul said, “heh look fellas – you stay here and build the Church in Jerusalem – and as for the rest of the world – oh, I’ll take care of that.”
The Book of Acts records three missionary journeys that took Paul throughout the Roman Empire in one of the greatest evangelistic endeavors in church history. While Paul was ministering in the church of Antioch, he was called by the Spirit to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, and he obeyed (Acts 13:1–3).
Paul first came to Ephesus about the year 53 but did not remain there (Acts 18:19–21). Two years later, while on his third journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus for at least two years and saw that whole vast area evangelized (Acts 19:1–20). During these years, he founded a strong church in the city that was dedicated to the worship of the goddess Diana.
It was nearly ten years later when Paul wrote this letter to the Churches in and around Ephesus. Paul was a prisoner in Rome (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), and he wanted to share with these believers the great truths the Lord had taught him about Christ and the church. Compare Ephesians 6:21–22 with Colossians 4:7–9 and Philemon you’ll find a great number of similarities. Do you know the story of Onesimus, a slave, who ran away from Philemon, his master, who lived at Colosse. While in Rome, Onesimus met Paul and met Jesus Christ through salvation. Tychicus, one of the pastors of the church at Colossae, which may have met in Philemon’s house, was also in Rome to discuss some problems with Paul. So, Paul took advantage of the presence of these two men to send three letters to his friends: the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Epistle to the Colossians, and the Epistle to Philemon.
So, the letter was written from Rome about the year 62 a.d. and though Paul was on trial for his life, he was concerned about the spiritual needs of the churches he had founded.
The opening verses of Ephesians are a “Celebration of Blessing.” The mood is infectious joy. Paul actually writes a song (modeled on the Hebrew berakhah or blessing song) celebrating God’s work in bringing us salvation. immediately Paul celebrates himself, the saints, their God, and their blessings.
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:1-6
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Paul’s relationship with Jesus changed even the form of his letters. How do we show the reality of Jesus in our lives? Well, if you asked Paul that question, he’d say not by using big theological words, so that we appear pious, no he would say, I’ve tried that. How do we show the reality of Jesus in our lives? – by an actual transformation of our lives, resulting from our relationship with Christ.
This letter is very much about Gospel and culture. And some of you might be thinking these days – How do culture and gospel relate in the world we face ahead of us…? The same way it always has – the gospel defines life for Christians, not just life for first century Christians but life for you and me today, a life we are living out in our culture, a culture that also seeks to define us.
Church, because of these truths, we must therefore work doubly hard to understand the culture we live in and then we must decide what in culture may be legitimately adapted to our own lives and yes, even enjoyed- and what must be rejected.
All too often we confuse our cultural expression of Christianity with the Gospel itself. The early Church faced this problem in Acts 6 over the distribution of food and in Acts 15 with the “Jerusalem Council” over the necessity of observing Jewish legal practices. In the same way, we must separate the heart of the Gospel from our cultural expression of the Gospel. Christianity in African tribal communities, for example, does not need to look like Western Christianity.
Just as Paul was so brilliantly able to do, we must also determine how to relate to our culture. Will the use of religious language help or hinder a conversation? Given the religious fanaticism and the division between the “religious right” and other groups in the United States, for instance, I think religious language often hinders communication about following Jesus…. Being sensitive to how others receive a message determines the selection of the words we should use.
The primary ingredient for us as Christians in relating to culture must be authenticity. People can sniff out in-authentic behaviour in a moment.
You see, we should not try to communicate Paul’s experience of Christ; we must communicate our own journey with Jesus.
We learn from Paul, but our own experience of the gospel must be lived out authentically before God and people – remember we’ve said to you, one of your most powerful witnessing tools is how you choose to live your life!! This is not to elevate experience over God’s word, but we cannot live out a theology that we do not know and experience first-hand. Anything less is a sham and will not convince anybody. Our expression of the gospel in our culture must be a natural flow of the depth of our relationship with Jesus.
If God is truly active, how does that show up in our lives? Too often people relegate any sense of God’s activity or planning to the distant past, as if he worked in the first century but not now. Yet God still sets people apart for salvation and even calls some to be his special agents. Whether we assume God is active or not determines our own expectation and thereby our own readiness to respond – you should think about that this week. By believing God is active, we precondition ourselves for healthy response to God.
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
— Ephesians 1:5–6
And please don’t get hung up on the word sonship there – The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. Paul is saying our adoption (all of us) is complete because of Jesus.
Adoption is one of the most profound realities in the cosmos. I say “cosmos” and not “world” because adoption in this sense goes beyond the world. It is greater than the world, and it is before the world in the plan of God, and it will outlast the world as we know it. That’s why we title this message “The Church in God’s Plan” … His plan is greater than the “universe” and is rooted in God’s own nature.
We are going to close with this one point this morning:
(1) that all of us would consider and embrace the wonder of our adoption into God’s family through Jesus Christ.
Remember we said earlier that the world is described as afflicted with a lack of ‘neighborliness’- you can add loneliness as well. Our assumption is that we need to understand and enjoy our own adoption by God before we can properly understand how we might show that to others. And, if we ask when this predestination happened, verse 4 makes that plain:
“He chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
Think about this, before the creation of the world, and before we existed, God looked on us in our need, and he looked upon his Son crucified and risen as the all-sufficient atonement for our sin, and because of that he chose us to be holy and blameless. That’s how we are “predestined…for adoption.” It happened before the creation of the world. So the first thing you need to know about your adoption into God’s family, through Christ, is that God chose you and predestined you in love for adoption before the foundation of the world. God’s love for you and its expression in your adoption into his eternal family of joy did not start in this world. It reaches back to eternity – He has thought about you for a very long time.
Before the foundation of the world, God saw that we would be sinners and planned the death of his Son so that our sins could be forgiven and God’s wrath removed. Through that, we were adopted. Church, you are loved that much!
Now, we need to note two clear outcomes of this:
1. Not all people are God’s adopted children.
The blood of Jesus covers the sins of all who believe (Romans 3:25). Therefore, believers in Jesus are adopted, and no others. If we talk about God being the Father of all mankind, I want you to be careful of that – While He is the Father of all, some will choose not to make God their Father. It goes back to that gift of Freewill… We have the choice to believe or not.
2. We were not the pick of the litter for adopting.
That is who God decided before the foundation of the world to adopt.
Romans 5:6: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:10: “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”
Our adoption is not based on our being worthy or cute as the pick of the litter. It is based on the grace of God, planned before the world, and bought for you by the blood of Jesus. Remember we also said earlier, even though Paul was writing from Prison, he was full of Joy and wanted these people to know the TRUTH!
We are adopted by God not so that we will rejoice that God made something of us. We are adopted by God so that we will enjoy making something of God’s grace as our Father for eternity. We are adopted “to the praise of the glory of his grace.”
Paul believed unity was only ever going to be achieved through our attitudes and actions toward each other (Ephesians 4:1–6). By becoming more Christ-like through the grace of our adoption, we can grow in our unity (4:15–16). This requires that each of us put off our old self and put on the new self, to display love, truthfulness, kindness, forgiveness, and submission to one another (4:22–32; 5:21). Only when each believer models Jesus’s love can the Church experience the unity Paul describes. Over these next 3 mos. – out past Easter, we will explore how Paul explains God’s work of salvation and how that work should foster unity among us as His Church.
Next week we are going to look at what I call “The Longest Sentence in the Bible.” Paul starts talking, and he cannot stop. He gets so excited about what we have in Jesus that he goes on and on and on and on. And you keep wanting to find a place to put a period, but you can’t find a period. He’s like our little granddaughter Caiomhe—when somebody asks here if she wants a banana, She says “Yes, N-a-m-a-n-a-N-a-m-a-n-a.” She doesn’t know when to stop- Paul didn’t know when to stop; he was so excited about Jesus…
So, you can read ahead for next week – I hope you will read Ch1. Verses 3-14, in fact I would encourage you this week to read through the entire letter- it won’t take you more than a half hour….
Church, what you are looking for, what we are looking for together, it’s right here in this letter – Community, with each other and with God our Father through Jesus. Friends that’s how this all ends, don’t forget this – Jesus wins, you win, and it might not feel like that right now – but that’s the truth, check it out Rev. 21/22.
Did you catch the chorus in our opening song?? With every act of Love, we are the Kingdom come…Through this letter Paul gives us a roadmap for that ….and we can’t wait to share more of it with you….
Let’s Pray…
Prayer
It is easy for us to go through the motions of being your Church. We want to say the “right” prayers and think that we have found the magical key to make holiness appear in our lives. But we are empty, Lord. We hunger and thirst for something that will sustain us through all the times of our lives. We chase after things that will disappoint and hurt and look past the very thing that will heal and cleanse our lives. Jesus is your Bread of Life, the Manna from Heaven, which was and is sent to feed and sustain us in all the wildernesses through which we travel. Help us to stop running after the glitz and glitter, the easy wealth; help us to look truly for the one who will quench our thirst and nourish our souls. As we have lifted up names of people and situations which lay heavy on our hearts today that need your healing touch, help us to remember that we ourselves stand continually in need of your healing mercy. Bring us to you, with open and repentant hearts, for your loving care. That we might be renewed in our commitment to serve you, O God, with our very lives. AMEN.
Song
Benediction
Church, It’s your story too!!
That “Before the very creation of the world God, through Jesus chose you to be one of His own”
Be as overjoyed as Paul was in this truth as you make your way into the world this week – our world needs a little more overjoyed – be that!