Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Just a quick reminder to
stay away from Downtown Ypsilanti and EMU, if at all possible, tomorrow.
They are expecting 20+ thousand people for the Color Race and they are
going to be blocking off streets etc...
We are meeting for a family worship and picnic at the Recreation
area just north and east of the main hospital at St. Joseph Mercy
Hospital. It is next to the child care center. Please join us at 10:15.
Worship will start at 10:30 sharp and we will start eating at 11:40. The
church will provide the hamburgers and hotdogs and the cow will be
there:) Please bring your lawn chairs and a dessert or salad to pass.
According to the weather reports it will be partly cloudy and warm. Rain is not forecast until later in the evening.
I don't know if I have mentioned how my friend who now
pastors in Spokane Washington, worked to plant a Vineyard in Aurora
Colorado and how impacted I was by the work of the Lord in opening my
heart and mind to missions through the work we helped him do there. It
is making me pause and pray for all the families of those who we killed
and injured by a young man who chose, because of our human bondage in
our free will to sin, to carry out such a horrific and disgusting act!
We will remember these families in our prayers this weekend!
Tomorrow we will continue our journey through St. Paul's letter to
the church in Ephesus, which he wrote around 60AD while imprisoned in
Rome. We looked at the background and history of Paul writing this
letter to the church in Ephesus that he visited on both his second and
third missionary journey. We talked about the importance of this Greek
then later, a Roman city in Asia Minor, now Turkey. We talked about the
population of around 250000 making it a metropolis and with its harbor
about 3 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, a major center for the 1st
Century BC. We talked about Paul's ministry to the Jews in the large
synagogue for the first 3 months. For the ministry with the people of
the "Way," early Christian believers who had received John's baptism but
not the Holy Spirit which we see a few times in Acts. In Acts 19 we see
the power of the Holy Spirit coming on the believers with signs and
wonders following. This is cool! We see the people coming with
handkerchiefs and cloth to have them blessed to take back to people who
were sick. I experienced this when we were doing sharing in Estonia. We
see the burning of about 5,000,000 dollars worth of scrolls by converts.
We see the Sons of Sceva, who are Jews trying to use Jesus' name like a
magical incantation to cast out demons. They found out, the hard way,
that a relationship with Jesus is extremely important. We looked at how
people came to the city in order that they could be prayed over and
taught then sent out to do missions. This happened over 3 years. We
talked about verses 3-14 of chapter 1 known as the Doxology because it
is one sentence in Greek and was probably a Creedo or part of the
worship in the early church. It eloquently explains how we are extremely
blessed by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this general letter
we will look at many important teachings that help us to grow as
believers in knowing who we are and what God has planned and purposed
for us.
Tomorrow we will look specifically at chapter 2 of Ephesians. Almost
all Lutheran Christians have to learn Ephesians 2:8-9 in Confirmation.
It is a huge part of our theology! But let us look at the verses around
it to understand what Paul is teaching:
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and
of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in
order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of
his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We cannot fail to see how we are all born sinful and were dead in our
transgressions and sins, which we can see lived out by one man in Aurora
on Friday. But we don't have to stay there. Listen to the words of
promise: "we are saved by Grace and we are God's handiwork to do good
works." This is amazing! With words like "because of his GREAT LOVE,
raised up, seated in with him in the heavenly realms, incomparable
riches of his grace, Gift of God, Created in Christ Jesus!" we know how
we are not just slaves to sin! What a great part of Scripture to
memorize and hold onto.
Tomorrow we will specifically look at the So What? of "being saved
by Grace and being God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do!" In Ephesians 2:11-22
we hear what St. Paul wants us to understand about belonging to the
family of God and being saved by grace: remember we talked about the
word "Grace" used 155 times in the NT and 100 times by Paul and 12 times
here in Ephesians (some say 13 depending on one word you can translate
as "grace") He uses the word translated "peace" 7 times or 8 depending
on your translation. These are very important.
11 Therefore, remember that formerly
you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who
call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human
hands) — 12 remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by
setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the
two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners
and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also
members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
I think this is the purpose for which the Lord has placed us
here in the 21st Century in South East Michigan! To be built on the
foundation of the Christ Jesus, our chief cornerstone, the apostles and
prophets (God's Word: Holy Scripture) we are a holy temple in the Lord
and being built together. This is not an individual effort but a family
activity. May we continue to look at how the Lord is working among us
here at C & R and accept that we are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by HIS SPIRIT! This is an amazing gift to
us. I pray you will seek those who are "people of peace" in your lives
and spheres of influence, family, friends, work, recreation, clubs,
etc... to join us in being built up as our Lord desires.
Look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it should be awesome!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Bryan
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