Grace Community Church Listen Again

As a church that lives day by day, it’s difficult to cast a vision for the future. Instead, we look to the words of the Lord: ​“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city you’ve been called to.”

The central prayer in the letter to the Ephesians bridges two halves: the first outlining the gospel story and the second the practical working out of that story. The prayer reveals Paul’s dream for the church: that we receive our identity within the depths of God’s love for us. He knows that in God is overflowing everything we need.

The Greek for ​“manifold” in Ephesians 3:10 is πολυποικιλος (polupoikilos), which means ​“much variegated” or ​“multifaceted”. When describing God’s wisdom, this invites us to take a step back and take in all the colours. Often the idea of Christianity is it’s ​“part” of your life… an add-on. But if it’s to mean anything, it ought to encompass our whole lives. In the same vein, the idea of church should not be an add-on. It’s not something that’s confined to a Sunday morning but, instead, it’s integral to who we are: Jesus’ design for his people. Every tribe. Every tongue. Every nation. When the Church follows the wisdom of God, everyone notices. Everything notices.

We were created by God for good works. But these works are do by done through the Spirit; not by our own power.

Circumcision divided Jews and gentiles. Some in that ​“club” saw themselves as above others. But circumcision is a one-time thing, rather than an ongoing ​“heart” thing. Paul often wrote letters (eg. Romans) addressing how we learn to live in a multicultural society. Christ, himself, brought peace to earth. If we are to live in peace, we should learn how to unite despite our differences. Sadly, Christianity today is full of division. Something that flies in the face of Christ’s message and Paul’s teaching.

Resurrection defines the life of Jesus: the bringing to life that which was dead. If a brother or sister is sinning, how do we speak to them? Do we see them as a lost cause? Or do we look at ourselves, take stock of how fallen we are and reflect on the grace of God on our lives? It’s grace that brings the dead to life. And although works cannot save us, they are an outworking of the grace that is at work within us.

The church in Ephesus is highly complimented by Jesus in Revelation 2. Though his final comment is a damning one. Jesus commends the church for its perseverance, holiness, endurance, hard work and faithfulness. Yet, as impressive its works were, he exposes a hole in its heart. For some time, it had forgotten its first love: Jesus himself. In Ephesians 1, Paul reminds the church who they serve. ​“Who fills everything in every way”.

The first 14 verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian is dripping with passion, joy and wonder. The Trinity is never explicitly mentioned in Scripture. However it is clear that God is a community: mutually dependent, participating together. If we are made in God’s image, then his blessings for us are for the church (community) — not just us as individuals. In the first chapter of Ephesians, we explore seven verbs. 1. Blessed 2. Chosen 3. (Pre)Destined 4. Bestowed 5. Lavished 6. Made known 7. Gathers up

The church of Ephesians was a small congregation in a large city where Romans and Greeks met to worship their famous gods. The letter to the Ephesians is special in many ways. It contrasts from Paul’s other letters in that it does not set out to critique problems that exist in the church in question, but instead instructs the church on how it can further grow. The pivot in the letter comes in the fourth chapter. Switching from the story of the gospel to our story, it encourages us to ​“grow up”. Over the next number of weeks, we will be exploring what it means to mature as Christians. “[Being nourished] us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love”.

If you’re familiar with liturgical churches, Epiphany is an annual tradition. It marks the story of the magi: mysterious figures in Matthew 2, possibly astronomers, astrologers or magicians who trek many miles from the East following a particular star that would eventually lead them to Jesus. The gifts they bring with them are equally cryptic. We assume that gold represents royalty, frankincense divinity, and myrrh death. Despite the unusual aspects of the story, there are lessons we can take home. The Son of God made himself accessible. His humble birth and life made getting to him relatively easy. However, an encounter with the living God meant that life would never be the same again. For the magi that meant returning to their home country via a different route. How has your encounter with Jesus changed your life?

To respond to the burden God gives you, we’re tempted to make a grand gesture. New year resolutions are often grand gestures. Usually ways to make up for where we’ve failed. This is not what God’s asking us. He’s asking us to act justly, love mercy and walking humbly with him… and one another. Doing this means that questions are more often answered with ​“it depends” rather than ​“yes” or ​“no”. Walking with God and one another means we are less likely to jump to conclusions but to explore what’s presented to us, and to be prepared to say ​“I don’t know”.

Mary is special. She is favoured because of how she received Jesus. We can receive Jesus because we are highly favoured. We are ​“accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians, chapter 1). For Mary, there is little doubt that her pregnancy with Jesus was a difficult time, filled with doubt, worry and fear, but she's reminded that she was favoured and loved. When our response echo's Mary's, we are pregnant with life, hope, joy, peace and possibilities.

The prophet’s words in Isaiah 40 are a huge encouragement to those who feel weary and need strength. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it is also very draining. Maybe for some time, you’ve felt low in energy. Low in compassion. Low in courage. The Spirit of God gives power to the weak. He uses those at the end of their tether for his purposes. “Those who hope in the power of God will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk, but not grow faint”

'Slow Down with God' / David McBride by Grace Community Church

It’s encouraging to know that as we serve others, God can use us despite our inadequacies. Still, there may be reasons we feel that stop us from doing what we know we ought to be doing: 1 Fear of getting it wrong. 2 Words or labels that have been spoken over us. 3 We may not be sure what our ​“seat” is. 4 Feeling like we’re not good enough. 5 Shame.

This week, the US celebrates Thanksgiving. We can forget, though, how tumultuous the events that started it were. Escape from persecution in Europe. Disease and death on the Mayflower. The struggle to survive in a strange land. These events don’t lend themselves to the happiest of times. But despite the hardships the early settlers experienced, they were able to find deeper contentment in their faith and relationships. Over four hundred years later, we can say that though it might not be as dramatic, our struggles and hardships are just as real. Jaci shares about her experience of leaving a country she knew, a church family who love her and embarking on a new adventure where there are promises, but it’s difficult to know where and when they’re going to manifest themselves. How do we find contentment in hardship and trial? If we’re in the midst of uncertainty, what can we be certain about?

When we learn to live with God on the hillside, we see and act differently on the battlefield. Within the story of David versus Goliath, there are a number of players, each with their individual particular motives and purposes. But were they on the side of fear or courage? There’s the armoured giant, Goliath. The faithful, yet battle-worn Israelite army. A proud father and sheep farmer, Jesse. And, of course, his skinny teenage son, David. This marks the start of David’s story. But it was on the hillside where he met God, which prepared him for the battlefield. With everyone crippled with fear at the thought of confronting this giant, David took the path of​“courage”.

Amongst Christians, the subject of halloween is a pretty divisive one. Usually each person will fall into one of two camps: full participation or flat-out rejection. The prayer of Jesus in John 17, however, is that we are united. This is often called the Great Unanswered Prayer. So in light of this, is there a third approach to halloween? It may come as news that a number of holidays are built on pagan traditions. Christmas and Easter are celebrated at times of the year that pagans would have worshipped deities. But rather than crushing those, the Church had a great way of redeeming some practices in ways that instead pointed to Jesus. So how do we open our doors and tables to people we may not agree with and find reconciliation and truth within the different traditions?

It’s inspiring to hear the stories of people we know. Quite often it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. It’s easier to see God’s hand on your life when you go take time to rewind. This week, Puma shares his story of growing up in Venezuela and how a series of events brought him here where he's now married with two kids (and expecting a third). How a devoted mother and faithful friend gave him a headstart in his own faith.

Amy shares stories of her experiences of gratitude in working with the Drop Inn/​Team Hope Shoebox Appeal. In the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at what it means to be grateful, and we’re reminded a thankful person is a healthy person. In her work with the Shoebox Appeal, Amy and her team were often struck by the thankfulness in both the people who donated gifts and the kids who received them. For many of the kids she met, it was the first time they’d received any Christmas gift. Sometimes we can grow used to plenty and getting what we want, when we want it. But when you encounter real need and observe the reactions when a need is met, it can lead us to care more deeply for the communities around us.