On Sunday, May 26, 2019 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Ephesians 4:7-16.  This message was the fourth and final part of “The Church” series and dealt with the spiritual growth of the church that God “tends” through the gifted leaders He gives to the church.  Below you will find the audio related to the sermon for you to listen to online or share.

 

To listen offline, click on the link below to download:

The Church #4 5.26.19

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the video stream of the service, view the Facebook live feed here.

 

On Sunday, May 26, 2019 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message on Ephesians 4:7-16.  This message was part 4 of “The Church” series and focused on the leadership God has given the church to help it grow.  Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.

 

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Ephesians 4:7-16
3. What are some things in life that are “designed to grow” . . . where (given the right cultivation)  growth occurs “naturally”?
4. In Ephesians 4:12-16, the growth of the church is described.  What are some of the things referenced about what this growth will look like?
5. In the church, the full stature of Christ is seen (4:13).  What are some of the things that you would not have seen or known about Jesus if you had never been a part of a church?
6. In order to help cultivate an environment of growth for members of the church, Jesus gives gifted people to churches to help lead them.  What are some ways in which you have personally been equipped or encouraged by church leaders in your lifetime?
7. How has God gifted you for ministry?  How are you currently using this gift?
8. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

March 11, 2007 was one of my favorite days ever.  It was the day that our son was born.  Only 31 weeks along, a spike in Kimberly’s blood pressure indicated that (though it seemed early) it was “TIME” for Josh to be born.  

And so, early on that Sunday morning, all 3 pounds of Josh cried out as he came out into the world.  What a blessing it was to meet our son for the first time.  As is the case for many “preemies,” Josh was a bit small and under-developed to leave the hospital with Kimberly and I, so for the next month and a half, he lived in the NICU of Children’s Hospital.  Doctors assured us through all of those anxious moments that Josh would indeed “grow up” to be big and strong . . . and they were right!  As I write this today, Josh is finishing up sixth grade:  active, strong . . . and still growing!

Josh grew, not because the doctors injected him with Captain America’s super-serum.  He grew because he was DESIGNED TO GROW.  All of us are.  The natural progression of every human is to grow up.  The role of doctors and nurses in the NICU (as well as parents in the home) is not to program someone to grow, but simply cultivate the right climate so that the growth cycle that is programmed inside of each person is allowed to run its course.

I say this today because I am preparing for Sunday morning May 26 at Wildwood, where we will be looking at Ephesians 4:7-16 together in our fourth and final installment in our series on “The Church.”  This week we will see how God has created the church TO GROW.  Not just in number, but in maturity.  How does that growth happen?  It happens through the work of the Spirit, but this work is cultivated by spiritual leaders that God has given to the church:  men and women (like you and me) that Jesus has “gifted” to congregations all over the world for the purpose of overseeing, shepherding, and encouraging followers of Jesus to grow up into maturity in Him – our Head and living hope.

We will look at this concept together this Sunday in our 9:45 and 11:00 services together.  We will also be praying for those who are going on summer mission trips and celebrating the Lord’s Supper together.  We look forward to seeing you on Sunday at Wildwood as we kick off the summer together!

On Sunday, May 5, 2019 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Ephesians 3:1-13.  This message was part 2 of “The Church” series.  Below is the audio from the sermon to listen to, download or share.

 

To listen offline, click the line to download the audio:

The Church #2 5.5.19

 

To listen online, use the audio player below:

 

To view the livestream of the service, visit the Facebook livestream by clicking here.

 

 

On Sunday, May 5, 2019 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Ephesians 3:1-13.  This message was part 2 in “The Church” series.  Below are a series of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Ephesians 3:1-13
3. Do you have a favorite “mystery” story?  What makes it your favorite?  
4. Jesus sent Paul (and by application the church) on a mission . . . a ministry . . . to share with others the Gospel.  What is the Gospel message?  Have you ever had the privilege of sharing that message with someone else?  How did it go? 
5. In what sense is the church a “mystery” according to Ephesians 3:1-13?  Does the fact that the Old Testament did not talk about this aspect of the church impact you in any way?
6. What message does the unity of believing Jews and Gentiles in “one Body” communicate to Jewish people?  To Gentiles?  To the angelic realm?
7. In what way are you currently (or recently) tempted to “lose heart” or think that God is distant and uncaring about our lives?  How does Ephesians 3:1-13 help give you a mindset of continuing to walk with God regardless of the circumstances in your life?
8. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

Do you like a good mystery?  Sherlock Holmes?  Agatha Christy?  Jessica Fletcher? CSI?  Matlock?  Surely in there somewhere you gave an AMEN!

We like a good mystery.  A mystery is a reality that has not yet been revealed.  In the context of the protagonists mentioned before, mysteries are crimes that have already been committed, but the details are obscured until the end of the episode.  Mysteries engage us at a very deep level.

Where did half of the Marvel Universe go when Thanos snapped his fingers (and will we ever see them again?!)?  Will Luke Skywalker be back in Episode 9?  These are pressing questions that we want to know the answers to, but we have to wait until the producers release the films to find out the conclusions . . . even though the author already knows what is going to happen.  

I share these points about “mysteries” today because in Ephesians 3:1-13, the word “mystery” is used by the Apostle Paul three times.  What is the mystery he is referring to?  The mystery he is referring to is “the church.”  That’s right . . . there is a mystery playing right now that is starring you and me (and all other followers of Jesus in this world!)  

In what way is the “church” a mystery?  What is God premiering through us?  How does this impact our lives and lead us to worship God?  Tune into Wildwood this Sunday morning at 9:45 or 11:00 in our worship services as we try to understand what God is doing in the “Mystery of the Church” – part 2 of “The Church” series.  See you Sunday!

On Sunday, April 28, 2019 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message based on Ephesians 2:11-22.  This message was part 1 of “The Church” sermon series and focused on how the presence of God is evident today among His people.  Below you will find the sermon audio to listen to online, download, or share.

To listen offline, click the link below to access the file:

The Church #1 4.28.19

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the entire service, check out the Facebook Livestream by clicking here.