May 15, 2023
Ephesians 2:11-22
FOREVER FRIENDS
I received an email recently informing me that the US Surgeon General has identified an epidemic of loneliness and the health implications of loneliness compare to heavy cigarette use. We are strangers to each other. We set up walls between us. One of the powerful things that Jesus did in his earthly life and on the cross was to destroy the walls that divide us. Very interesting! 2000 years ago God knew all about our loneliness and did everything in his power to include us. Strangers, even enemies, became friends.
Listen to an audio version of the message
Songs for this week: Spotify
Ephesians 2:11-22
- Recall a time in your life when you felt ‘on the outside’. Did someone include you? Tell that story.
- v. 14 talks about a ‘dividing wall of hostility’. Describe what you know about the divisions during Paul’s time. Is there a wall of hostility in your life right now?
- Jesus ‘destroyed’ the barrier. Explain how that worked. Do Jesus’ actions on the cross have any bearing on our ‘hard to handle’ relationships?
- Paul speaks of the Church as the ‘holy temple’. What does that mean? In what ways are we ‘heaven on earth’? Where do we do that best? Where are we dropping the ball?
Share with a friend
Recent Sermons
James 5:13-20 - A life of faith is a life of prayer. It’s also a life lived with others. When we follow Jesus, we belong to Him and to one another as brothers and sisters. As a family, we care for one another in weakness, confess our sins to each other, and gently confront one another.
James 4:6-10 -James knows that the heart of the Christian message is grace. God gives us good that we couldn’t ever deserve. The truth is that we earn and deserve justice and punishment. Thankfully, Jesus took both of those for us and gave us the good he deserved. As powerful as grace is, there is one thing that can re
James 3:1-18 -James is at it again! He has a real concern for the words that Christians use on themselves, with each other and with the world. Our tongues (James' favourite image for our words) can cause such destruction, and they are nearly impossible to control.
James 2:14-26 -James continues to press deep into the muscles and tissues of our faith. Is your faith doing what it was designed to do? Just like you might go to the doctor for a physical check-up, James offers a self-administered faith check-up in this passage. Where do you see signs of life in your faith?
James 1:19-27 - James is direct: angry words, thoughtless words, and religious words don’t have a place in a life of faith. Our words don’t work … but God’s word does! Our job is simply to cooperate with his word.
James 1:1-8 - James gets right down to business! For everyone not currently soaking in a hot tub, suffering is a first order of business. In just a few verses, James explains how trials can grow maturity, how wisdom helps the journey, and how to avoid wasting a suffering experience.
