Immorality. Darkness. Thanksgiving. | Ephesians 5:1-20
My sister-in-law recently poked fun at me by posting this meme on my Facebook page. It pictures a rather stiff looking aristocrat at a sporting event clapping and saying, “I say, what a rather robust group of fellows. Which color are we rooting for?” She knows I don’t really do sports. I don’t watch football or basketball or baseball or golf except for when I’m with friends or family. But I still want to try and start today’s sermon with…
Think Differently | Ephesians 4:17-32
Have you ever met your doppelgänger? A doppelgänger is someone who looks like you but isn’t related to you. This is an example of a doppelgänger. A wedding photographer met his doppelgänger flying from Ireland to Scotland. I met my doppelgänger when I lived in Falls Church VA. We attended the same church and people would walk up to him and say, “Hi Jonathan.” His name is Russell. In Ephesians Paul calls the church the body of Christ (Eph 4:15-16).…
Commissioned for the Frontline | Matthew 28:16-20
Chris Lake, Executive Director of the Vere Institute, explains the frontline ministry calling Jesus gave us at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20. You can watch or listen to the sermon and check out the slides below. You can watch the full service on Facebook, which includes our commissioning of our church members for their frontline ministry, or you can watch the sermon only on YouTube.
Leadership Gifts | Ephesians 4:7-16
Two weeks ago we learned what it means to live worthy of all the gifts God has given us in Ephesians 4:1-6. We talked about specific steps we can each take: humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Together these steps maintain church unity through the Holy Spirit. But they don’t actually create unity. We are unified by what we believe in, “one Spirit… one Lord… one faith… one God and Father.” So a church is unified by the character of its…
A Theology of Work | 1 Corinthians 10:31
This is the second sermon in a series in which I will share some of what I am learning at the GCTS Ockenga Fellows retreats. The program exists to help the church bring about renewal and transformation to our culture. Our first session was on the Great Awakening and Ministry in New England and the second session was on Business & Work. We read two books for this session: Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy…
Walking in Grace | Ephesians 4:1-6
I want to tell you about how God sees this church, how God sees our church. We’ve been reading and studying the book of Ephesians together, and it tells us how God sees our community of believers. When God sees our church he sees holy and faithful people. (1:1) God sees the ones he chose before the creation of the world. (1:4, 11) God sees his adopted children—we’re sons and daughters like Christ. (1:5) God sees those he has redeemed…
Four Prayer Requests | Ephesians 3:14-21
Let’s start by reviewing the big picture of the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 How God is gracious to us Chapters 4-6 How we are to live-out grace The first three chapters, chapters 1-3, don’t include many imperatives, or commands. They don’t tell us how to live as much as they tell us what God has done for us. The next three chapters, chapters 4-6, tell us how to respond to grace and are full of imperatives and commands. Grace…
A Grace Riddle | Ephesians 3:1-13
I like riddles. Do you like riddles? I like riddles but I’m incredibly bad at them. Here’s one I found on Reddit, which was in an advertisement (don’t shout out the answer). I am the destroyer of mountains, the killer of kings. I always fly by, yet I don’t have wings. I can end basketball games or marriages with similar ease. And though I flow like a stream, only water can freeze. I’ve murdered parents and children and houseplants galore.…
An Immigrant Story | Ephesians 2:11-22
In seminary they taught us to preach a passage like it’s written. So if you’re preaching a narrative like a parable or story of Jesus’ life, you should try to tell a story. And when you preach one of Paul’s letters that tend to be more logical and reasoned, you should make a more logical and reasoned argument. But rules are made to be broken, especially if you think the Lord is leading you in another direction. So today I…
Are You Born Again? | John 3:1-8
This is the first of several sermons throughout the next two years in which I will reflect on what I learn at the GCTS Ockenga Fellows retreat. The Gordon-Conwell Ockenga Institute is named after the seminary’s first President, Dr. Harold John Ockenga, and exists to help the church bring about cultural renewal and transformation. Our first session was on the Great Awakening and Ministry in New England, so I look forward to sharing some of what I learned in this…
Raised to Life | Ephesians 2:1-10
Read or listen to Andy Bradshaw preach Ephesians 2:1-10 and our need for God’s grace. You can access a PDF of his sermon by clicking “Save” and “PDF.” Church Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube. Sermon Slides
My Prayer For You | Ephesians 1:15-23
Do you remember prayers? Are there certain prayers that stick out in your memory, maybe from your childhood or more recently? When I was a kid my dad put us to bed every-night by praying something like, “Heavenly Father, would you put a hedge of thorns and a wall of protection around Jonathan, and would he wake up refreshed and ready to go. Amen.” What prayers do you remember? Maybe your parents or a sibling or your pastor or an…