Behind those nasty people who are trying to bring you down, behind hurtful thoughts and words directed toward your family members, behind those hurts inflicted by church people that won't seem to heal, behind overwhelming life circumstances and the guilt that comes from falling short of expectations, there is an enemy. He hides in the dark, wielding his power in the unseen spiritual realm, firing flaming arrows designed to take you down along with your whole household.
In the great story of God's purpose that is revealed in Ephesians, there is a villain, an enemy who stalks us. He is strong and evil and he moves in the dark. Most of the time, we live as if there is no real threat. But as Paul wraps us this letter, he reminds us that whether we are sleeping or alert, taking a stand or laying down, we are in the midst of a battle.
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First Baptist Church is a loving community of believers in Jesus Christ. Our history goes back for about a century of serving Jesus in our community. We have exciting ministries for people of all ages, including youth and children. You can keep up with us here for sermons, podcasts, blogs, and events.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
A New Society, Part 3: New Relationships
We know we're supposed to love each other as Christ loves us, and, at times, we have seen ourselves and those in our church rise to different occasions and love in extraordinary ways. But the new society to which God has redeemed us is defined by everyday love, not "special occasion" love. And although we should be living our lives together as a church, the relationships in which we live out our everyday lives are not so much our church relationships but those at work and at home.
People are most touchy to advice about how we ought to go about our marriage, how we parent our kids, and how we make our living and act at work. Often, we don't trust these relationships to anyone or anything but ourselves and our own wisdom. These are the most personal relationships of our lives, so they are often the relationships that are the most untouched by the influence of our faith. But since these relationships are where we live our everyday lives, these relationships--marriage, family, and work--must be transformed if we are to say we are living the redeemed life in Christ. The command that guides our actions is Ephesians 5:21: "Submit to one another out of reverance for Christ."
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People are most touchy to advice about how we ought to go about our marriage, how we parent our kids, and how we make our living and act at work. Often, we don't trust these relationships to anyone or anything but ourselves and our own wisdom. These are the most personal relationships of our lives, so they are often the relationships that are the most untouched by the influence of our faith. But since these relationships are where we live our everyday lives, these relationships--marriage, family, and work--must be transformed if we are to say we are living the redeemed life in Christ. The command that guides our actions is Ephesians 5:21: "Submit to one another out of reverance for Christ."
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Monday, October 10, 2011
A New Society, Part 2: Children of the Light
Darkness in the Bible represents
These attributes of darkness no longer must be and no longer should be part of our lives. But how do we combat the darkness? What does it really look like to "live in the light"?
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- emptiness
- ignorance
- captivity
- fear
- unconsciousness
- secrecy
These attributes of darkness no longer must be and no longer should be part of our lives. But how do we combat the darkness? What does it really look like to "live in the light"?
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Friday, October 7, 2011
Are you watching the Hogs this weekend?
Halftime at the Hogs' game against Auburn on Saturday there will be a special presentation honoring a former Razorback who never played a down for the Hogs. His story is moving. Reading this story helps us to understand how difficult change can be, but that, over time, change is possible.
Read his story here from Yahoo! Sports.
Read his story here from Yahoo! Sports.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A New Society, Part 1
If you are a Christian, you have been told to "follow Jesus." But we don't often get it defined for us very well. I am not in a boat and Jesus is not literally on the seashore calling me to him. How do I get started following Jesus? In the King James Version, Ephesians 5 starts, "Be ye therefore followers of God..." Most other translations say, "Be imitators of God..." Paul uses this phrase to sum up the previous section (Ephesians 4:25-32) and to set the basis for the next section (Ephesians 5:2-6:9).
Jesus did not come just to redeem individuals but a whole new "people," a new community, a new society that reflects God's character and glory. So to follow Jesus is to imitate God within this new society, the church, in the way that we treat one another, on our love, in the way we form community, and in our relationships. All of this starts with decisions of the will, and Paul goes through several practical choices we should make, one by one, to imitate God, trade in our old selves for the new, and be redeemed together into a new society where we can live as God created us to live.
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Jesus did not come just to redeem individuals but a whole new "people," a new community, a new society that reflects God's character and glory. So to follow Jesus is to imitate God within this new society, the church, in the way that we treat one another, on our love, in the way we form community, and in our relationships. All of this starts with decisions of the will, and Paul goes through several practical choices we should make, one by one, to imitate God, trade in our old selves for the new, and be redeemed together into a new society where we can live as God created us to live.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition
One of the shows my wife and I have recently "acquired" (meaning it's one of the few shows we make a point to watch) is Restaurant: Impossible on the Food Network. In the show, this tough British chef goes to a failing restaurant and brings in a remodeling crew while he overhauls the menu, management, marketing, and service, all in two days with a very limited budget.
One episode that stood out to me was a restaurant that had been in the family for decades that was run by a guy who had no idea how to organize anything. The result was an extremely messy kitchen and a patio that had fallen out of use and cluttered with an amazing amount of garbage, unused equipment, and junk. At the end of each episode, there are a few captions giving kind of a "three-month report card." Most tell of at least moderate success. Sadly, for this restaurant, the caption said that junk had started to pile up again, and they had "temporarily closed."
How could this happen? How could they go back to their old ways after they have been shown something so much better? Don't they want to succeed?
Ephesians chapter 4 takes a similar tone: now that you have been called by Christ, do not live like the world any longer! Why? Because sin is bad and you know better!
Why do Christians continue to sin after they have come to know Christ? This is probably the most convicting sermon (for myself) that I have ever prepared...
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One episode that stood out to me was a restaurant that had been in the family for decades that was run by a guy who had no idea how to organize anything. The result was an extremely messy kitchen and a patio that had fallen out of use and cluttered with an amazing amount of garbage, unused equipment, and junk. At the end of each episode, there are a few captions giving kind of a "three-month report card." Most tell of at least moderate success. Sadly, for this restaurant, the caption said that junk had started to pile up again, and they had "temporarily closed."
How could this happen? How could they go back to their old ways after they have been shown something so much better? Don't they want to succeed?
Ephesians chapter 4 takes a similar tone: now that you have been called by Christ, do not live like the world any longer! Why? Because sin is bad and you know better!
Why do Christians continue to sin after they have come to know Christ? This is probably the most convicting sermon (for myself) that I have ever prepared...
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Worthy of the Name
Paul spent three chapters in Ephesians teaching about the church as God created it to be. We are ἐκκλησία, the "called-out" ones of God. We are called people with a calling to the the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, the children of God, a holy people of God, a community of priests and prophets who make the glory of God known "in the heavenly realms" as well as among the nations. The church has been given quite a name by God. So, Paul urges, "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received." And then he begins by coming alongside the Ephesian church (and now us) to show us how to live this worthy life, in daily practice. What does a church worthy that is worthy to be called God's "ἐκκλησία" look like? How do we live in this way?
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