Hi, it’s Mick and It’s Friday! We hope you are enjoying our podcasts and they are helping you each day as you look to live the Jesus life. I love the worship song at the end of the reflection and prayer so an opportunity to say a big thank you to Becca and her team from STC. This week’s podcasts have continued our reflections on Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church and how these timeless words can still inspire us today in our busy 21st century lives.

REFLECTION

Today our week’s reflections come together in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church (Eph 3:14-21) One of the most famous, well known prayers in the Bible. In our daily podcasts we usually encourage you to read the whole passage during the day whilst we focus on one or two key verses for that day but today I’m going to read the whole prayer now – you can hear it read again after the worship song.

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Two foundational truths to reflect upon today in this prayer

Firstly, the Power of the Holy Spirit

Paul prays that ‘out of his glorious riches he (God) may strengthen you with power through his Spirit’ (v.16) and that ‘you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God’ (v.19). The Lord wants us to know this power every day – all we need to do is come before him, open up our lives and ask! Where do you need God’s power today?

Secondly, the Purposes of God’s Love

We can never fully understand or grasp the enormity of God’s love for us but Paul gives a wonderful image of God making his home in us, being one with us (v17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. MSG). He then goes much further as his prayer seems to take him into the courts of heaven!

Listen … And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. vv17-19

Paul states what seems a paradox, to know that which is beyond knowing; however, through the Holy Spirit we can really know this love in our lives and share it with those around us. This is the testimony of all who commit to Jesus; as we say yes to him, even now listening to this podcast, he says yes to us and dwells in our hearts through faith. This happens the moment we become a Christian but it also needs to happen every day as we follow Jesus. Every day we ask the Lord to be rooted and established in love and that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ask right now, put me on pause, and see what happens,

Our vision in 2018 at STC Sheffield is to ask people to ‘Join Us in Building Community’. We are continuing to prepare as a church for a spiritual awakening, a Godly Revival in our city and beyond which, in these uncertain times will call many people back to God. In this our Vision week we have been asking our church family to pray for this vision – over 1000 people involved in prayer this week! ; that we would see Godly midweek communities grow and develop here at STC. We are praying for 500 homes or households committed to Jesus; 500 homes where Jesus is Lord; 500 homes offeri...