Darkness is powerful. Have you ever had a rough night of sleep? No matter how hard you tried you just couldn't rest. Maybe you were sick, or maybe there was something else on your mind. In the midst of the darkness of that night you longed for the light of day, you were sure that if you could just make it to the morning, then everything would be alright again. Paul uses this image of light and darkness in Ephesians 5 to describe our former life of sin and our new life in Christ. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Join us this Sunday as we see what our new life of walking in the light really means for us.

All in the same year, I met my future wife, I met Jesus as my savior, and I met my Air Force drill instructor. It was a life-changing year! Those experiences which each had some connection to the others also have some connection to the continuing changes in my life. I hope that for you as well, the new life God gave you, perhaps many years ago, is still working its changes in your life today.

This Sunday we will talk about some of the specific ways that we can and should be leaning into and living out new life through faith in Jesus.

The message I have for Sunday really has nothing to do with Mother's Day at all, except that the subject of our story had a really terrible mother! Perhaps, preaching from 2 Kings 1 on Mother's Day proves that I've completely given up on trying to deliver a proper Mother's Day message! But whether you are a mother or not, surely the groanings and travailing of life in this broken world have caused you at times to wonder, "God where are you?" and "Why is it like this - what is the cause of this chaos?" Mothers or grandmothers, in their own family or our church family, often wonder, "God, how are we to raise up Your followers in the midst of this mess?!"

This Sunday, I want to share a gift with you that was given to me this week; a wonderful reminder from an unexpected place in God's Word. This brief episode shows us that God knows about the ongoing insanity, that God is sovereign in the midst of it, and that His mercy is near and ready for all who call upon Him.

What is God's plan for His church? Why are we doing the church things we do? What should you be doing? What's it all for?

Those are important questions. At one level or another, we each have answers for them, but are they the right answers? This Sunday we will see from Ephesians Chapter 4 why you need God's church (here at BP Church) and also how God's working through His church needs you. This is a key passage for us as to understand why we do what we do as a church, how you can do what God has given you to do, and what it can look like if we do and as we do.

The first half of Ephesians focused on what God has done for us in Jesus. Now, the second half will focus on how we live in light of what God has done for us. The very first thing He tells us is to stick together! But how do we stick together as His church when there seems to be so much that pulls us apart? The Church of Jesus seems to be divided by many denominations and flavors, and any individual church is easily divided by individual preferences and opinions.

This weekend we celebrate the single greatest event ever in all of human history! Jesus’ resurrection changed everything, but too many don’t know about it, and others don’t understand or believe what they have been told. Don’t give up on them though, Jesus’ first messengers were just like that at one point or another. So, this Sunday, I want us to hear firsthand, from one of Jesus’ disciples, how not seeing led to believing. For him, what he did not see was even more important that what he did see. So, invite someone to come with you to hear his invitation to not see and believe.

Do you have a tape measure? I have one, and it is a very useful tool. I can use it to measure all kinds of things around my house. I can also take it to the store and measure things there to make sure they will fit in my house. I can even use it to measure how tall my kids are. But there are some things that it doesn't measure very well. I can't use it to measure how far I drive, or how long the sermon will be this Sunday, and I can't even use it to show my wife how much I love her. But, I'll bring my tape measure anyways this Sunday and maybe together in Ephesians 3:14-21 we can figure out the breadth and length and height and depth of the love that Jesus has for us.

What do wine bottles and root beer have to do with Ephesians Chapter 3??? That is not at all what you expected! That’s kind of the point. In this next section we are reminded that God is building his church in ways that no one expected. That means that church should probably not be quite what you expected. It also means that God can use you in ways no one else expected—that’s how God works, it’s what God does.

And, if I am able to somehow use bursting wine bottles and root beer bombs to illustrate our Lord building his church, then surely God is able to use you in his work of building his church.

Jonah seems to be a pretty poor prophet—he’s so reluctant to extend God’s mercy to those unworthy scoundrels in Nineveh. But, while Jonah is a poor prophet, he’s a good example of humanity, and even of God’s hesitant people, who are sometimes more exclusive than we would like to admit.

Ephesians 2:11-22 has good news about us, it reminds us of what God has done for us—God brought us outsiders in! But this passage also suggests what we should be do in response; it’s one of those passages that describes the mission God has given BP Church. Let’s talk about it this Sunday.

I enjoy going to a new place and seeing new sights. If the weather is not good (like sometimes at the Oregon coast) I might end up wandering through an art gallery. I enjoy looking at the paintings, they are always signed by someone, but most the time I don’t really care who. It’s pretty, it’s nice, someone is sure to buy that one, but not me. But then sometimes you see something really amazing and different. Maybe it’s the tender love evident in what is otherwise a harsh scene. Maybe it’s the may a sunrise bursts over an otherwise mundane morning. Or, maybe it’s the unique although somewhat mysterious expression on the otherwise common looking Mona Lisa that depicts an unexpected liveliness that commands further reflection. That when you would ask, “Who is the artist?” This must be a work of one of the “Old Masters.”

But really, when it comes to creative work, there is only one true master. This Sunday we’ll be talking about his work—I hope you have seen it. I’ve seen it, right here in BP Gallery, and it is amazing!