Ethos Church

A lot of us have trouble understanding why Jesus had to die for our sins not because we don’t understand God’s holiness, but we misunderstand our own level of depravity. In a world where so much sin is accepted and celebrated, it’s easy to believe that we aren’t “that bad.” Without the sacrifice of Jesus, we would be without hope and without forgiveness. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” Even on our best days and with our best intentions, without the blood of Jesus we would deserve death as the punishment for sin. We did nothing to earn our forgiveness and everything to deserve punishment. But in God’s great love for us, He sent His son and took our punishment upon Himself. Jesus died not because we were worthy of it, but because He loves to be with the ones He loves.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed”

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Our goal in life is not simply to follow Jesus but to become like Him. Therefore, He must increase and we must decrease (John 3:30). There are three promises we can make to help us be more like Jesus in our relationships. First, we can promise to respond with patience and love rather than to react out of emotion and impulse. Next, we can promise to focus on the good in people instead of focusing on their faults. Last, we can promise to talk it out when there is conflict instead of walking away and giving up on the relationship.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

In order for relationships to work, we must let the One who designed them define them. God wants our relationships to be healthy. Contrary to what we often see in the world, relationships are not disposable. They require commitment in order to work well. Making promises can assist us in staying committed to our relationships. There are four specific promises we can make to strengthen our relationships. First, we make the promise of priority. We have to put our relationships in the right order. Then we make the promise of continual pursuit. For example, we can work just as hard at keeping our spouse as we did when we were trying to win their affection. The same principle can be applied to employers or customers. We can work as hard to keep a job as we did to get the job or promotion. Next, we promise not to make our relationships all about ourselves. Instead, we think of relationships as partnerships, allowing our differences to complement each other. Last, we promise to confide in one another instead of concealing our weaknesses and shortcomings.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need”

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The breath that is in your lungs, gives you the ability to live, to speak, and to enjoy your daily life. But the breath that is in you, since it is a gift from God, is meant for so much more. We are called to use the breath that God gave us, for His good and His glory. That means speaking life, speaking love, speaking encouragement, and letting our voices be used to draw people into Christ. What we say in our world today carries so much weight and impact, and if we are housing God’s breath in our very bodies it is our responsibility, our job even, to speak words of life into the world. It is because of His very breath that He put into us that we can even speak, so may our words be worship, praise, love, and life.

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

For many Christians, Romans 8:28 is a “go-to” scripture in perilous times. Especially when we cannot explain “why” something bad has or currently is happening. The problem is, we often use this verse as a stoic blanket by saying, “Something bad has happened? Aww, that’s terrible. But wait! All things work together for good.” In many ways, with that being our complete understanding of Romans 8:28, we equate God to a cosmic magician. When in reality, God wants to partner and co-labor with us to establish His kingdom and will on earth as it is in Heaven. God’s people are not simply spectators, not simply beneficiaries, but active participants. The vocation of human beings in Genesis is to reflect Gods purposes in the world. Let’s dive in together to have a more complete understanding of Romans 8:28 and how we can partner with God in our world.

“We know, in fact, that God works all things together for good to those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”

In the book of John, the ninth chapter, Jesus’ disciples ask the standard question, not that different from the question many people ask today when bad things happen, “Who sinned?” But Jesus doesn’t look back to a hypothetical cause - He looks forward, to see what God is going to do about it. Meaning; what Jesus is going to do about it. So, He heals the man. As to communicate that this is the “now” time, not the time for speculating about previous sin. As Jesus followers, if we are waiting for a special event like a natural disaster, a global pandemic, or a change of politics to nudge us into looking for Jesus’ kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Or furthermore, a special event to tell us or others to repent when we are drifting into careless sin, or to remind us that life is short, and our neighbors need to know who Jesus really is; then we have gone to sleep on the job. Let’s discover what it means to partner with Jesus to see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

God is a loving Father, so why would the Bible talk about our need to fear God? In this message, Jordan tackles one of the most challenging truths of Scripture; that fear of God is necessary for real, authentic, friendship with God. We all have fears. In fact, right now is a very fearful time for us all. Too often, though, we have let fear rule our lives and stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do and what God says is true. When the Church has a true fear of God, we do not fit neatly into a category, a political party, or a tribe. However, we do find ourselves in greater unity with one another and with Jesus. Maybe the reason we have become so casual in our obedience to Jesus is because we don’t fear the Lord. If we are going to truly experience the fullness of a relationship with God, there are four things we must do that we will unpack together in this message.

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”

In one of his more famous quotes, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is an essential part of our faith in Jesus. We learn through the teachings of Jesus that we pray to God, in the name of Jesus. It is because of what Jesus has done on your behalf that you have access to God, as your father. To say that’s incredible is a gross understatement and yet, prayer is still a bit of a mystery to us. The Bible called people to such disciplines as fasting, prayer, worship, celebration, and study; but gave almost no instruction about how to do them. Those disciplines were practiced and were such a part of the general culture that the “how to” was common knowledge. It is not common anymore. However, Jesus gave us a model prayer that today we refer to as, The Lord’s Prayer, and in it we find what Pastor Jordan refers to as, “The Cycle of Prayer” where we begin to learn how to pray effectively and learn that prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance but rather laying hold of His willingness.

“Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act...”

A recent study revealed that 9 out of 10 Americans will pray at least one time this week. Yet, with all of that praying, prayer is still a mystery to so many of us. Philippians 4:6 tells us to, “be anxious for nothing but pray about everything”. It is one of the more famous bible verses but one of the most challenging too. How many of us can say that we “pray about everything”? If we are really honest, its oftentimes prayer itself that makes us anxious. As we look at Philippians 4, we explore the obstacles that hinder us from a strong prayer life.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)