We’re in Ephesians chapter four and we come to a challenging section of verses. They serve both as a comfort and a caution. They help to identify tender hearts towards the Spirit and calloused hearts as well. 

God has given all of us gifts as we’ll be reminded today on Growing in the Word with pastor Jim Jarrett. We’ll get that reminder in Ephesians chapter four – and learn about identifying those gifts. Identifying the gifts we’ve each been given will not only remind us that we’re all called to serve – but it helps us discover where and how!

 It’s timely you’ve joined us – not only for your sake, but ours as well. We need one another as we’ll discover from the book of Ephesians.  In chapter four, we learn God gives His word, and gifted ministers of the word, so we can be fully equipped – to fulfill our calling. 

We pick up today in our study of the book of Ephesians in chapter four verses eleven through sixteen, where we’re given insight, on apostles, prophets and evangelists. Any team relies on proper equipment to be effective. A baseball team with a bag full of hockey pucks wouldn’t be much good, would they? The same is true for God’s team! That’s you and me and the rest of Christianity.

 Today we’ll discover, the connection between the gifted men and women God gives to the Church, along with the Spirit’s work in reaching the heart, through the proclamation of the word. We’ll also learn how to detect counterfeits so we won’t be taken in by them. Today’s message in entitled “Equipping the Saints”.

Let me ask you an important question - what’s the objective of life? If you ask most people in the word, they think building up material treasures and having a good time are number one. Those things are fun - for a while - but they simply don’t last. Shouldn’t our goal be to make ourselves more like the perfect God who created us and loves us?

Jim is currently leading us on a verse by verse examination of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. This letter is filled with love and encouragement, so it’s just perfect for us, wouldn’t you say? Complacency is a common problem among Christians today. There are just so many comforts in life - especially in the beautiful area where we live. It’s time for a wake up call - let’s discover what our mission in life is and get going! 

As we go through life, we fill certain roles. Mother, father, child, employer, employee, the list goes on. In the Christian church, there are roles to play as well, and we each need to discover what our gift is. And don’t think you don’t have one - you do - and it’s an important one! That’s the theme of today’s broadcast as pastor Jim takes us to Ephesians chapter four, verses eleven through sixteen.

We’ll continue pastor Jim’s series in Ephesians today. And in chapter four we’re given a charge concerning Unity In The Spirit. That we’re to endeavor to keep it. And we’re told how and why.

We live in a divided world. Yet the desire for unity persists. Can we really unite if there are deep irreconcilable differences? If so, how and when? And equally as important – when are we to remain divided for the sake of truth and principle? What’s to be the Christian’s approach? We’ll get some help with this today on Growing in the Word.