Philippians 1:1-11. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ...

Psalm 39. My hope is in you, Lord. When we consider that, it takes such a weight off. Our lives aren’t hinging on our own aptitude, our own success or failure. If you WANT a challenge for weekend, commit Psalm 39:7 to memory. Cherish it and let is lighten your load. As we like to say in our youth group, he's G-O-T-C-H-U… He’s GOTCHU. And that’s wonderful.

Ephesians 6:10-24. Today we conclude the book of Ephesians, and the tone here is urgent. I dont think I have taken this passage seriously enough in the past… but Paul is not using war terminology lightly.

Ephesians 6:1-9. What if we treated every interaction as if it was with Christ? How would you treat your son or daughter differently? How would you treat your mom or dad differently? How about your boss or your employee? People society expects us to disrespect, people society ALLOWS us to disrespect… What if it was Christ?

Ephesians 5:22-33. Paul says in verse 30, we are members of his body, Christ’s body. For all of us, married or single, let’s stop fighting over our own little corner of control. Let’s stop being eyes trying to hear or noses trying to see. Let’s embrace the roles God created and equipped us for, and celebrate how he made us all to fit together for his glory and the spread of the gospel.

Ephesians 5:1-21. In Christ, we find the color we want to be… and the rest of our lives as his disciples should be spent holding up different things against what scripture tells us about Christ, and whittling down what matches.

Psalm 38. Simple. You need God. I need God. We need God for every single thing… Don’t mourn that fact but celebrate who God is, that he does provide, and instead of banging on the doors he has closed, look forward to the doors he is opening for you this very week…

Ephesians 4:25-32. When we realize its all for God’s glory, and we aren’t fighting for every scrap of glory for ourselves, then we can live honestly, and build others up. We first needed grace and forgiveness and tenderness, and the very one we rejected and disobeyed with our sin, he gave freely.

Ephesians 4:17-24. What sets you apart from the world? How are we reflecting the world, with its sensuality, greed, and impurity… or how are we reflecting Christ? 

Ephesians 4:7-16. Let me say this clearly. The mission you have been given as a follower of Jesus - to go and make disciples - have been fully planned and supplied by God. So any success we have is not to our credit. It’s not because we are awesome, and God wants to use us because of what we can do but what he can do through us.