Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this sermon, we looked at how we are called to bear the image of God in marriage. In Ephesians 5:22-31, Paul turns his attention to marriage as he calls husbands and wives to a specific role in reflecting the image of the Gospel. Wives are to submit to their husbands in a way that bears the image of the Church submitting to and honoring Christ. Husbands are to sacrificially love their wives in a way that bears the image of Christ loving His bride, the Church, by willingly laying down His life for her. Neither wives nor husbands are expected to bear this image perfectly but to strive to bear the image of God wholeheartedly as they are being transformed by God. Even in imperfect Christian marriage, the relationship between Jesus and the Church is on full display as husbands and wives pursue the Lord together.

In this sermon, we looked at Ephesians 5:1-21 to see Paul's description of what it looks like to imitate God as those who are being transformed by the Gospel. Paul uses the metaphor of walking in the light, instead of the darkness, as a picture of the transformative process for those who are in Christ. In Him, we are being transformed back into image bearers of God. In this section of Ephesians, Paul specifically addresses how our words are connected to what's in our hearts and calls the Church to be imitators of God by paying attention to and guarding our speech. Instead of speaking in a way that is shameful, foolish, or vulgar, we are to speak in a way that is kind, just, and true as we walk in the light as imitators of God.

In this sermon, we continued looking in Ephesians 4, where Paul tells the church in Ephesus to put off the old self, from before they heard the Gospel and knew the Lord, and to put on the new self, which is theirs in Christ Jesus. Beginning in verse 25, Paul gives practical advice about how to conduct ourselves as we live everyday life in Christ. When we put on this new self and truly live as His, we honor God and maintain the unity of the Spirit.

In this sermon, we looked at Paul's reminder to the Christians in Ephesus to no longer walk as their old selves before they heard the Gospel and learned about Jesus. In Ephesians 4:17-25, Paul teaches us that at the core of the old self is a darkened heart that has become calloused and can no longer feel pain, grief, guilt, or conviction. He also warns that once our hearts become darkened and calloused, we give ourselves over to moral riot. Paul reminds the Ephesians that they are no longer the same and gives them instructions to take off this old self by putting away falsehood and telling the truth about their sin and suffering. We, too, have been commanded to put off the old self and put on the new self, created in the image of God. By giving our sin and suffering a name and telling the truth, our hearts become alive and sensitive, allowing us to walk in the new self in right relationship with God and others.

In this sermon, we continued to look at the gifts of grace Jesus has given to the Church in order to build up the Church and maintain unity. Jesus has called spiritual leaders to equip the members of the Church for ministry so that they may minister to one another in truth and love. Every believer has been equipped and entrusted with a spiritual gift of grace to serve the other members of the Church. When each part is working according to God's design, the Church grows into full maturity, becoming more like Jesus individually and collectively, and God's people flourish.

In this sermon, we looked at how God has given the Church everything it needs to maintain the unity Christ provided. In Ephesians 4:7-12, Paul says that God has given leaders to the church as gifts of grace in order to equip all of the members to fulfill their calling in ministry, thereby leading the whole Church to spiritual growth and unity in Christ.

In this sermon, we looked at Ephesians 4:1-6, where Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus shifts focus. While chapters one through three focus on God's redemptive work of grace and our identity in Christ, this passage begins to focus on how we walk. This walk refers to how we live and conduct ourselves according to the wonderful mercy and calling of God. Paul calls believers to walk in a manner worthy of this calling and says we are to act in humility, gentleness, and patience with one another in order to preserve the unity we have in the Holy Spirit. The repetition of the word "one" in verses four through six emphasizes the unified identity we have as Christians in that we all share the same Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and Father through faith in Jesus. Paul urges believers to pursue this unity in our actions toward one another.

In this sermon, we looked at Ephesians 3:14-21 when Paul tells the Ephesians that he prays for God to strengthen them spiritually and grant them understanding of Christ's love. Having already revealed the mystery of the Gospel, in which God ordained Jews and Gentiles to be co-heirs in Christ, Paul knows that this unity will require strength through the Holy Spirit and a foundation in Christ's love. As we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit and truly comprehend His love, our lives become more aligned with Christ and reflect the character of God. Only the one true God, who does far more than we could ever ask or imagine, could accomplish this in us. He alone deserves the glory.

In this sermon, we looked at Paul's insight into the mystery of the Gospel. In Ephesians 2, Paul explained that Jesus broke down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles, uniting them as one. In Ephesians 3, Paul says that the Gospel is made visible in that the Gentiles are now fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promises of God. Through God's love toward the Jews and Gentiles alike, the mystery of the Gospel is displayed in the immeasurable and unsearchable riches of God's mercy, grace, kindness, and love toward all.

In this sermon, we looked at how Jesus is the cornerstone who holds all things together. In Ephesians 2:18-22, Paul points to the Trinity as an example and reminder to the Church that we are brought together in unity as members of God's household and citizens of His Kingdom, built upon the truth of Scripture. As the members of God's household trust Jesus in faith, He gives us access to the Father through the Spirit, draws us close to Himself, and binds us to one another in Christian community. Our lives are forever bound and held together by Jesus as our cornerstone.