Sunday Talks

Summer is long gone: it’s behind us in terms of its long, bright evenings. And this year more than most, you might be wondering about what’s ahead of us in the dark winter. There’s lots of uncertainty this year heading from the light of summer to the darkness of winter.

There is, however, a sense in which something completely the opposite of this has taken place. That is, among Christians. Instead of heading into, or towards darkness, Christians, we learn from the Bible, are headed in the opposite direction! In fact they are (Eph 5:8) are light in the Lord.

Paul, writing and describing the building of the church to the Ephesians, wants Christians to be aware that there may still be some toxic clutter to deal with. And that harmful, toxic clutter is in the whole area of our personal relationships with each another. As we build Blackrock Community Church together we are to do the same. So today’s Bible reading is a really practical call to action, to get rid of the kind of things that will destroy our community life together. To dump any toxic church clutter. What do you need fetch out of the attic to get rid of?

Last week we saw Paul’s sketch of the thriving church, growing up into and called to stand up in maturity alongside it’s founder: the Lord Jesus Christ. And all the time his urgent call to Christians, his readers, to walk in a manner worthy of their calling to be part of this church. Today we see Paul turn to hone right in and speak directly to the men and women, the ordinary Christians who make up the church.

In our passage today there are a Biblical set of sketches. Sketches of what the church should look like . Here in Ephesians Chapter 4, Paul’s not so much concerned with building layout as with the conduct and behaviour of all of us: the people. What the church should look like. Come with me for a few minutes and see and hear what the Bible tells us about what the church, what Blackrock Community Church, should look like.

The blueprints produced by an architect are exciting documents. Together with the artists sketches and the dazzling elevations a proposed new structure looks amazing – but then you wonder if the reality will ever match up. Can such a magnificent building take shape?

So it is with us... we might wonder at the description of the church in Ephesians. We’ll see today that it’s because of Almighty God the Father’s supreme sovereignty, and because of the wealth of his vast resources, and because of his magnificent unmatched ability...not to mention his limitless love for us in Christ... that the blueprints for the church are taking shape, they really are becoming reality, even when that’s hard to see from where you are sitting today.

We’ve all felt a bit cooped up these months, but imagine really being imprisoned: your freedom restricted, your future uncertain, your life on hold – all your closest relationships severed, and being completely unable to do the work you’dgiven your life to. Who wouldn’t feel like giving up?

In Ephesians 3, the prisoner facing that awful reality is Paul, 3:1, who describes himself as a prisoner for Christ Jesus. Here in this section of his letter to the churches of Ephesus and the surrounding region – he sketches a sight for sore eyes.

On a Sunday when the masks and the screens have gone up between us – we are reading about an opposite, and an even greater reality described in the Bible... about dividing walls coming down and a new structure being built up. We are hearing about people not being separated from each other... but amazingly, being joined together!

Christians are called to a completely new way of life. That’s what sanctification is all about. Listen to what the Bible teaches about how this works.

Justification by faith was the doctrine that stoked the furnace of the reformation. However, it is too relevant to leave on a history shelf. In these briefing notes we’ve been considering some of the major Christian teachings and I want to suggest to you that getting clear on this one is potentially the most life-changing. Listen in.

No doctrine of the Christian faith is more repugnant that this truth – that we are all sinners. Speaking biblically about sin and the human condition will make us feel very uncomfortable. However, listen to this briefing on what the Bible says about sin.