Though the Old Testament had anticipated the extension of blessings to the Gentiles, how God would accomplish that great feat remained unrevealed. In Christ, the mystery has been made known. Having removed the barrier of the Law and having made us alive with Christ, God has now formed one Church in which Jews and Gentiles share equal standing as fellow-heirs, fellow-members of the body, and fellow-sharers of the promise. Sharing in this mystery, we are to follow Paul in sharing it with others. The riches of Christ are inexhaustible. The message is for all people.

Many times we go through life encountering difficult circumstances and significant trials and wonder if God is there and if He is, what is he doing with this. Paul shares a bit of his life with us in the book of Philippians and describes how he dealt with difficult circumstances and how we can too. Paul's chief goal in life was to glorify God. This goal leads him to share the Good News so others would worship God too. We can learn how our focus and chief concerns can either help us or hinder us from glorifying God and enjoying Him in the midst of good and bad times.

Peace. We need peace with God and peace with each other. Ultimately, these are only possible in Christ. The same plan of God that took dead sinners and made them alive with Christ (2:1-10) formed out of those sinners one holy people. Because they are united to God, they are therefore also united together with each other. The Mosaic Law itself has now been fulfilled in Christ and done away with as a barrier between God and humanity and between Jew and Gentile. If even this God-given boundary is removed, then all merely human boundaries are proven impotent before the new humanity that God is forming as his kingdom, his family, and his temple.

“You may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation that you will forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself…. Grace is the fountain and the stream…. Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of it as if it were the independent source of your salvation. Our life is found in ‘looking unto Jesus’ (Heb. 12:2), not in looking to our own faith. …See, then, that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. …The power lies in the grace of God and not in our faith. ...Think more of Him to whom you look than of the look itself. ...Faith never makes herself her own plea; she rests all her argument upon the blood of Christ.” (Charles Spurgeon)

In most of Paul’s letters, we get to eavesdrop on his prayers. As we listen in, we detect the problems with our own praying. Perhaps we don’t pray. Or we do, but not very fervently, not very thoughtfully, not very (if we are willing to admit it) biblically. This text will help us transform our prayers into what they should be, and in the process we will find ourselves transformed by the God to whom we speak. In the end, he is the reason we pray. Prayer is a declaration of dependence, and the greatest thing that could happen to our prayers is for us to be gripped by our need for God.

It’s all or nothing. In Christ, we possess every true blessing; apart from him, we truly possess nothing. Our world teaches a doctrine that tells us to look within ourselves to find who we are. We define ourselves. Paul exposes the poverty of such a view by pointing us to the riches of Christ. In short, to understand who we are we must start by understanding who Christ is. Ephesians 1 tells us much about what it means to be a Christian

Day by day, meal upon meal and night after night. Parents patiently provide care for their children in the hopes that they will grow into healthy adults. Like a growing child, the body of Christ is meant to grow day by day in our walk with Jesus, the Bible, and each other. We are committed to helping people find and follow Jesus.

Jesus came to build his church and we are committed to joining Him in that work through personal evangelism, developing leaders, church planting locally, nationally, and globally, as well as through local community partnerships.

The Bible is the Word of God and everything we believe, say, and do is founded upon it. Our preaching, discipleship, and counseling are rooted in the all sufficiency and authority of the Bible.

Everything begins and ends with Jesus. Our commitment to him, his word, and his work is demonstrated by bold preaching focused on the Gospel and reordering every area of life to the Gospel.