the community in communication...

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Ever noticed how frequently the mandate for forgiveness is played up but the motivation for forgiveness is missed? We all know how critical and beneficial it is to overlook offenses, we all know how dangerous it is to remain bitter, but we often don't know how to do it. Paul won't let that happen in his letter to the Ephesians, which is why he wrote plently about what motivates a lifestyle of kind speech and an attitude of forgiveness in verses 17-24. There he talks about who we were and who we now are before he discusses what we're called to be...

Who we were (Eph 4:17-19)
Paul's basic point in these verses is that we were people whose ignorance and hardness of heart had led to lifestyles of addiction to various sins. Because we didn't understand the nature of God's glory and the danger of ignoring his worth, we lived our lives in ways that displayed our mixed up appetites: "given up to sensuality and greedy to practice every kind of impurity." That's who we were before Christ... and it's good not to forget that.

Who we are (Eph 4:20-24)
Paul continues by saying "but that is not the way you learned Christ." Simply put, the ignorance is gone... God interrupted our lives and convinced us of a new priority and value system in life. God is the only Glorious One, God is the only Worthy One, and we are only right when we understand that truth primarily. Convinced of that, we put off our old selves with our corrupted desires... our minds were renewed and we put on our new selves created in pattern with God's character and righteousness. Simply put, in Christ we took off the clothing of our sinful identity and put on the uniform of Christ's righteousness. That uniform now marks our identity as part of something bigger and grander than us- we are part of His body.

Who we're called to be (Eph 4:25-32)
We have now been given a uniform that marks our new life and new citizenship in Christ's body. And our conduct needs to match the uniform we've been given. So Paul directs the Ephesians to lives marked by that uniform. His directions are relational, they're set in terms of contrasts, and they're given theological basis. Consider what he puts forward:

• Since we've given up the big lie that God is inferior to the world, there's no need to lie to each other. Why would we? We're members together in His Body- why should we need to impress each other with made up half-truths? (v 25)
• Since we're passionate for God's glory but also suspicious about our tendency to anger, there's no need to hold grudges or nurse our anger. Why would we? That only gives the devil and opportunity to breed disunity within the Body of Christ- why would we hold onto anger that could divide us? (v 26-27)
• Since we're eager to care for each other and want to be productively helpful, there's no need to steal any longer. Why would we? God's called us to meet the needs present in the Body- if He's called us to that, He'll provide honest ways for us to earn and share money. (v 28)
• Since we're fellow members of the Body of Christ and want to build each other up, there's no need to speak in a way that corrupts others. Why would we? We love each other and want to spread grace and not decay within the Body we're joined to. (v 29-30)

All this gets summarized in verses 31-32: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." This kind of communication is what the Body of Christ has been called to- speaking and relating with an awareness of the uniform and identity we've put off and the new identity and unifrom we've put on in Christ. What a joy when we see that living this way will help us to avoid "grieving the Spirit of God, by whom we were sealed for the day of redemption."

As you meet this week and discuss last week's message, here's ONE QUESTION that may be helpful from yesterday's sermon: Given all that Paul mentions as being true in the community He created in the church, what prevents you from extending forgiveness to those who have hurt you in the past? In light of what we've been saved from and forgiven of, mercy is the privilege of the Christian community- what joy we share as we extend the grace available in forgiveness to each other!

Have a great week,

Darren

the community in collaboration...

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift... And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:7,11-16)

Have you ever felt as if your role in the body of Christ was unimportant... like the tonsils or gall bladder? You're a part of the body, but your removal wouldn't really make a big difference? After Paul addressed the importance of unity in the body, he went on to stress that unity doesn't mean uniformity. Instead, every member of the body is essential so that the body of Christ can grow.

Every church needs to be characterized by the belief that its members are gifted and are called to the growth and health of that church. Sadly, too many times, we define a church's "growth" by the number of folks who attend meetings. But Paul draws our attention away from what happens at one meeting on one day to what happens within the body during the week. "Growth" according to this passage is defined by how deeply and strongly the church is marked by certain core beliefs... and for our church to grow, we must understand the three implications of this passage for us:

First, SGC should be marked by maturity. We are to be a growing community... a church marked by an increasing confidence that what we believe about God matters when life gets rough. Paul describes an immature church by referencing a tiny boat tossed in the water- tossed by waves, blown around by winds. Verse 14 makes it clear that the storm is some hip, new, but false doctrine. Instead, our church is to be marked by a mature, settled confidence in the basics of our faith: the love of a sovereign God motivated His provision of His Son who claims lordship over the world He died to redeem... a move that began a new relationship between God and people that's marked by the activity of the Spirit inside of His people on earth. We want these truths to mark our community... that's what it means to grow. QUESTIONS: In what ways have you been grateful for the maturity you've noticed at SGC? In what ways do you think we are prone to immaturity in our thinking?

Second, SGC should be marked by responsibility. We are a gifted community... a church marked by a variety of abilities, talents, and potential for serving each other. Christ (the exalted Savior) has shared the spoils of His victory with us- spoils that make us rich for service, spoils that also create a responsibility within a local church to make the church grow (v 16). The variety of gifts we've been given should create 2 burdens within us: first, none of us in insignificant; second, none of us is independent. All of us need the help and encouragement that can only be provided by someone else who knows and sees me- I need them to speak truth to me and they need me to speak truth to them. QUESTIONS: In what ways do you think God has gifted you for service at SGC? Are there weaknesses in our church where you think you could be helpful? What prevents you from getting involved?

Third, SGC should be marked by ministry. We are to be an "equipped" community... a church marked by a relationship between the leaders and the membership where we expect that pastors don't do the work but equip others to do the work. If that's true, it prevents us from the "bus" mentality (he'll drive and I'll just ride along) to a "body" mentality (where everyone has a vital and living connection to Christ that strengthens us for the service He calls us to). Pastors, according to Eph 4, are to teach truth in a way that encourages the local church to do certain things that ultimately help the body grow. QUESTIONS: When you consider the possibilities of having a church building or adding another pastor to our "staff", are you excited about the ways this will multiply ministry through SGC? What types of ministries come to mind? How do you envision the pastors helping you in this? (send them an e-mail to get the ball rolling)

As I look ahead, the potential for growth at SGC is exciting. I know we didn't have CG this week, but I wanted to give you a few ways to think about our last message anyway. Thanks for your enthusiastic and sacrificial participation in the growth of SGC- can't wait to keep walking with you in the future!

Darren

the community in conflict...

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:1-6)

As a prisoner, Paul was writing his friends in Ephesus to encourage them to live out the reality of chapters 1-3: that God had lavished them with such grace that they were now at peace with each other, at peace with God, and permanent citizens of a heavenly kingdom. This grace also created unity within the broad Body of Christ that was to be reflected in their lives together. The same thing is true for us within SGC- the unity God created between us is more powerful than anything that happens among us. We can see this burden carried forth in verses 1-6 in three ways:

First, God created our community. “The calling to which you have been called” (v 1) refers to their corporate calling to a life of hope, power, and future together (reference 1:18…) This amazing reality is the foundation of our church and makes it different than a sports league, political party, or country club. God is doing amazing and eternal things within our church and calls us to a wonderful future together. QUESTION: How have you experienced the grace of God in the past through your relationships in this church? How have you sought to cultivate amazement for what God has done?

Second, sin will threaten our community. “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” refers to Paul’s concern that we can live instead as proud, harsh, impatience people bent on bearing grudges rather than bearing with others. Both the Ephesians then and we now know that it’s easy to be offended by other’s mistakes, habits, and sins against us. But we need to be aware of the sinful tendency to respond in kind to others. Darren mentioned that he was offended and tempted to sin when he received an e-mail this past week. He confessed the sins of critical judgment and anger against the person who sent it to him. QUESTION: When you enter into conflict, what sins are you often tempted to commit (judgments, silent bitterness, angry slander, etc)? Is there any area of bitterness in your life over something that happened in the past?

Third, we will maintain this community. “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” is Paul’s way of saying that we are called to keep and guard the unity that God has created. We are to watch over it as the guard in Acts was called to watch over Paul and Silas. When we do, we declare to all those watching that our “rights” are not as important as God’s glory displayed in our community. QUESTION: Do you find yourself “eager” to maintain community when a conflict arises? Why or why not? How does this category affect the way you’ve handled conflicts that arise… even at home with your parents, siblings, or spouse? When you have reconciled a conflict, how has that affected your relationship with them and with the Lord?

I pray these thoughts are helpful as you serve one another this week,
Darren