Ephesians: A Call to Discipleship

 

            “We are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (2:10). This is one of my favorite verses from one of my favorite Biblical books, Ephesians. It is classified as an epistle or letter, but really, it’s more of a theological treatise. This work from Paul shows us who God is and who we are, when we define ourselves in terms of our relationship with Jesus. We are created in Christ.

            This is what I encourage you to do. Read through Ephesians. You could read through the entire book every day for a week. It’s only 6 chapters, but those short chapters are packed with spiritual insight. After you’ve read through the letter a few times, answer the following questions. What verse or passage speaks deeply to you? This would be what motivates or inspires you. What section do you find confusing? This would be what you have trouble understanding. What teaching in this epistle do you find to be most challenging? This would be what you understand perfectly well but are hesitant to apply to your own life.

            When you’ve thought about these three questions, share with me your answers to each. For several Sundays after Easter, the sermons will be based on Ephesians. You’ll get the most out of Sunday mornings if you come to worship with thoughts of your own. Read Ephesians as the word of God for you. Read it and then live out the message.

A Wartime Prayer (3/3/2026)

 

 

When Jesus walked the earth (approximately 6BC – 30AD), God in human flesh, one empire was more powerful than the rest and imposed its will on other nations, disregarding their sovereignty. That was Rome. The country that does that today, the 21^st century equivalent of the Roman Empire, is the United States of America. The U.S.A forced a regime change in Venezuela in January of this year, now in March, the U.S.A is in the process of doing it again, this time in Iran. The United States can do this because it is bigger and stronger than other nations.

In the first century, Jesus was of the people dominated by the imperial power. The contemporary of example if Israel’s powerlessness in the face of Roman might would be Venezuela or Iran or any other nation we choose to crush. This is not a value statement or a moral statement. It’s an observation.

The spiritual assertion, backed by passages like Luke 1:52, is that God favors the victim and the vanquished when the powerful exert their power. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. Also, consider Jesus’ own words. The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me … to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). This is not to say God is thoroughly against America and for Iran and Venezuela. That would be an absurd statement. God is for people, and especially for poor people.

There are many poor people in Iran and Venezuela, and maybe someday, they will be helped by a regime change, but that rarely comes about from a foreign invasion. Ask the people of Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam of America’s invasion of their nations brought uplift and prosperity. It did not. When we pray in wartime, if we are disciples of Jesus, are prayers are to be motivated by what motivated him during his earthly ministry.

So …

A Wartime Prayer

Lord of the Universe, bring the war to an end … before it begins.

Protect the peasants who live near the facilities targeted for bombing.

Reach into the psyche of the fighter jet pilots; forgive them for taking lives, convict their hearts of their part in the violence, and then heal their souls whenever the remorse comes.

Effect a course correction in the minds of leaders whose decisions bring about death and destruction.

Prepare the world for the ripple effects: rising fuel costs; travel bans; unstable markets; distrust between nations.

Put in the hearts of the people of your church a longing for your kingdom; may that longing overpower illusions of lost greatness.

 Take from us our misguided nationalism and toxic patriotism and replace these with true faith, hope, and love.

Yours, AND ONLY YOURS, is the kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever.

Forgive us Lord.

AMEN