Effects of Grace

Good Wednesday to You, 

First, thank you to Don Steuer and the others serving on Interim Pastoral Search Committee (Debbie-Bell Smith, Richard Dukes, Doug Reavie, and Ward Wilson) for your faithful service to Graham. Please keep the committee in your prayers. Second, thank you for the update on this process. With two candidates narrowed down, we trust God will provide the right person at exactly the right time.  

On Sunday, we returned to Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. The first three chapters unpack a theology of God that roots our identity in Christ. Think of it as Paul building the foundation of our salvation and redemption in Christ. In the final three chapters, Paul turns to the Church—how we are to live. Think "practice!" 

Paul starts in chapter four with "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Earlier in the letter, we read that God called us from before the foundations of the earth. God had us in mind before creation. And, already worked out the plan for salvation! Our calling reminds us of the moment we heard God's voice welcoming us into the family of faith forgiven and free from the consequences of sin. Our calling is to new life in Christ as the Church! 

As the Church, the Holy Spirit gives us unity. I said on Sunday that our unity should not be confused with uniformity. In our passage, Paul lays out our foundation, built upon "one body and one Spirit…one hope…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:4-6). For if we are in Christ, then we are one Church with many expressions of faith.  

I challenged you to live into the kingdom of Heaven reaching for humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love (some have translated bearing with one another as "putting up with each other in love"). How is that going for you today? I pray you've had amble opportunities to reach for patience over frustration! I hope you've reached for gentleness over harshness. As we reach for these qualities, the Holy Spirit changes our default setting from one to the other.  

As a reminder, our Annual Congregational Meeting is fast approaching. We will gather in the sanctuary on Friday, January 27, at 6:00pm to celebrate what God has done at Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in 2022 and look forward to what God is doing in and through us for 2023. Our time together will be followed by dinner together. If you plan to join us for dinner following the meeting, please RSVP here so we can plan accordingly! 

Keep up the good work!   

Blessings, 
Pastor John

If you missed this Sunday’s sermon, click here to listen now!