Order, Words, & Voices
07.30.23, Producing Good, Ephesians 5:6-14
Order
Pre Worship Music
Opening Song Lynn
Blessed Assurance
10,000 Reasons
Call to Worship Response/Lord’s Prayer Rick
Reading Ephesians 5:6-14 Cricklins
Songs Lynn
Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Message Producing Good Rick
Music We Are the Light of the World Lynn
Community/Peace Rick
Benediction/Closing Peace Rick
Post Worship Music
Slides Note: There is a blank title slide between each Section – except for message/sermon slides.
Music (slides) – Lynn
Blessed assurance Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation purchase of God
Born of His Spirit washed in His blood
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Perfect submission all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest
Watching and waiting looking above
Filled with His goodness lost in His love
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore
Bless the Lord O my soul O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Worship Your holy name
Lord I’ll worship Your holy name
Sing like never before O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Call to Worship (Slides) – Rick
Leader: We have heard of God’s grace given to us through gift of Jesus Christ and communicated through the generations in the message from God’s apostles.
Response: Our eyes have been enlightened to the mystery of God’s sacrifice.
Leader: We have been given the insight of the mystery of Jesus made known to mankind and revealed to us through the Spirit.
Response: Truth revealed to us, now members of the family of God.
Leader: Partakers of the promise given to Abraham, passed on through Jacob, secured through the Son.
Response: We, the Gentiles, are now heirs of God’s promise.
Leader: We, partakers of God’s unfathomable riches, are now communicators to our world of the good news to Jesus Christ.
Response: We, the least of these, are called to enlighten our world through our lives.
Leader: The multifaceted God who created all things is also the God of multifaceted wisdom now made available to rulers and authorities through the fellowship of believers.
Response: According to the eternal purposes of God carried out in Jesus.
Leader: May we bend our knees before the Father, may we be strengthened through God’s power by God’s Spirit.
Response: May Jesus dwell in our hearts, may we be rooted and grounded in love.
Leader: May we comprehend the width, length, height and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge. May God do through us abundantly beyond all that we can imagine.
Response: To God be the glory among the fellowship of believers and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
(Ephesians 3:1-21)
Lord’s Prayer (Slides) ‘Join me in the prayer of Jesus’ – Rick
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Reading Cricklins
Nobody should deceive you with stupid ideas. God’s anger comes down on those who are disobedient because of this kind of thing. So you shouldn’t have anything to do with them.
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light. Light produces fruit that consists of every sort of goodness, justice, and truth.
Therefore, test everything to see what’s pleasing to the Lord, and don’t participate in the unfruitful actions of darkness. Instead, you should reveal the truth about them.
It’s embarrassing to even talk about what certain persons do in secret. But everything exposed to the light is revealed by the light. Everything that is revealed by the light is light.
Therefore, it says, Wake up, sleeper! Get up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Ephesians 5:6-14, CEB
Music (Slides) Lynn
Verse 1
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
Verse 2
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus
My chains are gone I’ve been set free
My God my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love amazing grace
Verse 3
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
Verse 4
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Message (Slides) ‘Producing Good’, Rick
Illustration – Team Building with Social Workers.
[Slide – leave it up til prompt to leave share screen] The work of the team building week showed the participants not only that they were not alone, but also that they were much more powerful and capable than they had imagined because they were not alone. This is what Paul does in this letter to the church at Ephesus – he brings the readers to a place where they recognize their strength of community, their shared truth, their hope…then after this preparation he gives the challenge to go, do, and live. He begins his letter to the believers in Ephesus by reminding them of two essential foundational truths about themselves. Two truths that are not only essential and foundation, but are also prerequisites for them to understand what he says later for them.
The first was their standing before God which made them unique among other Ephesians. They were equal members of the family of God. They, along with other Gentile followers of Jesus, and, radically, along with all Jewish followers of Jesus, were all equal status children of God. They were heirs to the covenant with God. These who previously, prior to Jesus, were outsiders to God’s covenant, were now insiders, not through birth but through Jesus.
The second was their oneness, their unity, their connection with and to each other. This was their shared experience of God’s mercy and grace. This was what held them together for encouragement, growth, support, community, and when needed, correction. In this oneness, they were able to live out their faith in a safe space which would then empower them to live it out in unsafe places.
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Once Paul cemented these two truths into their hearts and minds they were free to hear Paul’s initial challenges…1.understand and hold to their status before God. 2. Own their faith, do the work of owning and understanding truth, as opposed to just accepting the practices of faith of another believer.
We also saw this same template in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. Paul begins with an understanding of truth. Making sure that the basics of their faith was concrete in their mind and hearts, and at the same time, making sure they understood that the good news of Jesus Christ was their good news as well. Making sure that they understood the truth about Jesus as well as how that truth applied to them.
So, let’s get one more important context note before we begin to look at Paul’s challenge to the believers in Ephesus. The Temple of the greek goddess the goddess of chastity, hunting, wild animals, forests, childbirth, and fertility Artemis was located in Ephesus. Last week I mentioned that Ephesus was considered to be the epicenter of the worship of Greek gods. With that, I stated that this was an advantage in the sense that it revealed a certain level of the existence of an awareness of otherness and of faith, however, it could also be a disadvantage in the sense that the existence of such a powerful and significant institutional presence can harden those same people to a real personal faith. The Temple of Artemis is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. For the citizens of Ephesus, the fact that the temple was in their city was the defining mark of their city. It was like Disneyland in Anaheim California. This had been the most valuable asset of Ephesus for centuries .
Roughly 3 ½ centuries before Jesus, the temple was destroyed by a serial arsonist. When Alexander the Great volunteered to rebuild the temple, Ephesus delicately declined his offer saying ‘inappropriate for a god to fund the building of a temple to another god’ – because the temple belonged to Ephesus and there was a concern that the temple would no longer belong to them, instead belonging to Alexander. Regardless of their actual religious belief about Artemis, the people were tied to that building, the temple structure. The city, as well as the citizens, of Ephesus was defined by this temple – not really to the goddess Artemis.
With this in mind, let’s look at one of the main reasons that Paul is writing to the believers in Ephesus.
“But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” (Ephesians 5:3-4)
Paul is not writing to tell them to clean up their act, he is telling them to clean up their mouths!
Paul is challenging the Jesus followers to be different than the other citizens of Ephesus. While the nonbelievers hold to a building, a temple, to define themselves, Paul is calling on the followers of Jesus to be defined by their hearts. Hearts change everything about us, man made religious practices only require a moment on our calendars and maybe a withdrawal from our assets. Hearts, however, are reflected in our lives, our responses, our caring and concern, even through our words. The impact, the produce of our lives comes from our hearts. Hearts show our core, what we really believe. What we really value. So, Paul begins with our mouths, the values that are reflected in our words.
‘Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, filthiness, foolish talk, and vulgar joking must not even be mentioned among you! Instead, let them hear you giving of thanks!’
The religion of the false gods is very shallow, Paul is calling on the Ephesian followers of Jesus to reveal depth and authenticity that is reflected through every pore of their being. Paul is calling on the believers to reflect Jesus in every aspect of their lives, including in their words. The problem is, however, words come without thought, words come from the deep place inside of us where that we attempt to hide resides. Words come from the same place that darkness, anger, revenge, jealousy, gossip, and promiscuity come from. Paul is not really addressing words, he is addressing hearts.
Remember, as we later see, the church in Ephesus is very vulnerable. Vulnerable to the false teachings from the temple of Artemis, vulnerable to their own insecurities of being, or not being, in the family of God, vulnerable to the spiritual darkness that pervades their surroundings, and the ease of slipping back into that darkness. Paul is pointing out to them the need to see and address their own frailties.
To fully understand Paul’s calling that begins with their words, we need to go back to the words Paul uses just before our passage for today. As he takes them to a state of simplicity and understanding.
[Slide] “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Ephesians 5:1-2, NASB)
[Slide] (Amplified) “Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.” (Ephesians 5:1-2, Amplified)
[Slide] (Living) “Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.” (Ephesians 5:1-2, TLB)
Paul began with this simplicity and then he simply lays it out for them…
[Slide] “See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
[Slide] Therefore do not become partners with them; for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
[Slide] Do not participate in the useless words and deeds of darkness for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
[Slide] Be careful how you walk and talk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:6-17)
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I think Eugene Petersen sums up Paul’s words masterfully, much better than my words can, as he says. “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect. You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God. Don’t let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don’t even hang around people like that. You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. Don’t waste your time on the, on mere busywork, on the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”
(Ephesians 5:1-17, MSG)
Music (Slides) Lynn
Ev’ry secret ev’ry shame
Ev’ry fear ev’ry pain
Live inside the dark
But that’s not who we are
We are children of the day
So wake up sleeper lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
And we gotta we gotta we gotta
Let the light shine
We are called to spread the news
To tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save there’s freedom in His name
So let His love break through
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
And we gotta we gotta we gotta
Let the light shine
We are the light we are the light we are the light
So let your light shine brighter
We are the light we are the light we are the light
Jesus You are the light You are the light
You are the light
We will lift You high and shine shine shine
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
And we gotta we gotta we gotta
Let the light shine
Community (Slides) Rick
- Next Sunday, August 6, ‘Wearing Good’, I Timothy 2:8-15
- Summer Bible Study – James, Wednesday Nights @ 6:30pm for 4 weeks. August 9-30.
- Next Book Discussion Luncheon, ‘Making Sense of the Bible’, Some Books available in entry was -$15, or link on web page will take you to Amazon order page, luncheon will take place in October (date – TBA)
- Fall Message Series beginning September 11 ‘Overwhelmed (Rescue to Redemption/Flood to Sacrifice)
Benediction (Slides) Rick
As we leave this place we walk in a world that is not perfect but nonetheless a world that God has proclaimed is good. We continue because the breath of God still inflates our lungs and because God’s life sustaining gift continues to course through our veins.
Regardless of our gender, or any other label we wear, we are all called to serve as pastors in the midst of God’s creation just as Mary was called to pastor the men who would soon be the apostles with the good news of the resurrection.
May we continually choose to grow in our own understanding of that proven hope which carries us in peace, giving us the mercy, compassion, and grace, to live confidently in God who loves us and calls us to life which, in turn, allows love to pour out for all of creation.
Closing Peace Rick
Leader: May the Peace and Hope of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace and Hope of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 