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The Walking Dead - Ephesians 2:1-6

9/30/2019

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Long before Zombies appeared on the screen, the apostle Paul spoke of something much more telling, of how we all were once dead through sins and trespasses, walking in the ways of the world, without any sense of God, or any awareness of God and God’s ways (Ephesians 2:1). 

Paul’s argument was that our lives were so “spiritually stagnant” at one time that we did not know the first thing about what God had done in Christ. We lived under the influence of death, according to the passions of the flesh, meaning that we did what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, with no sense of shame or guilt, with no sense of the consequences, with no regard for the welfare of others. We willfully did wrong, and walked in the ways of intense selfishness. Yes, we may have had breath, but in reality we were deader than a doornail, persons without a purpose. 

That’s the bad part of the message. But like Paul Harvey, there is more to the story: the good part of the story is that together with Christ we have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5). Not in isolation, but together. Twice Paul states that by God’s unmerited favor, by God’s unconditional kindness, by God’s immeasurable mercy, by God’s great love – we have been saved, rescued, made alive - together! No longer dead!

It is what the gospel is all about: “saved by grace through faith!” In other places, it is about being “justified by grace through faith!”

And though salvation and justification are bit different, it is God who does both, as “being justified" means that we have been brought into God’s family and marked as a child of God by our trust in God (and not by the things we do like Sabbath-keeping, or food laws, or circumcision), whereas “being saved by grace” means that it is God who ultimately rescues us from the fate we would have otherwise incurred had we not received the gospel.

Salvation and justification are both gifts from God, which is what grace is all about! God's gift! God's active, compassionate, and redeeming love  that brings us into the family and saves us, in spite of our lostness.

How may we walk in the way that leads to life? How may we receives God's good gift of grace? How may we be aware of God's grace? 
​

Andy Kinsey
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Spiritual Fitness: Giving - Ephesians 1:15-23

9/24/2019

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When I was in second grade, I wanted to become the next piano great.  My mom signed me up for lessons with a neighbor down the street and the journey to stardom began.  I just knew my enthusiasm and desire to play would carry me to greatness. Then I learned I had to actually practice.  I lasted three months.  

What does it take to get to play at Carnegie Hall?  Practice. How do you become an NFL great? Discipline.  How do you write the next great american novel? Patience.  How do you anything of lasting value or eternal consequence?  Hard work.   

Just how much hard work does it take?  According to researcher, author and staff writer for The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, “people who are fabulously successful have almost always put in more than 10,000 hours of practice time in activities related to their success” (Homileticsonline.com 10,000 Hours Aug. 2012).  Gladwell wanted to understand the truth behind success and his research was aimed at discovering the secret behind successful people like The Beatles and Bill Gates.  What he discovered was rather profound. Successful people, he discovered, are the product of two key factors converging: potential and practice. According to Gladwell, people don’t rise from nothing.  The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all themselves, but in fact they did not. True geniuses are the result of an intersection of timing, talent, and we might say tenacity. But he argues, they are also the product of a community of people who helped them along the way.

Can the same be said about becoming spiritually successful or spiritually fit?  What if we applied this 10,000 hour rule to the practice of living faithfully as a follower of Jesus?  Who is ready to sign up?

The leading questions for this series have been, what does it look like and take to be in the best spiritual shape we can be as individuals and as a church community?  Today we wrap up this series by celebrating our progress AND recognizing the final step in our spiritual fitness journey. This step of course, like any fitness routine, must now become life long.  Our journey does not end with the end of this series. Now is the time it matters most to keep going. In the physical fitness world this is called the “maintenance phase.” And in some ways it is harder than any other part of the training. 

We end back at the beginning of the book of Ephesians.  Paul writing to the early believers in Ephesus. In Ch. 1:15-18 he tells them the significance of what they are pursuing and his prayer for their continued spiritual growth.

I believe this text is key to our big reveal today.  This is the core value of spiritual fitness. It is our “so that.”  Paul is giving thanks for all that is being done in the lives of the believers and what is happening in their church.  He has heard from others what is going on. And he wants them to know their efforts do not go un-noticed! What person doesn’t want that?  When you have worked hard, stayed the course, put in the effort, etc., it is nice to receive affirmation and encouragement.  

His words do more than recognize their efforts.  They also tell them what he hopes for them. He gives them insight into what his ultimate hope is for them as they mature in faith, grow as a church, and connect with those around them.  You have done this and this and this, “so that…” So that you will see beyond what you are doing or have done and realize where the true strength and power come from and what / who your spiritual fitness is firmly grounded in - Jesus.  

The lesson in all this, in every sermon of this series, is that it takes practice. It takes discipline.  It takes being involved and connected to other believers. It takes effort. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn’t happen in one Emmaus weekend, or one small group experience, or one bible study.  It’s not about natural ability, skill or talent. It cannot be sustained in one hour of worship a week. It cannot last without intention and growth. And all the practice, discipline, and intention in the world means nothing if you are not grateful and giving.  10,000 hours is just a lot of time unless it transforms your life to be a part of transforming the lives around you. 

If you do not see the value of what you have, the sacredness of what you have been given as a follower of Jesus, and you are not moved to a sense of gratitude and giving, than you have missed it all together, and your workouts have been for naught. You can know the bible forwards and backwards.  You can recite the 10 commandments on demand. You can know the apostles creed and the Lord’s Prayer without looking at the screen. You can go on multiple mission trips and volunteer at every food pantry or thanksgiving / christmas day dinner. Yet, if your life is not shaped more and more to look like, sound like and be like the image of Christ, dear church, you missed it.  If you cannot / will not connect with others in genuine and meaningful ways; if you cannot / will not build relationships and community with others, all your scripture flexing, bible muscle building, or prayer posture positioning mean nothing. 

Where are you on the scale of spiritual fitness?  How do you measure up and weigh in since the beginning of this series?  We pray God has shown you what it means and what it takes to stay connected, how it transforms your life, and giving is at the heart of spiritual fitness.

We leave you with this challenge for your spiritual fitness lifestyle: make it count - give back in ways that matter - give out of what you know and have - and do not give up on the goodness, beauty and truth of what God can do through a small group of Jesus followers like those Paul wrote to in Ehphesians. Through one church, one person, one event, one prayer, one moment at a time, you just might change the world.   Amen
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Spiritual Fitness: Learning Christ - Ephesians 4:14-24

9/16/2019

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In Ephesians 4:14-24, the apostle Paul is clear that the Ephesians can no longer keep on carrying the old baggage from the lives they were leading in the past, which keeps them in places of darkness, ignorance, and hardness of heart (4:18). Instead, they need to learn that the Christian life is about the process of putting away one and putting on the new (4:22). 

That is to say, whatever is corrupt or harmful, or whatever prevents us from seeing reality clearly, or whatever keeps us in a state of alienation from God and ourselves, whatever leads to insensitivity or to a lack of compassion, or whatever keeps the vices of arrogance and deceit, or greed and recklessness – put it away! This is not what it means to learn Christ. Rather, learning Christ involves learning who Jesus was and what he did; it means learning what Jesus himself was all about, allowing Jesus’ whole life, his teachings and character, his death and resurrection, to have their full effect on us, Learning Christ involves the whole person! 

It will not necessarily mean sitting around a table in a seminar room, or about feeling a certain way, though these things can be important. No! Learning Christ will mean actually doing and saying the specific things Jesus did and said!

The late Dallas Willard of Southern California University asked a question that may sound a bit shocking at this point, but also so apparently evident: he asked a conference of church leaders once when was the last time they had heard of a group or a church of any kind have a meeting to discuss how they were going to teach people to do what Jesus said and did? In what church did they see that happening? Roman Catholic? Pentecostal? Lutheran? Evangelical? How were the people in these churches (and others) learning to do what Jesus said and did, or how were they learning what Willard calls the “curriculum for Christ-likeness”?

That’s a good phrase! And it prompts us to ask: how we enrolled what Jesus taught? How are we learning Christ? What courses do we need to take?

Whatever they are, may we find ways to sign up!
​
Pastor Andy Kinsey
 

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Spiritual Fitness: Togethering Church - Ephesians 4:1-6

9/9/2019

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Better Together.  Isn’t that ultimately what we all want?  Isn’t that, if we are truly honest, what is at the heart of being human - a desire to be recognized for who we are and a part of something that makes us and those around us better?  A common cause. A common belief. A common purpose. 

Some people would disagree.  Some people would perpetuate the idea that it is a “dog eat dog world” and it’s everyone for themselves - every man, woman, child, dog, cat and canary.  Some people would continue to believe the story that fear and shame tells us by putting us against one another; constantly comparing us to each other in one way or another.  Some people would say “I don’t care anymore.” Some people take on the world. Some people hide from the world. CHURCH, WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SOME PEOPLE. Are we? 

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes a letter to the church.  He doesn’t hold back. He gives them the piercing truth of who they are and how they are to be as the church.  This letter is not written to those outside the church. It is not written to those who don’t know or don’t follow Jesus.  It is written to believers; to those who have said yes to Jesus. It is a spiritual fitness accountability check-ist for the church.  Let’s see how we do on the spiritual fitness checklist.  

First, who is writing this letter?  The apostle Paul - not a first year seminary student, or someone with no background, experience or foundation in what and who Jesus was about.  Not someone with very little experience in all things Jesus and not a rookie church planter. This is Paul we are talking about.

Where is he writing it from?  Prison - not on the sandy shores of the sea of Galilee, or in some immaculate synagogue or cathedral in the safety and comfort of his own home office or study.  He is in prison.   
How does he approach us, I mean the church? He says, “I beg you…”  Not “I think this is a good idea,” or “hey you might want to consider,” or “this is your friendly reminder…”  He says, “I beg you!” One of the greatest spiritual fitness coaches of the church is begging us, I mean the church, to pay attention and get it right. 

Do get what right?  What does he beg us, I mean the church, to do?  To lead a life “worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  Jesus has a call on our lives; a mark, a reason, a love claim, a purpose, and Paul is saying, lead a life worthy of what Jesus has on you.  Lead a life that honors Jesus. Lead a life that models Jesus’ teachings. 

What does that look like?  How are we, I mean the church,  to treat each other? “With ALL humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another in love” (v. 2).  The text doesn’t say, with “some or limited humility”, or “with conditional gentleness.” It doesn’t say, with “measured or calculated patience.”  It says “with ALL humility, gentleness and patience” we are to bear with one another in love. WITH one another. Not for one another, in spite of one another, because of one another, in competition with, or against one another.   With one another in LOVE. Not in judgement, ridicule, or criticism. Not in envy, arrogance, or spite. 

Paul then says, “make EVERY effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Every effort. Not partial effort, not half way effort. Not only when I feel like it, or when it's convenient for me and my schedule effort, and not if I can do it from my comfort zone effort. The text says, “make every effort to maintain unity...” 

Effort.  That is the key to any fitness routine, workout regime, or health plan.  It is the key for any athlete at any age or skill level. Effort. Whether physical or spiritual, it takes effort to make it happen or see results or have an impact.  It takes effort to be the church. It takes effort to follow Jesus, to help one another, come alongside one another, promote one another, share the burden or load with one another.  It takes effort to respond to or interact with what goes on in our world. It takes effort to keep the main thing the main thing, and keep hold of that which unites us more than that which divides us. 

When we can do that, we embody the essence, purpose and character of Jesus.  When we do that, we are a togethering church and there is no telling what God will do with a church like that. 

Can you imagine what would happen if more churches would exist, pray, teach, lead and maybe even follow out of “all humility, gentleness, and patience, and bear with one another in love?  If more churches would put forth the effort to be spiritually fit rather than spiritually right or spiritually superior? 

What might God do in and through a church like that?  Let’s be the people of God willing to find out. Amen.

Pastor Jenothy Irvine 
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Spiritual Fitness: Worship - Ephesians 5:1-16

9/3/2019

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It can bring great joy and reveal great sorrow.  It happens at the grocery store, the gas station, and in the line at Wal-Mart.  It can fill a heart with gladness and drain a heart of bitterness. It happens in the car, the school drop-off line, and in the cafeteria.  It happens at work, at McDonald’s and on a bike ride or walk along Greenway Trail. It can make you feel strong and on top of the world, and uncover just how very small you really are.  It is deeply personal and deeply communal.

It has grown churches by the thousands and split churches just as fast.  It has helped and healed people of all makes and models. It has hurt and shunned people of all different makes, and models. It can bring people together and drive them apart.

It’s purpose is obvious yet too often goes unseen or taken for granted.  It’s power is unmatched yet, too often untouched. It’s place is everywhere yet too often unrecognized, therefore presumed nowhere. 

You know it when you experience it but too often you aren’t awake or aware enough to even notice it.

What am I talking about?  I am talking about worship.  Worship - the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity; the act(s) that make up a formal expression of reverence.

How is your reverence workout routine going these days?  Are you working your reverence and adoration on a regular basis?  What do you find most helpful? Most challenging?  

Like any other physical fitness regime, if your cardio isn’t up to par, all the weights, strength training, and yoga bending won’t get your through the long haul.  You need endurance. You need to build your stamina. In the physical fitness world that means cardio training - getting the heart rate up, working it, letting it recover, and doing it again.  Building your lung capacity and muscle endurance. In the spiritual fitness world, your cardio is your worship and if your worship is lacking your spiritual life is lacking.  

Worship is the core of spiritual fitness.  It is the beginning and the end of all the rest and impacts everything in between.  The purpose of worship is both simple and complex, and while we need not overthink or over analyse it.  We DO need to understand, pay attention to, and trust the purpose, power, and place of worship in our lives as individual followers, as a gathered and intentional community of believers, and as a people of a much bigger movement.

In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul is reminding the followers of Jesus to keep the main thing the main thing.  He instructs them on how to stay connected and committed to Jesus, the church and one another. This is done through worship. 

Worship is both a pouring out and a filling up and it takes both for it to truly shape our lives into more of what God wants them to be. It is cyclical in that we come and worship in order to show God our reverence and adoration while at the same time in the showing, in the pouring out, we are filled back up with what we need to keep on keeping on.  And somewhere in all that is the holy mystery that connects us to each other and followers around the world. 

And like any fitness program or healthy lifestyle, we can’t expect to practice only once a week or twice a month and call it good. That’s not enough to develop strong spiritual fitness habits.  Practice makes perfect - in the spiritual just as much as the physical. In this case, it is not “you are what you eat.” It is “you are what and who you worship.”  

Paul is reminding the church to pay attention to and never underestimate the power of worship.  Because the power is not contained in the four walls of this gymnasium of the soul, i.e., the church.  The power is not limited to pastors, musicians, praise teams, sunday school teachers, bell ringers, organ players, or the good prayers.  

The power of worship flows in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit. The power to change someone’s bad day at work or at school.  The power to give hope to someone overwhelmed by life. The power to keep us humble and mindful of others. The power to build up rather than tear down.  The power to be a part of God’s unfolding plan.

Everything has its place and there is a place for everything.  Worship is no different. Worship has its place too. Where? The obvious answer is right here - in the church, in this room called the sanctuary (although I kind of like gymnasium of the soul).  

For a spiritually fit follower of Jesus, the place of worship is not only in the church.  The place of worship is in God’s created world and within you - within each one of us and therefore the place of worship is everywhere - all times all places.  The place of worship is a state of mind and heart. So whether you are inside or outside these walls, you are in a place of worship. Whether you are on your bike or swinging a golf club, you are in a place of worship.  Whether you are by the campfire or in the coffee shop, you are in a place of worship. That being said, hear what I am not saying. I am NOT saying you can worship just as well on the golf course, soccer field, or baseball diamond as you can in the church.  I am NOT saying you can worship just as well at home in your jammies, or on the road as you can in actual church. I am saying, worship must take priority and be worked on in your heart and in your mind. 

I pray for the day, we as followers of Jesus, will say not only is there a place for everything but a place for everyone and everyone has a place...that place is  worship.

May it be so.
Pastor Jenothy Irvine 

​
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Grace United Methodist Church
1300 E Adams Dr,
Franklin, IN 46131

Phone: 317-736-7962
grace@franklingrace.org

Weekend  Worship Services
Saturday: 5:30pm 
Sunday: 9:00am & 11:00am

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