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!
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Pastor Andy Kinsey
 

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 

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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