MISSION WOODS CHURCH
Worship, Sunday, August 10, 2025
      • Bible Trivia
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      • Bible Trivia
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      • Bible Trivia
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  • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
  • Just As I Am
  • The Church's One Foundation
  • O The Deep Deep Love Of Jesus

      • Ephesians 4.1-3ESV

      • Ephesians 4.4-7ESV

      • Ephesians 4.8-10ESV

      • Ephesians 4.11-13ESV

  • I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
    And I believe in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead;
    he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost;
    That’s where we’ve been so far, as we’ve been talking and learning signs for the Apostles’ Creed. Today we continue that last sentence:
    I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting, Amen.
    I began this series getting you thinking about how many people say that they believe in God, and even Jesus and yet never set foot in a church. They will say they are a spiritual person and one has to wonder what spirit? The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians later than our reading this morning, from chapter 6 we read Eph 6:12
    Ephesians 6:12 ESV
    For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
    So, do you just want to be a “spiritual” person?
    Alistair McGrath writes:
    Apostles’ Creed: 6 Studies for Individuals or Groups Study 6: The Church, Forgiveness and Eternal Life (Ephesians 4:1–13)

    To believe in Jesus Christ is to believe in and belong to a dynamic community that spans the centuries. The Greek word ekklesia, used in the New Testament to refer to the church, denotes not a building but a group of people. It literally means “those who are called out.” The church is not a static building but a dynamic pilgrim people who are constantly moving on in faith and obedience.

    He concludes regarding this communion of saints: “it includes those who hahve gone ahead of us and those who will follow. It is a great fellowship of faith, spanning the ages and the continents.
    You go Alistair.
    The ekklesia is the group of people - it is not just those of say Mission Woods Church, but presbyterians every where who believe in Jesus Christ and belong to this dynamic community that spans the centuries. It includes not just Presbyterians, it includes Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans and Episcopalians, Pentecostals, those from non-denominational churches and all that profess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
    One of the many things I appreciated about attending a ecumenical seminary was that we had Christians from so many different denominations. I remember distinctly in one of my early classes Dr. Russ Spitler giving us the guidance for our class. “There are many different theological perspectives here. I don’t care what your tradition or opinion is. What I do care about is that you back it up biblically.”
    Attending seminary in an environment where there were different perspectives allowed us to have great discussions and to challenge others and be challenge in what it was that we believed and at times find our views were not biblical and/or we changed our view.
    That’s something that doesn’t happen in social media very often. But in authentic, caring, intentional conversation and community it happens all the time. In our passage this morning, Paul writes to the church at Ephesus:
    Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV
    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
    We are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ, and he defines what that means. He says the way we are to live our lives is:
    Ephesians 4:2–3 ESV
    with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
    Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, love, unity - these sound familiar in many ways. Paul wrote to another church these words: Gal 5:22-23
    Galatians 5:22–23 ESV
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
    As I read through both of these lists I see the importance of forgiveness. We talked about this in our last series on the Lord’s Prayer when we pray - forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. When we choose not to forgive the person that impacts the most is us, holding a grudge does no one any good. It hurts the grudge holder and it hinders the relationship between the begrudged and the one holding the grudge.
    Sadly, there are times when we are the one we hold the grudge against. We see our own anger, mistakes, failures, shortfalls and we put ourselves down. We must recognize not only God’s call for us to forgive others, but also that we are forgiven.
    MISSION WOODS CHURCH: A growing place… Growing closer to God, … to our community, … to one another.
    As you and I, as part of the ekklesia (the dynamic community of Christ) interact seeking to live reflecting the glory of God we need that encouragement, and we need that accountability.
    The author of Hebrews wrote: Hebrews 10:24-25, I like the NIV translation on this:
    Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV
    And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
    I also think of Proverbs 27:17
    Proverbs 27:17 ESV
    Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
    The idea of growing closer to God is appealing. The idea of growing closer to our community is as well. The idea of growing closer to one another…yes, and … no.
    Part of any community is that there are those people that you get along with and perhaps those you don’t. In the church that’s not an opportunity to avoid one another, but a chance to get sharpened.
    Paul in another letter wrote: 2 Cor 4:7
    2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
    But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
    When we were growing up our family had grandma’s crystal glasses that were brought out for dinners on special occasions. I remember finally being old enough to help put them away and being given specific instructions: “Leave space between the glasses, don’t let them touch.” Why? Because if they touch they can damage one another causing chips and cracks.
    Many Christian writers throughout the millennia have pointed out that it is through the cracks in our humanness that the light of Christ is able to shine through our well crafted public personas.
    As we see those glimpses of Christ shining through and continue to change we get glimpses of the resurrected personas we will have in glory. It reminds us of the hope that we have to look forward to in eternity.
    That is precisely what we’re saying in the Apostles’ Creed, and what Paul was saying in our passage this morning. Paul writes: Eph 4:11-13
    Ephesians 4:11–13 ESV
    And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
    Briefly, remember Paul is writing in a patriarchal culture, this applies to all. Rather than “to mature manhood,” other translations have translated “full maturity.” ESV uses the Greek words that are there.
    My goal as a pastor, specifically as your pastor is to see each one of you growing in your faith wherever you are. As Luke wrote of Jesus in Luke 2: “Growing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
    Whether you are still deciding what it is you believe and whether you want to make a profession of faith, or you’ve been walking with the Lord for decades, I want to see you continue to grow.
    I’ve heard it said, “If you’re not growing, you’re dead.” Well, maybe not dead, but perhaps in a coma.
    We all need to be growing as we journey in our relationship with Christ. Yesterday, I had the privilege of being at the ceremony at which Cami was rewarded her Black Belt in Karate. Yes, our worship leader is now being promote to our ninja security squad. I’m kidding.
    At the ceremony one of the moving things was to hear her instructors speak truth to her about her journey, and perhaps the most moving part was to then hear from her about the journey. As she shared about this 13 year journey for her she spoke about plateaus. I so appreciated that. Too often we think growth is always moving forward.
    Anyone that is growing (you can reflect on the way children grow), anyone who is growing recognizes that there are periods we might speak of as growth spurts, and there are others we might call plateaus.
    When one makes an ascent to a mountain peak the climbers have staging areas. These are the staging areas are most often on plateaus or flat places. Often from these bases skills are practiced. Routes are reviewed, and alternatives discussed. It would seem that no progress is being made, but that defies the truth. in my climbing experience any ascent’s success comes from the staging area. It is here knots are tied and untied, procedures are gone over, turn around times are agreed upon, equipment is checked. Strengths and weaknesses are reviewed.
    Then the ascent begins. In climbing a tall mountian - perhaps like Everest, there will be multiple camps along the way. Each one of these might be seen as a plateau. It’s a place to stop, reflect, prepare, and launch from.
    These closing words of our creed point to our launch points and to an eternity:

      • Ephesians 6:12ESV

      • Ephesians 4:1–3ESV

      • Ephesians 4:2–3ESV

      • Galatians 5:22–23ESV

      • Hebrews 10:24–25ESV

      • Proverbs 27:17ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 4:7ESV

      • Ephesians 4:11–13ESV

  • Thou Art Worthy
  • God Be With You
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MISSION WOODS CHURCH
info@missionwoodschurch.org
(253) 922-5555
http://www.missionwoodschurch.org
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