Bulletins - Camden Valley Church

Praise
A Thousand Hallelujahs
Open The Eyes Of My Heart
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
How Great Thou Art
How Great Is Our God
Ephesians 4:1–16 NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Introduction: The Question of Belonging
The Giggle v Tickle Case
· High Court case: Giggle v Tickle
· Roxanne Tickle vs. Sal Grover, CEO of a women-only app
· App used AI facial recognition; Roxanne was removed
· Lawsuit under the Sex Discrimination Act
· Initial ruling awarded damages and major legal costs
· Both have appeal
Social Doctrine
Doctrine 1: Inclusion and Embrace. Remove distinctions to create unity
Doctrine 2: We declare our identity
The Paradox
On Roxanne's side:
Sex Discrimination Commissioner
Clearly Roxanne had a gender identity of a woman. Clothes possess rights and reinforce gender stereotypes
Equality Australia (largest LGBTQ+ advocate)
On Sal's side:
Lesbian Action Group
"We fought hard as biological females"
"For the right to be attracted to biological females"
"Now forced to accept biological heterosexual males as lesbians"
It’s one big pile of confusion - difficult to see where the incoherence ends so the alleged discrimination can begin.
The Universal Question
What are we willing to do to make someone belong?
· Every person wants belonging
· People curate themselves to fit in
· Fear of rejection shapes behavior, language, even values
· We often chase belonging in places where we are not truly known
The Gospel Reversal in Ephesians 4
· The world asks: “What will we do to make people belong?”
· The gospel asks: “What has Christ done so we can belong?”
Context: Paul's Letter
Paul's Situation
· Paul is in prison in Rome
· He writes to churches in Asia Minor
· The letter likely circulated beyond Ephesus
The Church's Struggle
· Jews and Gentiles are now one body in Christ
· They are wrestling with how to belong together
· Paul writes to address unity and identity in the church
You belong because you share the same rescue story (v1-6)
Teaching:
Ephesians 4:1–3 NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
He starts by reminding them to be worthy of their calling in verse
Ek = out of, coleo = to call. “Called out ones”
What does living worthy look like? Well its in verse 2 completely humble and gently and bearing in love.
Thats how you keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.
Paul is effectively saying to live a life worthy of your calling then, then remember you have a common calling.
Each of you here have the same biography as it were:
Ephesians 2:1–2 NIV
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Dead Means Dead
· Not weak
· Not almost alive
· Not in partial need of grace
· Dead in transgressions and sins
· In the wrong field entirely
Ephesians 2:4–7 NIV
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
But God
· God is rich in mercy
· God made us alive with Christ
· Salvation is by grace through faith
Ephesians 2:14 NIV
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
That has shattered any culturally manufactured dividing wall
You belong because you share the same rescue story (v1-6)
That’s what Pauls emphasis is on the oneness in in verse 4, is there is
Ephesians 4:4–6 NIV
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Illustration: a common story, a common origin and a common calling.
In a 1960s-era reflection that’s been widely circulated, Lee Kuan Yew contrasted Singapore with many newly independent African nations, arguing that:
The main issue was not simply that both had been colonised, but what they did after independence.
They did this by leaders very deliberately tried to forge a shared “calling” and “origin story” for the nation, not just enforce surface‑level peace between groups.
They told a common origin story: tiny island, thrown out of Malaysia in 1965, no resources, surrounded by bigger neighbours, so “we survive only if we stand together as one people.”
They articulated shared national values (the “Shared Values” policy): “nation before community and society above self,” “family as the basic unit of society,” “consensus instead of contention,” and “racial and religious harmony.”
They built a shared identity as “Singaporeans” that was meant to cut across race, language, and religion—captured in the national pledge: “one united people, regardless of race, language or religion.”
Application:
When you go through something togather, when you have a common and life -shaping journey you have gone on, a bond
When our common biogrphy is held more important than anything else, God given differences don’t collapse into uniformty, They can increase. Becuase bond is so much deeper that superficila differences then I don’t need to worry that my quirks or bahviours will become a fellowship issue.
When you are reminded consistently of our common story, it’s amazing how much difference in life choices etc. we can bare, becuase we are prompted to remember:
It was my sin that held him there
These attitudes in verses 1-3 are the relational soil where belonging can grow: humility says “I’m not above you,” gentleness says “you are safe with me,” patience says “I won’t give up on you,” and love says “you can stay even when it’s messy.”
You belong because you share the same rescue story (v1-6)
(secondly)
You build belonging by serving (v7-13)
Teaching:
Paul has a very interesting argument in (v7-13)
He names his thesis that we are united, belong together becuase we have differing gifts
Ephesians 4:7 NIV
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
grace = gift, mesured out to each
Then Paul quotes from Psalm 68 to apply it to Jesus as his reasoning process
Ephesians 4:8–10 NIV
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
If you grew up in church you may have heard the idea that Christ descended into hell. Its even in the apostle creed.
This might get a little wiley
OT, the idea if ascension, to go up = drawing near to God.
And it = enthronement after victory
descedning = divine warrior.
Psalm 68
Paul’s argument is that Christ has repeated this divine warrior motif:
Christ: After winning victory over sin and death, ascended to his thrown!
verse 9, but of course to ascend, he has to have descended as the divine warrior to fight for his people from the heavens to the surface of the earth (i.e. the second person of the trinity incarnated).
verse 10, the one who fought for us was also the one that ascended in victory
And Paul has one twist
No idea about captives.
Paul changes a word to make a point
“He gave gifts.”
Christ’s conquest of the cross purchased people back for his purposes (2 Cor. 5:15). And after he ascended into heaven (Acts 1), he sent his Holy Spirit to descend (Act 2), giving gifts of apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers.
In other words, Christ one the victory over sin and death, but rather than hoarding plunder like an earthly king! As a heavenly king, he won in order to give gifts,
to “grace” people, how he measures it out. becuase he earned the right to do with his plunder how he sees fit.
so he gave the church the gifts of
Ephesians 4:11 NIV
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
But why?
Ephesians 4:12 NIV
to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
to reach what goal?
Ephesians 4:13 NIV
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Christ won the victory, to gift people as he sees fit, to equip people to servd to build unity and belonging.
Can you see how important the idea of building belonging is to God?
Application:
This is not a call to serve here. or a hard sell!
If you are in Christ, serving is not an optional extra at; you are a ligament, a tendon, a part the body cannot be healthy without.
“Your spiritual gifts were not given for your benefit but for the benefit of others; if you don’t use them, other people get cheated.” - Rick Warren
Gifting Focus
gospel according to Anna & Elsa in frozen
Serving creates a sense of belonging, of ownership, of belonging
You belong because you share the same rescue story (v1-6)
You build belonging by serving (v7-13)
Maturity is the belonging-immune system of the church (v14-16)
· Every body needs protection from what destroys it
· The church needs maturity to guard belonging
Illustration:
The Filioque clause: Whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (Orthodox) or from the Father "and the Son" (Catholic addition to the Creed)
The formal break occurred when Cardinal Humbert placed a bull of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia on July 16, 1054, excommunicating Patriarch Michael Cerularius.
The patriarch responded by excommunicating Humbert and his legates.
Orthodox vs Catholic
· The East-West division did not erupt overnight
· It grew through arrogance, hostility, and failure to listen
· Immaturity helped produce one of the deepest fractures in church history
Prejudice, Arrogance, and Refusal to Listen. childish retaliation tactics
Theological Disputes Used as Political Weapons
Or you might say: (read in the opposite)
Ephesians 4:14–16 NIV
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Application:
No matter ther relationship.…
Immaturity is a requirement of disunity
The immaturity is rarely equal on all sides and not always present on both sides of.
Immaturity in teaching and doctrine
Immature believers either believe everything or fight about everything.
Mature believers know what is core and non‑negotiable (gospel essentials, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”).
Immaturity in holding truth and love together
Some groups are strong on “truth” but weak on love: harsh, dismissive, unwilling to listen.
Other groups are strong on “love” but weak on truth: avoid hard conversations, cover over sin and hurt.
Patterns of immature conflict
Refusing to listen and understand: Blaming and defensiveness: Bearing grudges and nursing bitterness: holding onto small offenses and allowing bitterness to grow,
Avoiding difficult conversations: dodging hard issues, distracting or changing the subject, which creates cycles of unresolved tension, frustration, and resentment.
The normality of conflict and the call to maturity
Conflict, issues, and misunderstandings are a normal part of the living organism God has created (the church).
To protect God‑ordained community, we need maturity to guard our shared sense of belonging to Christ and to one another.
Maturity is the belonging-immune system of the church (v14-16)
Christ-likeness
Can’t help but wonder how comfortable Jesus would have been talking to Roxanne Tickle?
So comfortable in truth, hold space for
FINAL CHARGE
The World's Answer to create
· Change definitions
· Erase boundaries
· Affirm any self-description without critique and if you do critique part of you are rejecting all of me
· Seek belonging by flatenning out categories to become meaningless
Christ's Answer
· Christ has already done everything necessary for true belonging
· He called people out of death and into his body
Because We Belong
· We remember our common rescue story
· We serve to build others up
· We mature to protect what God has built
The Freedom of the Gospel
· The gospel says do not need to change reality to make people belong
· proclaim the reality that whoever is in Christ belongs
Final Appeal
· Not: “Will we affirm you?”
· But: “Will you affirm what Christ has done.?”
· Die to false identity
· Rise to true identity in Christ
· Join the called-out ones
You belong because of your rescue story, you serve to build belonging, and you mature to protect it.
- - Ephesians 4:1–16NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:1–3NIV2011
- - Ephesians 2:1–2NIV2011
- - Ephesians 2:4–7NIV2011
- - Ephesians 2:14NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:4–6NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:7NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:8–10NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:11NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:12NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:13NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:14–16NIV2011
How Great Is Our God

Ephesians 4:1–16NIV2011

Ephesians 4:1–3NIV2011

Ephesians 2:1–2NIV2011

Ephesians 2:4–7NIV2011

Ephesians 2:14NIV2011

Ephesians 4:4–6NIV2011

Ephesians 4:7NIV2011

Ephesians 4:8–10NIV2011

Ephesians 4:11NIV2011

Ephesians 4:12NIV2011

Ephesians 4:13NIV2011

Ephesians 4:14–16NIV2011