Immanuel Baptist Church
Saturday, September 04, 2010
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Pastor's PageFirst Things First
 I really hope that you have enjoyed our Sunday morning sermon series on the Book of Ephesians. We have covered four incredible chapters at the time of this September newsletter article, and we still have two powerful chapters to go. We have learned from the first three chapters about what God has done for us in Christ and who we are in Christ. Beginning in chapter four we started learning about what we are to be and do as a result.
Do you believe what God’s word says about you? There is an ongoing battle between who we think we are and who we really are. So many struggle with an identity linked to their past while Jesus wants us to have an identity linked to His cross and our future with Him. The Proverbs tell us that, “As a man thinks within himself, so is he.” Do we allow God to alter our way of thinking? That is a huge question that must be answered before we can experience biblical growth as individuals and as a congregation. Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 teach us that we must renew our minds. This occurs when we fill our minds with the knowledge and wonder of God and then allow the Holy Spirit to purge our minds of sinful and selfish thinking.
Truth must precede obedience according to Ephesians chapters 1-3. Then obedience must proceed truth according to Ephesians chapters 4-6. Remember that we are called to have an attitude of humility before we are called to be people of action. We must allow the Scriptures to dictate our day rather than our circumstances. Paul wrote Ephesians from prison. The church at Ephesus had serious challenges from the moment we were introduced to them in the Book of Acts. In Acts 18 Paul faced opposition from his fellow kinsmen the Jews. In Acts 19 Paul faced opposition from the Gentiles. In Acts 20 Paul stated that opposition was coming from some of the leaders within the church.
Doing God’s work has always been a spiritual battle. We will learn in Ephesians 6 just how dangerous a battle it is. Look for the distinct relationships that Ephesians will highlight as the study continues. We have studied the relationship of believer to each other. We have studied the relationship of being a new creature in Christ to being a changed creature in Him. We will be studying our marriage relationship (5:22-33), our parent relationships (6:1-5), our work relationships (6:6-9), and our relationship with the enemy (6:10-20). Please pray for the days ahead of us and prepare yourself to hear from the Lord and to be changed.
Seeking to be a man of grace & truth,
Pastor John Hunn
**Here are a couple of good website pages to check out...
www.gotquestions.org/image-of-God.html Title: What does it mean that man is made in the image of God?**
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11624996/print/ - Title: Does God Hate Haiti?
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