By Rev. Bruce

Greetings Church! I am thankful for the time as we have begun our covenant together.

Over the last several weeks, I have been reading in Ephesians, which is a book written by the apostle Paul. The first section (chapters 1-3) are all dedicated to what God has done for us in/through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The second section (chapters 4-6) are dedicated to who we become and what we do as a result of the first section: Identity in Jesus (first), behavior as Jesus-followers (second).

One of Paul’s motivations and hopes in writing this letter is to bring together two groups of people who would otherwise (outside of their identity in Jesus) absolutely detest one another.   One of Paul’s great desires was to unify these two groups of people under the authority of Jesus and to help them see that one of their jobs was to embody the radical grace and mercy and transformation that Jesus offers by being reconciled to one another.

In Ephesians 16, the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  In other words, each part of the Body of Christ in its own uniquely God-ordained way exists to help the other parts.  And of course, Paul isn’t speaking about parts of a human body, he’s talking about you and I in the context of the Church.

The Book of Ephesians Paul is instructing the members to support, build up and develop one another in love.

In the Body of Christ, each one of us has a different gift and important role. The church and the world need the gifts that God gave us.  That is how we arrive at fullness.  It is essential that we help one another to develop our own unique gifts.  Each of us is required to grow and build up this body in love. Ideally, we are called to use our gifts in unison with one another.

The church, the big church and the little church, the downtown church and the rural church, the African-American congregations and the Asian congregations and the Hispanic congregations, and all the other corporate gatherings of genuine believers in Jesus Christ need all the moving parts to be involved in global ministry.

Church is not about any one individual, including the pastor. We get our greatest joy when we live life and serve together. We are called to be knit together as ligaments. Each of you is integral in the Body of Christ. We are better when we work together. How will we go out and live our lives so that others experience and know the love of God? The church is the biggest family that God has created; there are still those who believe themselves to be foreigners and strangers. We need to do more than just open doors for people because everyone has a gift.

We Press On together with God’s Love!