Sermon notes
Minding God
Hope and purpose in the church
Rev. Kelly Tam
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 (NLT)
When we are mindful of God’s presence and work we find hope and purpose in the messiness of life.
“When we grow, in contrast to merely change, we venture into new territory and include more people in our in our lives – serve more and love more. Our culture is filled with change; it’s poor in growth. New things, models, developments, opportunities are announced, breathlessly, every hour. But instead of becoming ingredients in a long and wise growth, they simply replace. The previous is discarded and the immediate stuck in – until, bored by the novelty, we run after the next fad. Men and women drawn always to the new never grow up. God’s way is growth, not change…David at thirty-seven was more than he was at seventeen – more praise, saner counsel, deeper love. More himself. More his God-given and God-glorifying humanity. A longer stride, a larger embrace.”
—Leap Over a Wall, Eugen Peterson
1. Our growth is measured how our lives are transformed to reflect Christ (verse 2-3)
2. from this growth, comes an opportunity to influence change (verse 12-13)
3. when we do the hard work of growth and change, that leads us to transformation (verse 14-16)
