Stone's Hill Community Church
Our series is called "Letters from Prison" - which is a study of Paul's prison epistles or letters. We've covered Philippians and Philemon. Now, we look at Ephesians!
Even though Paul is chained up in prison (Ephesians 6:20), he feels incredibly blessed—and he wants his Christian readers, then and now, to realize how incredibly privileged we are as well. This letter to the Ephesians is really nothing more than a description of the riches that we have in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul emphasized these riches a great deal: Ephesians 1:7 talks about the riches of His grace, at the end of the verse. Chapter 3:8 talks about the unsearchable riches of Christ. Chapter 3:16—the riches of His glory. So you have the riches of His grace, the riches of His glory and the riches of His Son. In other words, God is unloading all of His riches in the book of Ephesians. The vault is open! The word grace is used 12 times in this book. There are enough resources in heaven to… cover all past debts, present liabilities and future needs and still not diminish your account. That’s God’s plan.
This letter is about that... and it's about us...Welcome to "Ephesians". And welcome to Stones Hill Community Church and Online Notes!
Welcome!
We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!
A typical Stone's Hill service has music (feel free to sing out); some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of); a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word); and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your life.)
So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!
Ephesians 6:5-9 NIV
Letters from Prison - Ephesians 6:5-9
Think about how much of your life is built around work. How can we approach our work and jobs in a way that honors Jesus?
Paul says a great employee is going to be:
1. Obedient - obey your earthly masters... – do what is asked (not immoral things of course).
2. Respectful - obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, – show deference to your boss who is responsible for things. Show respect to everyone. Be friendly and open, not territorial.
3. Vested - serve wholeheartedly- give it all you’ve got with a good attitude. Bring a can-do spirit – an energy to every task.
4. Loyal - when their eye is on you – you never know who sees what you do; but do good work anyway.
5. Sincere - sincerity of heart – really get after it. Solve problems. Share your expertise so others can get better too.
How to See My Job
Three ways to see your job…
See Your Job as a Partnership and Stewardship with God. “Look at God in the eye when you’re working.”
See Your Job as a Place of Preparation and Opportunity. You are doing something for Jesus by living for Him where you work. And you’re earning income that you turn into ministry.
See Your Job as a Position of Truth-Exhibition and Servant-Ministry. You’re the only Bible some people will ever read. Ironically, it will be your life bearing witness to the truth of Jesus.
Let me state these three things another way…
Do great work, but don’t brag. Let the work speak for itself. It will get noticed in time.
Help your co-worker, but don’t lag. Pull your part of the load. You don’t want to be the one to bottle-neck everything.
Live the truth, but don’t nag. It’s not your job to clean up everybody’s language or dirty jokes. Live the truth.