Sermons on Ephesians (Page 2)
Kingdom Hybridity
In the second half of chapter 2, Paul teaches that the cross of Jesus does more than just reconcile people to God, it also reconciles people groups to one another. Namely, Jesus’s life of self-sacrificial love shows us the way to peace and tears down the divisions between people of different cultures. The Way of Jesus creates an entirely new kind of human community. But, multiethnic churches might fall into the trap of thinking “multiculturalism” is what this text prescribes.…
Salvation by Allegiance Alone
We bring all of our selves to everything we interpret, including assumptions we have based on the influence of the cultures around us. When we come to this week’s text, Ephesians 2.1-10, many of us have been influenced by Modern, Western culture, which has conditioned us to understand the concept of “faith” as opposed to “works”. This is because of the view developed since the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth-century. But, we want to understand faith in Christ as it…
Finding Identity in Jesus
Today, many people are experiencing an identity crisis. Many of the labels and categories that have traditionally supported our identities no longer serve us well. People are searching for something solid, something real, something in which to be rooted. Ephesians chapter one is all about identity “in the Messiah.” Paul uses that phrase eleven times in as many verses. But what does it mean? It means being joined with God through baptism into the life of Jesus and receiving the…
Swimming Lessons, Week 7: Osheta Moore
Osheta Moore is a writer and podcaster, mother and wife, and international speaker on subjects of peacemaking and racial righteousness. She is author of Shalom Sistas: Living Wholehearted in a Brokenhearted World (Harold Press, 2017) and her work has been featured in spaces such as Sojourners, SheLoves Magazine, A Deeper Story, The Art of Simple, ReKnew, and Rachel Held Evans’s blog. You can connect with her work at Osheta.com and ShalomSistas.com