This past Sunday we turned to the second half of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, marked with the word “therefore…..” Here, Paul shifts from his theological message at the beginning of the letter to the practical application of it. We are called to live as “in Christ” people as our primary new identity, above and beyond any ascribed or achieved identity we might give ourselves. This is only possible by the power of God within us, a power that can achieve abundantly far more than we can ever imagine. Therefore….Paul says…I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling, with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, making every effort to maintain unity, and finding peace.

It's here that Paul tells us the key point of his letter, that there is but one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. These seven “ones” reveal what it means for us to be the full and perfect expression of Christ to the world, living in unity, functioning as one. Within the body, there’s no room for lone rangers, and if we seek to hurt one another, or not communicate with one another, we are destined for failure as a community of faith. As members of one body, we must work together, in tandem, all living into our collective identity as “in Christ” people, trusting God to lead and guide us.

This coming Sunday we continue this idea with Ephesians 4:25-5:2 where Paul speaks to the importance of what we say in relationship to one another. It’s inevitable, because we’re all human, that emotions might run high at times, and Paul names the reality of being angry, but insists that anger must not lead to sin. It needs to be processed in a healthy way, and needs to be resolved quickly. We must use our words to build up the body, not tear it down, which means we must put away all bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, and malice and be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving toward one another. Why? Because this is what God has offered us….and we are called to imitate God. The consequence of not doing these things is that we are weak, and allow room for the enemy to destroy us. Paul will get to that at the end of his letter.

I invite you to join us this coming Sunday, either in person or online, as we continue to explore Paul’s wisdom on how we are to live and function together as the one body of “in Christ” people.

(( Covid-19 update ))

This past week, the Governor issued a mask mandate for residents of Louisiana. While this is clearly a step backwards, one of the best ways we can continue to function as one body, in humility, with patience, and bearing with one another, is to honor each other’s safety and follow this mandate while on campus. If it would be more advisable for you to remain home due to underlying health conditions, or other risk factors, we honor your decision and encourage you to watch our worship services on our Facebook page, or our You Tube channel. If you need information on how to connect to our online worship services, please let us know.

 Join us each Sunday in person or online at either 9am (traditional) or 11:15am (contemporary).  We will also have BOTH services streaming live. 

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 6017 Camphor Street | Metairie LA  70003 | 504-888-1155 | Fax: 504-888-1169

Office Hours M-Th 9:00am-2:00pm