It was in the depths of darkest night when it happened. The fire they had lit to keep them warm had calmed to a cool ember. The sheep were close at hand, and everything was quiet. Into this dark, cold night – in the fields, far from town – an angel appeared, trumpeting good news of great joy. The Messiah was born!

But before there was ever a manger or a donkey, the pregnant virgin or the angel – before any of these things could become good news, God’s people were found waiting.

As we continue our journey through Advent, Rob Collis preaches from Matthew 3.1-12. As he explores the question, “How do we prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas?” he turns to the ministry of John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for the Lord.

It was in the depths of darkest night when it happened. The fire they had lit to keep them warm had calmed to a cool ember. The sheep were close at hand, and everything was quiet. Into this dark, cold night – in the fields, far from town – an angel appeared, trumpeting good news of great joy. The Messiah was born!

But before there was ever a manger or a donkey, the pregnant virgin or the angel – before any of these things could become good news, God’s people were found waiting.

As we begin our journey through Advent, today Rob Collis preaches from Isaiah 9.1-7. As we listen to the prophet Isaiah, he helps us see ourselves and our world through God’s eyes, as he makes us stare into the darkness. But he doesn’t leave us there. He helps us to live in the unshakable hope of those who have seen the light – and who know and await the dawn.

As Paul continues his letter to the Ephesians, he presents a vision of putting on Christ, and living life in light of the reality of what Jesus has done for us – which he calls taking off the old self, and putting on the new self. Because, when we follow Jesus – when we receive and fall into his grace and salvation, it means we can never live the same.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.25-32, where Paul continues his discussion about putting on the new self – because he wants to make sure God’s grace seeps into our lives – and that it would pervade down all the way into our hearts. And nothing reveals the state of our hearts, and what our hearts hold as precious and dear, quite like our relationship with anger.

So far in Ephesians, Paul has been expanding our horizons and stretching our imaginations. And if we stop and just take a step back – what we realize is that the universe has changed because of Jesus Christ. All of history has been rewritten ever since Jesus died on the cross, and came back to life. Reality has changed. And as we come to chapter 4, Paul shifts his writing from telling us about how reality has changed, to telling us how to live in this new reality.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.13-16, where Paul tells us there’s a destination for us in this life, as we seek to follow Jesus. Paul presents a three-part destination for us to attain to, which is not only something for us as Christians, but for us as those made fully alive in Christ. As we seek to follow Jesus and attain to these things, he sketches out not only the destination, but also the roadblocks we will face, and tells us about how Jesus will walk with us on this journey.

So far in Ephesians, Paul has been expanding our horizons and stretching our imaginations. And if we stop and just take a step back – what we realize is that the universe has changed because of Jesus Christ. All of history has been rewritten ever since Jesus died on the cross, and came back to life. Reality has changed. And as we come to chapter 4, Paul shifts his writing from telling us about how reality has changed, to telling us how to live in this new reality.

This week we’re pleased to welcome Sarah Jeong, who preaches from Ephesians 4.7-12. Sarah helps us wrestle with how Paul deliberately misquotes from Psalm 68, and helps us see that God has delivered us out of captivity from sin, and has given us to each other and to the world as gifts, in order to build up the church.

So far in Ephesians, Paul has been expanding our horizons and stretching our imaginations. And if we stop and just take a step back – what we realize is that the universe has changed because of Jesus Christ. All of history has been rewritten ever since Jesus died on the cross, and came back to life. Reality has changed. And as we come to chapter 4, Paul shifts his writing from telling us about how reality has changed, to telling us how to live in this new reality.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.3-6, where Paul urges us to come and live in the new reality of Jesus Christ eagerly walking together in unity. And he explains that Christian unity arises from the unity of God: from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet Paul knows we can’t just drum up a sense of unity on our own terms – Christian unity is a gift and work of the Holy Spirit, and it requires the Spirit’s presence and work in our midst.

So far in Ephesians, Paul has been expanding our horizons and stretching our imaginations. And if we stop and just take a step back – what we realize is that the universe has changed because of Jesus Christ. All of history has been rewritten ever since Jesus died on the cross, and came back to life. Reality has changed. And as we come to chapter 4, Paul shifts his writing from telling us about how reality has changed, to telling us how to live in this new reality.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.1-3, and helps us see how Paul is summoning us to come and live in the new reality of Jesus Christ by calling us to walk together in unity. In these verses, Paul begins talking about the how of Christian unity, and he lays out five pillars for our unity – five moral characteristics which lay the foundation for unity in Christ.

It’s been said that chapter 3 is the peak of Ephesians. So far, we’ve been climbing through the foothills, but now we’re climbing to the highest point – the top of the mountain – and once we’re at the top, we can see for miles in every direction.

This week Rob preaches from Ephesians 3.18-21, and he shows us how Paul is praying that God would set our hearts on fire with love for him. Paul hopes we would behold the fullness of God for ourselves, and as a result of beholding God, we would have an increased awareness and expectation of how God is at work in our world. Because Jesus can do exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ask or think or imagine – he’s proven it by the cross and resurrection, and he’s already doing it all around you – and his question for us all is simply: “Will you take my hand, and follow me?”

It’s been said that chapter 3 is the peak of Ephesians. So far, we’ve been climbing through the foothills, but now we’re climbing to the highest point – the top of the mountain – and once we’re at the top, we can see for miles in every direction.

This week Rob preaches from Ephesians 3.14-19. He shows us how Paul is praying that God would set our hearts on fire with love for him, and identifies three movements to Paul’s prayer: First, he prays the truths of the gospel into our hearts, so it wouldn’t just be information we know, but truths that pervade our entire being. Second, he prays that we would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, so that we might have an increased capacity to experience the fullness of God in our inner being. And third, he prays that we would begin to comprehend, and catch a glimpse of the fullness of God, so that we wouldn’t settle for anything less.

It’s been said that chapter 3 is the peak of Ephesians. So far, we’ve been climbing through the foothills, but now we’re climbing to the highest point – the top of the mountain – and once we’re at the top, we can see for miles in every direction. As we continue in Ephesians chapter 3, Paul takes us along a detour, as he shows us how God’s grace meets us in the reality of our lives.

This week we’re pleased to welcome Hosea Sheen, who preaches from Ephesians 3.7-13. Hosea helps us to see how God has shared his heart with us, and entrusted us with something precious: the mystery of the gospel. Hosea shows us this is an incredible privilege to receive from God, but it also comes to us with a responsibility: we have been entrusted with this mystery in order to reveal it to others.

It’s been said that chapter 3 is the peak of Ephesians. So far, we’ve been climbing through the foothills, but now we’re climbing to the highest point – the top of the mountain – and once we’re at the top, we can see for miles in every direction. But before we can get to the top of this mountain, Paul takes us on a bit of a detour – along the winding path as we journey up this mountain.

And that’s what we’re going to begin unpacking today – Paul’s detour, as he tells us about how Jesus’ grace has taken a hold of his life. This week, Rob preaches from Ephesians 3.1-6, and shows us how grace has taken a hold of Paul in two particular ways: he became a captive to grace, and he became a steward of grace. And we see that Paul’s detour really is to show us how God’s grace meets us in the reality of our lives.

In writing his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul has been unpacking how Jesus has brought us near to God. Jesus has abolished the dividing wall that was between us and God, and among his followers, he has cast aside any and every form of division and hostility we might have. Jesus has established a new humanity – a new way of being human, and has raised us to fulness of life in him.

This week, Rob preaches from Ephesians 2.19-22, and shows us how Paul brings all of these threads together. As he unpacks our new reality as followers of Jesus, he shows us that Paul uses the imagery of a house – a house which God is building, so that he might come and dwell with us.

As the Apostle Paul continues his letter to the Ephesians, he continues to fix our eyes on the fulness of what God has accomplished for us in Jesus Christ, so that we might have eyes to see and comprehend the good news of Jesus.

This week we’re pleased to welcome Kathy Shain-Ross, who preaches from Ephesians 2.14-18, and explains the significance of Jesus as our peace. Jesus has abolished the dividing wall that was between us and God, and among his followers, he has cast aside any and every form of division and hostility we might have. Because with God, peace is not an absence; it is a presence. God’s peace is the presence of Jesus Christ himself, and wherever Jesus is present, and wherever his peace reigns.

As the Apostle Paul continues his letter to the Ephesians, he continues to fix our eyes on the fulness of what God has accomplished for us in Jesus Christ, so that we might have eyes to see and comprehend the good news of Jesus. And in his writing, he uses a pattern to structure his writing: “You were this, but God… now you are this, and here’s the new reality into which you live.”

This week we’re pleased to welcome Willie Shain-Ross, who preaches from Ephesians 2.11-13, and helps us to remember and understand what our life was truly like apart from Jesus Christ: we were covenantally cut off and spiritually alienated from God. But Jesus came to take on our spiritual alienation so that we might be reconciled to stand before God, and be brought into the new reality of his kingdom here on earth.

As we’ve been journeying through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we’ve been invited to have the eyes of our hearts opened to behold the depths and the riches of the love of God. This week, Rob preaches from Ephesians 2.8-11, and unpacks one of the most succinct and breathtaking accounts of how we receive our new life in Christ: we are saved by nothing other than the grace of God.

But sometimes we can get this backwards, and our hearts can get in the way of falling into God’s grace, as we boast in our pride or shame. As the Apostle Paul ushers us past these barriers to God’s grace, though, he shows us that what God has in store for us in Christ is so much more beautiful and amazing than we could have ever imagined!

Throughout his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is intent on opening our eyes to behold the depths and the riches of the love of God. He points to three specific things Jesus did in history to guarantee our salvation: Jesus was made alive; Jesus was raised up; and Jesus was seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. Jesus did all of this for our sake. But Paul says the good news go deeper still!

This week, Rob preaches from Ephesians 2.4-7, and helps us see how Paul is building and expanding our horizons to understand just how big and wonderful this salvation in Jesus really is. Because not only did Jesus resurrect, ascend, and take a seat – Paul is saying we’re involved in these matters, too. Because the Gospel is alive, and it’s not just about living forever in heaven after we die – it’s about being raised to the fullness of life together in Christ starting today, and continuing forever more.

Throughout his writing, the Apostle Paul soars to great heights of joy and praise. And he ushers us to come with him, into these realities of praise and thanksgiving, that are more than we could ever have begun to imagine. But to lead us there, he needs to show us where we’ve come from, and see just how deep was the pit from which Jesus came to set us free. Because the good news about Jesus only really makes sense in light of the devastatingly bad news of our true spiritual condition without him.

This week, Rob preaches from Ephesians 2.1-5, where we come face to face with the truth of our own spiritual condition: we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and captive to forces that were beyond our control. But God was not content for us to stay that way, and in the abundance of his mercy, has made us alive together with Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul planted many churches throughout the ancient world, and whenever he would leave, he would stay in touch with them. As he continued to learn about the church in Ephesus, he was filled with joy to learn of their faith, and of the new believers in their midst. And in Ephesians 1.15-23, we find Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus.

Paul’s prayer was filled with thanksgiving for their faith, but as Rob preaches, he shows us that Paul wasn’t content for them to have simply prayed to receive Jesus into their lives: Paul wanted more for them than that. He wanted them to go the distance, and continue to go further up and further in to the depths and riches of life and faith in Jesus. And the way he prayed they would do that was to know God rightly and truly – so they may appreciate to the fullest possible extent the implications of the blessing they have already received in Jesus Christ.

The book of Ezekiel is among one of the hardest books of the Bible to understand. Yet, amidst all the imagery and obscurity, Ezekiel’s ministry was fundamentally a ministry of hope. This week, Rob preaches from Ezekiel 47.1-12, and invites us to experience the hope of Ezekiel’s vision.

Ezekiel is standing on this tiptoes, and he’s looking over the ledge – he’s trying to catch a glimpse of what God was doing in his day. And what he saw was something far greater than he could have ever dared to imagine! He’s seen a temple filled with the presence of God – and realized that God is going to come and dwell with his people again. And he’s seen a river – an impossible river that flows from God’s temple – and which brings the presence of God to the people, and brings healing and transformation and life wherever it flows.

From the very beginning of his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul’s writing and imagination is steeped in God’s activity in Jesus Christ. And he wants us to get caught up in that with him. As we continue our series going through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Rob preaches from Ephesians 1.11-14.

As he finishes unpacking the longest sentence in the New Testament, looks at the third blessing Paul identifies – that we have been given a future blessing, having been sealed by the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance in God’s Kingdom. And this means we can take heart, and not despair for how things seem in the world around us, because we have received a living and assured hope – a hope that has been proven by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and which has been guaranteed to us by the sending of the Holy Spirit.