One of the greatest parts of full-time ministry is spending hours in God’s Word in preparation for proclaiming His Truth. One of the amazing graces about preaching the Word of God is how Christ stirs my own soul and strengthens my spirit before I even utter a word to the congregation. I feel a passion when I preach; it is not something I must “work up” though. Instead, God ignites my heart with the sparks of the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, as it grinds against my flint-like soul. . I am excited to be starting a series of preaching in New Testament Letter to the Ephesians. This letter written by Paul is one of my favorites in the entire Bible mostly due to the style in which God gifted Paul to present inspired Truth. How God directed the Apostle to take us to the heights of the heavenlies in presenting the graces we have in Christ through His Divine Calling; then he begs the reader to “Walk worthy!” of this calling. Following this, he writes in an almost painfully practical way reminding the reader how one must walk with our relationships in light of the glorious calling of God.
And all this was written to a church in a town much like my current residence. A place where the economy, tourism, religion, culture, and lifestyle all unite under the banner of one zealous religion-the religion of Artemis. A place where the temple is the central part of the city, where people come from all over the world to see the “greatness” of this religious figure, where religious zeal reigns, but not according to knowledge. And it is here, Paul spends more time building the church than any other place. Here in the hotbed of religious ardor, a fledgling church springs up from a handfull of misinformed saints, a couple of tent-makers, and some converted pagans. Through trials, tears, and blood God built His church in this difficult environment. One individual once commented, “If God can build a church in Ephesus, He can build one anywhere.” My heart’ prayer and passion is that God would build a great work in Salt Lake City that would turn the city on its head, just like He did before in Ephesus. If you are new to Christian Joe and would like to know more of what God is doing in Salt Lake City, check out our church’s website www.graceutah.com
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