1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
– Ephesians 4:1-6 (ESV)
Urge (Verb) – To earnestly persist & / or persuade someone to do something.
I have a confession. Frankly, it’s quite embarrassing for me to make this admission. There has been a matter in my life that my wife has frequently confronted me on. On more occasions than ought to have been necessary, she has urged me to tend to my laundry basket on my side of the room. I can’t quite explain why I’ve had an ongoing struggle with this responsibility. Truthfully, there is no excuse for my dereliction of duty. Well, actually, that’s not true. I’m full of excuses. But they're not legitimate and it would be more embarrassing to list them all. At the end of the day, I had to find the motivation and commit to putting my clothes away. And you’ll be glad to know that I’m making great progress!
While it might first appear that I’m making light of my laundry issue, the reality is, it actually says something about me. At the end of the day, I want to be a man of my word. If my wife asks me to put my clothes away and I say that I will, I want her to trust that I will do what I say. I'm motivated by the fact that what i do reflects upon who I am. And conversely, who I am will influence what I commit to do. In a real sense that is where we are in our study of Ephesians. This week we build upon who the Lord has called us to be and we will begin to discover what we are also called to do.It’s going to take motivation and commitment, but the beautiful thing is Lord has promised to empower us to do all things great and small for Him. Whether that be preaching a sermon or simply putting our clothes away. The Lord is calling us to mutual commitment.
Here is the worship set to help you prepare your heart.
Love you Church,
Jerry Lingenfelter
Senior Pastor