Pastor’s Page | September 25th, 2025
Sermon Prep (Read Ephesians 4:14-16)
Let me tell you about the biggest smallest church you have ever seen. When I served a church in Mississippi, there was a small Methodist church that was nearby that in order to get there, you had to literally turn off the paved road, go about 3 miles down the gravel road, then turn on to the dirt road and there you had this little white country church connected to a graveyard. This church had on a good Sunday maybe 15 people. In most churches, that would not even qualify as a small group. But let me tell you about this little church. This group was faithful. They supported missionaries, they worshipped faithfully every Sunday morning and Sunday night with about a 95% participation rate from its members (meaning, no one missed Sunday morning or Sunday night). If someone did miss a service, they were immediately contacted, prayed for, and given a casserole. This church has an active men’s ministry. They just didn’t meet and eat, they went and built ramps in the community for those in need. In fact, if any one in the community had a need, this was the church they would reach out to. One of the men who led this ministry had arthritis so bad in his right hand that you couldn’t even shake hands with him, yet he would swing his hammer with his left hand even though he did so with great difficulty. He wanted to serve. They also had a Wednesday night service, and these people knew their bible. In fact, not only did they have a Wednesday night service, but they hosted a community bible study that involved the other churches every Tuesday. This church got along well. They didn’t agree on everything. Some were democrats, some were republicans, some rooted for Ole Miss, others rooted for Mississippi State. Most were farmers, but they had a dentist and a lawyer in the church. They were grounded in the Gospel and in the truth of Jesus Christ. When issues came up in the denomination, they stood firm for the truth and yet were never hateful about it. They were the most Christlike church I have ever seen. Yet, they only averaged 15 members on a Sunday.
So much of what we think today focuses on “church growth” and in many ways it should. The church should be growing because we should be reaching out and bringing people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Growth matters because people matter. Yet, when you read this passage, when Paul talks about Church growth he tends to think more about the Christians in the church becoming more like Christ. Paul wanted the people to be grounded in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ and to grow up together in Him to be like Him in every way. As we look forward to Sunday, be thinking about the difference between an immature believer and a mature believer. Also, how can Christians be tossed about with the latest cultural and religious fads and be led astray. How does maturity battle false teachings and fad following. Also, Paul mentions something we hear a lot today, “Speaking the truth in love”. What does truth look like without love? What does love look like without truth? As you finish these verses, notice the end goal and our responsibilities to make this happen. How does all this play into what we have said about church unity, spiritual gifts, and living a life worthy of what Jesus has done for us?
Updates, Thoughts and More
I am so excited to be going on our mission trip to Eastern Kentucky to the Red Bird Missionary Conference and to the Ark Encounter. We will be leaving next Sunday after church, and we will be returning that Saturday. Please keep our group in your prayers as we take this trip and pray that not only will God use us to accomplish His purpose and to share His message, but also that God would work within the lives of the members of the group to draw us closer to Him and closer to each other.
This past Wednesday in our Table Talk series we studied the religion of Islam. We looked at the basics of the religion and what the key differences were between Islam and Christianity. This upcoming Wednesday we will be looking at the ancient religion of Hinduism. We will again focus on the basics but also look at how the Christian faith is making huge inroads into that culture through the truth and love of the missionaries working there. Come join us this Wednesday at 5 pm in room E101.
This has got to be the best College Football Saturday of all time! First, on Friday I think TCU will handle Arizona State in a very close game. TCU is better than people think. Then on Saturday…I think Arkansas will put together a win against Notre Dame to help their coach keep his job. LSU and Ole Miss will be a fun game. I think Ole Miss will take an early lead but then LSU will dominate the 2 nd half and take the victory. I hate to say this, so please don’t be mad…but I think Auburn will have something to prove after last week’s mess up at Oklahoma and they will end up defeating Texas A&M (sorry). Georgia and Bama will be a close hard-fought game. I think Georgie wins a close one in the end. And sadly…I think Kentucky will get whooped by South Carolina (is it basketball season yet?).
For the NFL, the upset (which really isn’t much of an upset) is that I think Tamba Bay beats Philadelphia. The Eagles got lucky last week, and I think this week they won’t get those lucky breaks. The game to watch is Baltimore and Kansas City. Baltimore is going to have something to prove after that egg they laid against Detroit last week and truth be told, Kansas City’s offense just isn’t that good. Mahomes is magical, but the rest of the offense is mediocre at best. I think the Ravens run away with it. And, I think Green Bay wins easily against Dallas. Last week, it looked like the Cowboys just gave up against the Bears. That is never a good look.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (09/21)
Sunday Service - 9am & 10:30am
Monday (09/22)
Stitching Angels - 1:30pm
Tuesday (09/23)
Men’s Meeting - 7:30am
Armor of God Bible Study - 10:00am
Wednesday (09/24)
Prayer Warriors - 9:00am
Sip and Share - 10:00am
Stitching Angels - 1:00pm
Table Talk (World Religions) - 5:00pm
Youth and Kids - 5:00pm
Bell Choir - 6:00pm
Choir - 7:00pm
Thursday (09/25)
Psalms Bible Study - 9:00am
Stephen Ministry - 2:00pm
Learning our Faith
Catechism of the Heidelberg Confession (1563)
Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?
Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; our only high priest who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.
Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7) Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15) John 1:18; 15:15 Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4) Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24 Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9) Matt. 28:18- 20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11
Q. But why are you called a Christian?
Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.
1 Cor. 12:12-27 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27 Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Heb. 13:15 Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9 Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18-19 Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12
Joke of the Week
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, ‘Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late! Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late!’
While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again!
As she ran she once again began to pray, ‘Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late…But please don’t shove me either!’
Quote of the Week
Apart from our union with Christ every effort to imitate Christ, no matter how noble and inspired at the outset, inevitably leads to legalism and spiritual defeat. But once you understand the doctrine of union with Christ, you see that God doesn’t ask us to attain to what we’re not. He only calls us to accomplish what already is. The pursuit of holiness is not a quixotic effort to do just what Jesus did. It’s the fight to live out the life that has already been made alive in Christ.
~Kevin DeYoung
