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God's idea is for His body - His church - to grow and mature, becoming more and more like Christ. He's given us several different leadership gifts in the church to help encourage this growth. Are we receiving these gifts into our lives in the context of a healthy local church family, or do we maybe feel a bit tossed around by the waves of life or the shifting winds of doctrine? It's God's idea that we grow well and serve well together.

Even though our hearts long for unity, unity doesn't come naturally to fallen humanity. Yet, the work of Christ in the hearts of His people enables us to live differently. As a part of our high calling in Christ, we can demonstrate a gentleness, give ourselves to a guardianship of one another, and celebrate God's grace at work in each other. Learning to walk in a manner worthy of this calling is no small thing! It will often require repentance, forgiveness, and communication.

How encouraging it must have been for the Ephesian churches to know that Paul was praying for them, especially when he told them what he was praying! Paul's prayer can help us know how to pray for one another too, as well as giving us excellent biblical goals toward which we can reach in confident faith. One of the church's key roles in the earth - expressing the heart of God for the world as we honor Him and love one another well - is worth contending for in prayer, and worth every investment!

People of privilege. More than just a pretentious-sounding phrase, it's actually a very accurate description of the people of God! For the 8th Anniversary of Destination Church, we celebrate five privileged gifts that God bestows on us as His people, and that He shines through us to display His multi-faceted wisdom across His multi-cultured creation. Even the angels are seeing God's wisdom on display through the church!

What does it mean to be a steward of God's grace? A steward is given responsibility to administrate the treasure of someone else, and God has given His people the amazing privilege to receive His grace and then share it with others. The more we 'see' the gospel for ourselves, the more equipped we are to share its riches with others, testifying of the beautiful good news! Full inclusion in the gospel is ours in Christ, and this is definitely worth testifying about.

What is it about a house that makes it a home, and what kind of house is God building? In Christ, God is building a family to carry His presence in the earth, built on a strong foundation, well- founded, well-fitted, and well-formed.

Who were we before Christ, and who are we in Christ? Jesus brings us from being 'foreigners' regarding the promises of God into a place of full inclusion, reconciled to God and reconciling to one another. The Good News is even better than being included into the activities of someone else's family; everyone who is in Christ is a part of God's new humanity, a new creation that had never existed before: Jew and Gentile, 'near' and 'far,' brought together through Christ, with the same access in one Spirit to the Father.

From spiritually dead to being made wonderfully, spiritually alive - this is what God does for us in Christ. Before Christ, every one of us was, as Paul puts it, a 'child of wrath' while also... greatly loved. The gracious plan of God brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life, transforming 'dead' people who could never respond to the gospel into favored sons and daughters who are seated with Christ Himself. God's grace that we could never earn brings us into a life that only Jesus deserved, and this gracious gift will continue for all eternity as God 'writes' us into His master poem. No longer dead in our sins, we together are a living, divinely-crafted display of God's beautiful purpose. We get to walk in that purpose each and every day of our lives right now.

Christ-centered living is not just a religious 'catch phrase.' Paul encourages the Ephesian church even while he himself is in prison, writing to them that he's been hearing about their faith and loving action. As he encourages them, he does so with Christ at the center. As he prays for them, Christ is central here too. And finally, he reminds them that their own identity as the body of Christ stems from Christ himself, the Risen One who is exalted over every other authority and power, as their head. Still today, we serve the same Jesus, have our own Christ-centered stories to live and to share, and a world around us to share them with!

Can we really find hope in God's sovereignty? What about in seasons of extreme difficulty? Furthermore, is it right for us to think of ourselves as having a significant role in God's sovereign plan and purpose? When we understand sovereignty in a biblical way, we can live, not as passive pawns in a cosmic chess match, but as key partners in God's great purpose in the earth, sealed with the Spirit of God, reflecting our Savior-King, and bringing glory to our Father. This is true, not only during our easy days, but maybe even more evident in our days of difficulty. (Note: This message was shared as the Spokane Complex Fires continued to burn around the city and region.)

As Paul begins to dive into his letter to the Ephesians, he leads immediately into a 'big reveal' of God's plans from before the beginning of creation. We discover that the blessings we can enjoy today flow from our adoption as sons and daughters, and from God's eternal plans to reconcile all things under Christ.

What does it mean to be an apostolic church today? What does that look like? There are seven key elements that every local church should seek to embrace fully if we want to build according to the pattern of the apostles of Jesus as they sought to obey His commission to make disciples.

Imagine... What would it look like to be a part of a church family that's not only stable, but also prepared to multiply and to spread across the nations? What would this church family prioritize? How would they treat one another? How would they participate in the community around them? When we look at the priorities of the church in Acts 2 we are looking at a beautiful pattern, and even a mirror of what a healthy church can be still today: full of life and full of the Spirit of God.

Jesus didn't die just to make us less sinful and so we would 'try to be better.' The gospel is so much more than this! Peace with God, total access to Him, hope, assurance of our salvation and confidence that flows from this, knowing that we will be glorified with Christ - these are realities that are ours in Christ Jesus! Because of Him, we have multiple reasons to celebrate!