To Gether We Can

Together We Can

1. Reflections of past year:

I praise the Lord for a year of His faithfulness, anointing and blessings of serving Him and His people as we remember the day you ordained me as your servant a year ago. I am blessed while serving the master and His people and it is a delight to see the community growing in the faith.

I enjoyed praying for people and sharing in your joys and sorrows. Thanks for your love, prayers and support.

There were a few challenges too: Balancing ministry, full time job and family. Thanks to my wife for freeing me up for the ministry and also standing with me in all circumstances.

I had few sleepless nights over the tensions between family and families!

I had the hard work of sharing God's Word, sometimes not easy to listen and obey.

My apologies for the hurts I may have caused to any one on account of my behavior or attitude.

Ephesians 4:1-16

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?

10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

2. Reminder to a worthy living (4:1-3)

a. Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Called to be holy, called to serve the Lord

b. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

c. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

3. Reasons for being together (4:4-6)

We have 7 (is a number of perfection) commonality to be united together.

4. Resources for being together (4:7-11)

a. Grace apportioned to each one of us by Christ

b. Gifts of the salvation and Holy Spirit

c. Team of servants and ministers

5. Results of being together (4:12-16)

a. Equip His people for the works of service

b. Building up each other

c. Maturity and unity

d. Stability against false teachings and cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming

e. Speaking truth in love and grow in Christ, the head of the body

f. Mutual support, personal growth and faithful service in the church

Yes together we can build a community of love and courage. We are partners in building God's Kingdom.