Like all of the first three chapters, Ephesians 3:14-21 is filled with theological nuggets. It would be impossible to cover all of them in one message, so we look at a few. First, the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. He’s been all throughout Ephesians 1-3 but he hasn’t gotten the focus (which is how he likes it). Second, we’ll consider “love” in the life of the believer, and finally, the role that prayer plays and why it is so important. And in the end, we’ll end up right back where we started at the beginning of Ephesians 1: to God be the Glory.

In Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul talks about the mystery that was revealed to him and for which he became an apostle. God’s wisdom is displayed when this mystery is revealed in the church–the mystery that was hidden in the mind of God from before the foundations of the earth. In this message, we’ll consider what that mystery is, and then consider how recapturing it will help us to value and take seriously our role as God’s church.

We live in a world that longs for peace, and it remains elusive. Because of Jesus, peace is again possible–between man and God, and between man and man. The church is the evidence of that peace. It is, Paul says, the temple of God.

New Hope Community Ministries is a non-profit organization located in Prospect Park, NJ. Among other programs, they manage a food pantry that distributes food to low-income residents twice per month. While all the clients are grateful for any and all support they can provide them, we are struck by how generally unhealthy many of the staples are – typically high in sodium and fat, and low in naturally occuring vitamins. We started thinking that what low income people need the most is fresh produce – and the idea of Gardens of Hope was launched this spring.

It is our goal to see local gardeners donate fresh produce for low-income residents throughout the summer. Most people’s gardens are just starting to produce, and so while we did have some limited donations for our July 10 food pantry, we are hoping for an even better outpouring for the following weeks. The food pantry hours are from 9 am – noon on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. Now that the gardens are in full swing, we also hope to add “off-week” veggie stand. Our first veggie stand will be held on July 30 from 10 am – noon, at New Hope’s building (331 N. 11th Street, Prospect Park). We would be very appreciative of any donations of produce brought to New Hope and would also be open to the idea of picking up some donations.

Many people, like Chris, have found that the most convenient Bible to carry around, have on them, and read throughout the day is the one that is installed on their smartphone. In many worshiping communities it has already become commonplace to see people pull out their iPhones, Blackberries, Palm’s, and Android devices to read along with the Scripture as the pastor reads from his text. Although this isn’t anything that’s particularly new–Bible texts have been available on PDA’s for some time–the prevalence of smartphones means that more and more people have access to a digital bible, and consequently, it doesn’t seem as weird for a person to pull out their phone and follow along. It used to be that if you pulled out your PDA in church, people assumed you were playing Tetris. Increasingly, however, the assumption is you’re just reading your Bible.

That’s not to say that we’re all totally comfortable with it yet, though. Maybe we’re okay reading along with the Pastor on our digital bible, but what happens if we receive a text message? What about tweeting in church? And is there a possibility that we might get sidetracked and just take a quick peek at Facebook, or the latest scores on the internet? Wouldn’t it be better to just leave the phone in our pocket and do things the old fashioned way?

Maybe it would be. But the cat’s already out of the bag. (Or, the phone’s already out of the pocket.) And I say, let’s embrace it. Technology will only become more and more a part of our lives. Just because it may require discipline to use it well (like not clicking over to the Facebook app), doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be used at all. If using a digital bible means that people are using a bible, then I consider that a win. And maybe that random tweet during service piques someone’s curiosity about what we’re doing so that they decide to check it out the next week. You just never know.

So let me invite you to pull out your smartphones and follow along during services. If it’s a distraction, put it away. But don’t let the possibility of it being a distraction stop you from using it for some positive purposes, like reading the Scripture.

If you’re looking for a good app for your phone, LifeChurch.tv has spent significant resources producing what is by far the best Bible Reading app on mobile platforms, and possibly on the web. You can go to www.youversion.com to check out more information and find out if they make an app for your phone. While you’re there, make sure to create an account and join the Restore group at http://www.youversion.com/groups/restore. We look forward to seeing you there!

Additionally, we are also going to try and have an “off week garden stand” at New Hope for the produce that comes in on the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month.

By bringing your Bibles to church you are able to hold the preacher accountable because you are able to determine for yourself whether or not what he is saying is in line with what the text is plainly teaching. This is what the Bereans were commended for in Acts 17:11. If the Apostles were pleased that their listeners were examining the Scriptures to test the validity of what they were saying, how much more pleased should we be when our community is looking to the Scripture to examine the truth of what is being preached! While there is some value in projecting the words on the screen, it can’t replace your personal Bible–after all, whose to say the projected words haven’t been tampered with? Although it is highly unlikely, the only way to be absolutely certain is to bring your own text. And of course, in so doing, you will have increased your familiarity with the Bible which is likely to lead to a growing relationship with Christ.

In encouraging our community to bring their Bibles, however, I forgot about one minor hitch. Most of the people in our community are using the New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible, and I have been preaching from the English Standard Version (ESV). Early on I was making special note that my translation might sound different, but in the past few weeks I’ve taken that for granted. Consequently, as people have brought their Bibles, they’ve found it to be more distracting since what I am reading and what is on the screen is different from what they are seeing in the Bible on their lap! (Ironically, this only reinforces the point I’ve made above: without having a Bible, they didn’t even know there was a discrepancy!)

With that in mind, I wanted to address the question of why I use the ESV instead of the NIV. After all, the NIV is a good translation, I own several NIV Bibles, and the Bibles that we hand out on Sunday’s are NIV’s (for now). Wouldn’t it be easier to stick with the known?

In short, yes. It would be easier to stick with the known. The NIV is a great translation that I grew up on and have enjoyed without any reservation for more than two decades. I’m hesitant to say anything that would diminish it’s value, and I certainly wouldn’t be so bold as to say that the ESV is a better translation. Having said that, I think that there are at least two reasons why the ESV is a better fit for our community.

The first reason is the translation technique. The NIV uses what’s referred to as a “dynamic equivalence” translation method. In essence, it is a “thought-for-thought” translation that takes a phrase or sentence from the original language and translates the meaning of the phrase into readable English. The readability of the NIV is what has made it so popular, and it’s relatively conservative translation is what makes it good. It doesn’t go so far as a paraphrase (like The Message), but isn’t as literal as the second type of translation method, called “formal equivalence” (or “literal”). This type of translation is more accurate because it is translating word-for-word; the sacrifice is in the readability (as in the KJV).

The ESV attempts to close this gap between readability and accuracy. It is in the tradition of the “formal equivalence” translation technique and calls itself “essentially literal”. In many cases, you won’t notice much difference between the NIV and the ESV, but sometimes the differences are quite pronounced. Most of the time, it doesn’t change the meaning of a given passage, but it does alter the thrust or the impact. One example of this is Romans 8:36:

ESV – For your sake we are being killed all the day long
NIV – For your sake we face death all day long

It’s a subtle difference, but there is a different type of impact between being “in the face of danger” and actually “being killed”. Especially for a Roman Christian who literally had brothers and sisters being killed all day long. It wasn’t just dangerous to be a Christian; for most people it literally came at the pain of death.

The second reason I prefer the ESV is that it is more true to a reformed theological perspective. This is not to say that the text has been forced into this perspective, but rather that translating more closely word-for-word will yield this perspective in the translation. (The study notes, on the other hand, are pretty clearly from a reformed theological position.) One example of this is in Romans 12:1. Paul has just gotten done highlighting God’s work in salvation and then he turns to the recipients of that salvation in Romans 12.

ESV – I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice…
NIV – Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…

Again, the difference is subtle, but the emphasis in the ESV is on God’s work in salvation, and the emphasis in the NIV is on our response. The ESV equates the presentation of our bodies with the mercies of God; it’s the only possible outcome of what God has done. In essence, If God has bestowed these mercies of salvation on you, then all that you can do is present your bodies in a worthy manner. There isn’t an alternative. God has so powerfully transformed you that the only outcome is your sacrificial life as a worshiper. The NIV, on the other hand, takes a slightly different tone; the emphasis is on the person who has received the mercies, as if they are now looking back on what God has done and in response they are urged to offer their bodies sacrificially. In other words, now that we’ve considered what God has done (in view of it), isn’t it the right response to offer our bodies this way? Both of these translations (and emphasis) are true. But what I want people to remember is that they are worshipers not because they decided to respond to God in a certain way (although they are responsible to do that) but because God has so powerfully recreated them that the only response is to be a worshiper.

As I’ve come to appreciate the differences between the ESV and the NIV, I’ve come to believe that the ESV is a more beneficial translation for our community, and at some point I hope that all of us begin to make the transition over to it as our standard translation. If you’d like more information on the ESV, you can read more about it at http://www.esv.org. Additionally, they have a page of comparison passages at http://www.esv.org/about/compare.verses.

In the meantime, at least you’ll know why the words in your Bible might not match the words on the screen!

In this message, we’ll not only consider what it means for Paul to write “but God” in Ephesians 2:4, but we’ll also consider what it is that God has done that reverses everything. Instead of being dead men walking, Paul introduces us to the new way of walking–in Christ Jesus.

One of the most important things we can do as a gathering community at Restore is to get the first things first and the right things right. It seems like a simple task, but the reality is that when new things are happening and momentum is moving forward it is often easier to get swept up in the excitement than it is to carefully consider the type of community we want to be. It’s easy to lose our focus. Sometimes, the excitement ends up being our goal; the momentum becomes the thing we want to maintain. They become our identity.

That’s why we’re going through the book of Ephesians as our first series together. Paul labors for the first three chapters to carefully remind the Ephesians (and us!) of the glorious work of God on their behalf. He wants to make sure that they (and we) get it right: this whole deal is about the glory of God, acting in love on our behalf, to save us while we were far off, to bring us close to him by Christ’s blood shed for us on the cross, so that we could be adopted into his family, stamped and sealed with the Holy Spirit so that we would know we are his and we have an imperishable inheritance in store. This is God’s story, and he graciously invites us to join Him.

He then goes on in the second half to tell us what that ought to look like in the church. He gives us “a new way of walking”. It’s the way that we walk, act, and live now that we have been saved by Grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit. It’s essential that we understand what that looks like, but it’s also essential that we don’t get it backwards. We must begin with the glory of God and his son Jesus f the second half of the story is going to be possible.

It seems to me that in the modern era one of the great challenges of the evangelical church is that, as was charged to the Ephesians in the book of Revelation, we have “forgotten our first love” (Revelation 2:4). My prayer for us is that, from day one, our focus would not be on flashy graphics, good music, tasty bagels, or casual dress. It wouldn’t be on choirs, buildings, or “the way we’ve always done it”. My hope is that our focus would be on our first love: on Jesus, who died for us so that we might live.

Join us as this Sunday at 10:30 as we continue our series in Ephesians 2:1-10 and consider this “New Way of Walking”.

So what were the Ephesians like before God worked on their behalf? What were we like–or, for some of us, what are we like? How does the Bible describe our condition? In this message, we’ll consider how the Bible talks about what we were, and then ask the question “why does Paul take the time to remind the Ephesians what they used to be like? If they aren’t that way any longer, why bring it all up again?” Finally, we’ll consider what that means for us today.