Author: Justin Oakes
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Imitating God: Walking in Love
You will imitate somebody this week. Paul calls believers to imitate God Himself, and the first step is walking in the self-sacrificing love of Christ. But how can sinners possibly love like that?
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Living Like You Learned Christ
It’s not a sin to be married, rich, or hardworking, but there’s a sinful way to do all three. A look at Ephesians 4 on the old man and the new man, and why the difference always starts in the heart.
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The Call to Christian Unity
Ephesians 4 makes a bold claim: unity in the church isn’t something believers have to create — it’s already a reality Christ purchased on the cross, and our job is simply to guard it, use our gifts to grow it, and live like it’s true.
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Experiencing Truth: When Knowledge of God Reaches the Heart
It’s one thing to know God’s word by heart — it’s an entirely different thing to experience the God we read about. From Ephesians 3:14–21, Pastor Justin unpacks Paul’s prayer for a church that knows the truth but hasn’t been transformed by it.
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The Great Why: Understanding God’s Purpose in the Gospel
Every toddler learns to ask “why,” because we were made in the image of a God who does nothing by accident. In Ephesians 3:10-13, Paul gives three reasons God chose the gospel: to display his wisdom to heaven, to exalt his Son, and to give us bold access to the Father.
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A Glorious Mystery
God is the great storyteller, and the gospel is the story he wrote before “Let there be light,” full of plot twists no generation saw coming. In part one of this message from Ephesians 3, Paul unveils the mystery itself (Jew and Gentile made one body in Christ) and the unlikely messenger God chose to…
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One Church: A Call for Christian Unity
Before you can fix the division in your relationships, your church, or your community, you have to remember something: you were once far off too. A look at Ephesians 2 and what it means to be built into one dwelling place for God.
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Saved By Grace
What you believe about salvation determines what you believe about your identity in Christ. A look at Ephesians 2:1-10 and three truths about God’s work of salvation: how desperate our situation was before Christ, the distinct change grace brings, and why it was all a gift.
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No Longer Orphans: Growing In Your Identity In Christ
There was an orphan living in England who was born to very poor, very scared parents. After much deliberation, they decided to give their child up for adoption, hoping he might have a better life than they could provide. But that child went years without ever being adopted. Other children would come and go, finding…
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The Story Isn’t Over: The Conclusion of John’s Gospel
We are bringing the Gospel of John to a close this morning. We have been in this series for a long time, and we have covered a lot of ground together. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this book, and I will miss it a little, but I am excited about what God has…
