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About one hundred years after the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians another man by the name of Polycarp served as Bishop of the church in Smyrna, located about 35 miles north of Ephesus, was arrested and sentenced to death for his refusal to worship the gods of the Roman empire.

At eighty-six years old, Polycarp was the last surviving person to have known an apostle, for he was discipled by the apostle John. He was greatly revered as a teacher and church leader; he also had suffered the loss of many friends who had gone before him through the death of martyrdom. Although Polycarp heard that the Roman authorities were looking for him so that they could arrest him, he was at peace with whatever was coming. Three days before his arrest, Polycarp had a vision, while praying, of a pillow under his head that was on fire; he understood his vision to be prophetic concerning the way he would die. Polycarp said to his friends, I will be burned alive.

It is said when the authorities finally did find the place Polycarp was staying to arrest him, they came with all of their weapons, and while he could have escaped, Polycarp responded to his friends: Gods will be done. When the Roman authorities stepped into the house where Polycarp was staying, he called for food and drinks for the men and asked if they could give him an hour to pray uninterrupted; to which they agreed. It is said that some of the men who were there to arrest the 86-year-old church leader, regretted it. Polycarp was made to ride a donkey and was ushered into the arena; some witnesses said they heard a voice from heaven say, Be strong, Polycarp and play the man!

When the crowd saw Polycarp enter the arena, witnesses say there was an uproar as people shouted: Down with the Atheists! (this is what Christians were called because they did not worship the gods of the Roman Empire). While the crowd demanded death for the old saint, the Proconsul urged him to, reproach Christ, and I will set you free. To which Polycarp declared: 86 years I have served him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? The Proconsul continued: Swear by the Fortune of Caesar. To which Polycarp again replied: Since you vainly think that I will swear by the Fortune of Caesar, as you say, and pretend not to know who I am, listen carefully: I am a Christian!

They sentenced Polycarp to death by burning. They were going to nail him to the stake, but Polycarp insisted, Leave me like this. He who gives me to endure the fire will also give me to remain on the pyre without your security from the nails. So, they did not nail him to the stake, but did tie him to it. As they prepared to light the fire, Polycarps prayer could be heard:
O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of you, the God of angels, powers and every creature, and of all the righteous who live before you, I give you thanks that you count me worthy to be numbered among your martyrs, sharing the cup of Christ and the resurrection to eternal life, both of soul and body, through the immortality of the Holy Spirit. May I be received this day as an acceptable sacrifice, as you, the true God, have predestined, revealed to me, and now fulfilled. I praise you for all these things, I bless you and glorify you, along with the everlasting Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. To you, with him, through the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and forever. Amen.[1]

Because the fire did not seem to touch his body, an executioner was commanded to stab him. Polycarp died about 100 years after the apostle Paul wrote these words that are before us in 2024:
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be

One of my favorite films is the movie, Signs, which is a film by M. Night Shyamalan released in 2002. In the film, Mel Gibson stars as Graham Hess, a former Episcopalian priest grieving the tragic death of his wife and grappling with the existence of God and His involvement with His creation in the aftermath of his wifes death. In an article published on March 24, 2024 about the film, Niall Gray and Zachary Moser summarize the movies message which is not so much about hostile and invading aliens, but how all of the characters play an important part in the movies overall plot and:
Merrill is a failed minor-league baseball player, Morgan is asthmatic, and Bo leaves half-drunk glasses of water all over the house. These traits, and Graham's crisis of faith, are all significant to the film's story, leaning intoSigns' central themes. In themovie's signature M. Night Shyamalan twist, the aliens are defeated due to their deadly reaction to contact with water, and Graham's faith is ultimately restored by his family's survival of the ordeal. The ending comes together, arranging all the clues Shyamalan laid out for a thrilling and thoughtful ending.

Upon the alien invasion, Graham rediscovers his faith when all the things he perceived as random suddenly become significant. This is evidenced earlier in the movie by Graham's speech about how the world is split into two types of people, those who believe in coincidence and those who believe in miracles. Graham's belief that everything happens for a reason is restored, making faith and predetermination a central element ofSigns' story.[1]

There are many reasons why I loved this movie, but what I love most about this movie is that it is really about the purpose and design behind all that Graham believed to be coincidencehis young brothers failure as a minor-league player who could destroy a ball if he connected with his bat, his sons severe asthma, or his little daughters weird behavior of leaving half-drunk glasses of water all over the housewhen in fact there was purpose and design behind all of it; there was even purpose in the way his wife died.

I think that my oldest son, Nathan, was nine years old when I introduced him to the movie. Nathan was captivated by the movie, but I could tell that he was growing more and more distressed as he watched the story unfold. At some point I got up to check his pulse, which was high because of the scary and hostile aliens. To put his anxious heart at ease, I explained to him the many signs that were in plain sight in the film to show him that the family would be okay in the end.
In Ephesians, Paul shows us that the redemption and salvation of people from all nations was not a coincidence, but Gods plan from the very beginning. The mystery was not developed by the apostle nor was it created out of someones imagination. It is not the kind of mystery we think of based on the way the word mystery is used in English. The way Paul uses mystery in Ephesians is not the way it is used in a Scooby Doo episode. What Paul means by mystery is that although Gods plan was visible, it was beyond the realm of human understand and needed divine revelation for it to be understood. Just as my son needed me to show him the open secret that was always before him since the story began.

The Glory of the Mystery Revealed (vv. 3-7)
So what is the mystery Paul is talking about in Ephesians? Well he tells us in verse 4, it is the mystery of Christ that has been revealed to the apostles and the prophets in the Spirit (v. 5). But what about Christ is it that was so mysterious in ages past? Wasnt Gods plan to redeem and save lost sinners clear enough throughout the ages?

After Adam and Even sinned against God, there was no sugar-coating how God would eventually deal with the great serpent, the devil: And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel (Gen. 3:15). Wa

On October 3, 2004, I preached my first sermon as a candidate for Northwest Baptist Churchs next Senior Pastor. Northwest was considered one of the most dysfunctional churches within the Rocky Mountain district, and although I knew this about the church, there was no way I could fully appreciate just how dysfunctional it really was. So, a very green and 30-year-old version of the pastor that stands before you today preached a sermon on boasting in the Cross of Christ before a congregation with a median age of somewhere in the 60s; my sermon text was from Galatians 6:11-18 and the title of my sermon was, Boasting in the Cross.

On October 17th the congregation of Northwest Baptist Church voted to call me as their Senior Pastor. Because I was unsure about moving our family from Pennsylvania to Colorado, I needed more time to pray about it before agreeing to serve as the Senior Pastor of that little church in Denver. Earlier that day, just after the church service at Calvary Baptist Church where I was presently served on the pastoral staff, Bob and Shirley White had given me a gift for Clergy Appreciation Month. I only opened the wrapping paper so that I could thank Bob and Shirley; the gift was a book, and the title of that book was, God as He Longs for You to See Him, by Chip Ingram. I left the book in my office, which was only across the parking lot from where we lived at the time (a house we affectionately nicknamed: Little House on the Parking Lot).

Because I needed time to pray, I walked across the parking lot and into my office at Calvary Baptist Church to be alone with the Lord. As I sat down, the book that Bob and Shirley White had given was there in front of my face. As I began to pray, I asked God to give me some indication as to what He wanted me to do; as I was praying, I opened Chip Ingrams book and noticed that Bob and Shirley had written a note on the inside cover: To our dear Christian brother, Keith, who has inspired us through his messages to see and know God as He really is. We love you and may God bless you, Roi Maw, and Nathan. Bob and Shirley White; October 16, 2004.

Bob and Shirleys little note also served as Gods way to encourage me to say yes to Northwest Baptist Church; but also served to encourage me to say yes to Meadowbrookes call to become your pastor oddly enough, on the first week of October nearly 14 years to the day that I read Bob and Shirleys note for the first time. I am still convinced as I was twenty years ago, that the best that I can give you is the God of the Bible. I could try to cater to felt needs, but all that really ends up being is a guessing game, and besides, what would that do anyway?

I am not going to look at Ephesians 2:19-22 in sequential order like I normally do with a scripture passage but will look at these verses in the order a builder would build a building.


We are a Jesus Called Community
When it came to the structure of a building, before anything could be built, the cornerstone had to be laid. It was the first stone laid because the dimensions and shape of the rest of the building were dependent upon the shape and size of the cornerstone. If the cornerstone was off, so the rest of the building would be off! If there was anything wrong with the cornerstone such as its dimensions, the way it was cut, or its integrity as the toughest and strongest of the stones used in the building, the structure would be compromised. In the ancient East, the cornerstone was the most expensive of all the stones used in a building because it was the most important part of the building. When it comes to the nature of the Church, Paul says that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone (v. 20b).

Against the backdrop of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, stood another temple. Only the temple Paul referred to was living, organic, and holy. Today, it is still being built and it will continue to be built with Jesus as the cornerstone until He is finished building and beatifying His Church. We

At the end of World War II, at the Potsdam Conference on July 17, 1945, it was decided how Germany would be divided by the American, British, French, and Soviet Allied leaders. Germany was divided into four zones of occupation to be controlled by the United States, Britain, France, and Communist Russia (the Soviet Union). The city of Berlin was split up by the four powers even though it was located within the zone controlled by Russia. Because West Berlin was formed by the American, British, and French sectors, East Berlin would be marked by its stark ideological differences shaped by communism because of its control under the Soviet Union.

In 1949, Germany split into two independent nations known as the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) as a democracy in stark contrast to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that was marked by the communism of the Soviet Union. In 1952, the East German government closed its border with West Germany; to keep people from escaping East Germany to the West, a wire barrier was constructed around West Berlin on August 12-13, 1961, with the plan to build a permanent wall designed to divide neighborhoods, separate families, and keep any influence of a freedom loving West from a restrictive and oppressive East. The Berlin Wall would eventually grow into two walls measuring 96 miles long and 13 feet tall. Anyone who attempted to gain freedom from East Berlin by entering West Berlin was shot.

By 1989, more than 100 people died trying to cross the Berlin Wall and hundreds more who tried to escape from East to West. There were 302 watchtowers along the 96-mile-long wall that separated the free from the burdened. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Regan delivered a speech in West Berlin, a speech I remember well when I heard as it aired on television when I was only 13 years old. President Regans speech has been nicknamed the Tear Down This Wall speech from a line in his magnificent speech; I want you to hear just a sampling of this marvelous and important speech for a reason that will become clear in this sermon:

Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state. Yet it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world. Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar. As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

On November 9, 1989, Germans from the East and West gathered and began tearing the Berlin Wall down. On October 3, 1990, East Germany and West Germany were no more; Germany was reunited as one free nation.

The Christian Has Been Brought Near to God (vv. 11-13)
There are four things that were true of the Christians in Ephesus; these four things are true of you if you are now a Christian; these same four things are still true of you if you are not a Christian. Because most of you in this room are Christians, I will refer to these four truths as something that once was true of you.

You at

In a culture that devalued women, Jesus not only valued them as equally created in the image of God in the same way as men, but the value He placed upon them is seen through the New Testament writers as followers of Jesus. For example, the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were all written by men who were sure to point out that it was a man by the name of Judas who betrayed Jesus and it was the male disciples in Jesus life who left Him and fled when He was arrested. However, it was the women in Jesus life, along with John, who were present while Jesus hung on a cross to die. If you were making up a story about a Savior in a male dominated society that viewed women as, in the words of Socrates, Incapable of reason and making rational choices, you would by no means portray them as being brave enough not to flee and hide like the rest of the disciples did. It is also worth noting that if Jesus resurrection was a made-up story told by a group of men, you definitely would not make women the first eyewitnesses to His resurrection! The inclusion of women in Jesus life serves as further proof that not only is the Bible for both men and women, but additional evidence that Jesus did rise from the grave.

However, before Jesus rose from the grave, He was crucified and did indeed die! He was handed over by the religious leaders of His day to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate for treason, and although He was innocent of such crimes he was sentenced to death by crucifixion. Before He was forced to carry His cross, He was beaten, flogged, mocked, and beaten again. Jesus stood mangled and hemorrhaging before a jeering crowd who demanded with shouts: Crucify, crucify him! (see Luke 23:18-25). When Pilate told Jesus that he had the power to release him, Jesus replied: You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above (John 19:11). Pilate washed his hands in a bowl of water symbolizing his innocence and ordered that Jesus be crucified.

Jesus was forced to carry His cross to the place of his execution known as Golgotha. Once He reached Golgotha, Jesus was stretched out by force upon the cross where His hands and feet were nailed to the wooden beams that made up His cross, where He would hang until His death. For six hours he hung on that cross and while on the cross, three of the seven statements that came out from His mouth that will serve as my main points this resurrection Sunday morning, were as follows:

While the crowd mocked him and the soldiers gambled over his clothes, as Jesus hung on the cross stripped of His cloths and humiliated before the masses, He said: Father, forgiven them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).



While dying on the Cross under the wrath of God for sins we are guilty of, under the unrestrained justice we all deserved for our sins, Jesus cried: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:27)?



Just before He breathed out what air was left in His lungs, in case there was any confusion as to who was in charge, Jesus declared: It is finished (John 19:30).


Jesus died. To prove that he was dead, one of the soldiers thrust his spear into the side and heart of Jesus, a man by the name of Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, and then His body was prepared for burial, placed in the tomb, and a stone was rolled in front of the entrance of the tomb to seal the grave shut. While in the tomb, Jesus was not unconscious and he didnt have a twin brother who pretended to rise from the grave; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wanted to be impeccably clear that Jesus physically died on the cross and that His death was very important and very significant. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave! The women in Jesus life were the first to see and witness His resurrected body, while the men in His life refused to believe it until Jesus appeared to them as well. They, and every other person who encountered the risen Christ, would never be the same!

If Je

There is no sermon manuscript for this Good Friday Service.Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj55DKP7DT8