Final Thoughts (with a Human Touch)

Introduction

Who is the person who has most affected the development of your faith? Take a second and think who that person is

You know, for the past two decades a crisis has been growing in the church about membership and decline

Congregations are asking how to draw people in or how to use their buildings more for the community

We wonder how we get people out there in here

Now I want you to think back to that person who most affected your spiritual development

My guess is that this person affected you for one of two broad reasons, or possibly both:

1. They invested personally in you, taking a deep interest

2. You had a powerful encounter with Christ through that person

My guess is that many of us did not come to faith because we picked up the Bible, read that we are sinners and repented

Yes, it happens where we are deeply convicted of our sin and of God’s holiness

But most likely, our faith development had to do with the personal ministry of someone in our lives

This is what we see in the closing of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

Personal Message from a Personal Messenger

Paul sends Tychicus to give the letter and an update on his condition

In prison

Awaiting trial (Read in the latter half of Acts)

Likely the Ephesians have heard of Paul’s struggles and are concerned (

Read in the latter half of Acts

Paul shows genuine concern and love in sending Tychicus to ease the Ephesians’ concerns

It would be very easy; however, if we were in the Ephesians’ situation to say that our concerns don’t matter and to think that Paul has more to worry about than our situation

Yet Paul has such concern and love for the Ephesians that he recognizes their concern as valid and wants to share his life with them (and for them to share theirs with him!)

It can be very easy to see Paul’s theological and philosophical strength and to miss his equally strong love of the church

Ministry which the church offers the world is done in genuine relationship

The bond that we have in Christ is not an add-on to the theology of the church and its ministry; it is a deeply rooted aspect of it

More Than a Closing

Whether we see Paul’s concern will affect how we read his closing

Paul’s desire was for the grace and peace of the Gospel to run deeply in God’s people