VITAL SIGNS OF A VIBRANT CHURCH
Ephesians 1:15-17
Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a
church grow? I've made it my business to try to
study growing churches. I have found that churches
can grow anywhere at anytime. I have also noticed
that churches which are growing all share some
common characteristics. They may not all be of
the same denomination, share the same type of church
field, or have the same type of membership but the
-o have sore qualities which are alike.
As I read the portion of scripture that will be
our text for this evening, I thought it revealed to
me sore of the characteristics of a growing, healthy
church. The church at Ephesus was one of the most
thriving and important 1st Century churches.
,grew spiritually and numerically even in the midst
of gross idolatry and paganism (remember the city
of Ephesus was a wealthy city whose wealth was
gained from the worship of Diana, a Roman goddess
whose temple was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient
world.
I believe we can relate our contemporary setting
to that of the church in Ephesus. We also live in
a wealthy environment in an age of great paganism
and idolatry. The worship of Diana has been replaced
with the worship of self through the religion of
Humanism. However, we can be a healthy, vibrant
church even in this age of spiritual darkness.
Let's look to Paul's letter to the Ephesians to
see if we can discover some "Vital Signs of a
Vibrant Church.,"
TEXT - Ephesians 1:15-17
Copyright C 1995 by Dr. Rick E. Ferguson.
All rights reserved. No portion of this
document may be used in any form without
the written permission of the author. Bible
quotations are from the New International
Version unless otherwise indicated.
Pg. 2
Paul had a deep, abiding love for the church
in Ephesus. In our text he becomes very personal
and expressive in this love. Paul had spent nearly
two years of his life with the people of this
church. No doubt he was r ...
Ephesians 1:15-17
Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a
church grow? I've made it my business to try to
study growing churches. I have found that churches
can grow anywhere at anytime. I have also noticed
that churches which are growing all share some
common characteristics. They may not all be of
the same denomination, share the same type of church
field, or have the same type of membership but the
-o have sore qualities which are alike.
As I read the portion of scripture that will be
our text for this evening, I thought it revealed to
me sore of the characteristics of a growing, healthy
church. The church at Ephesus was one of the most
thriving and important 1st Century churches.
,grew spiritually and numerically even in the midst
of gross idolatry and paganism (remember the city
of Ephesus was a wealthy city whose wealth was
gained from the worship of Diana, a Roman goddess
whose temple was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient
world.
I believe we can relate our contemporary setting
to that of the church in Ephesus. We also live in
a wealthy environment in an age of great paganism
and idolatry. The worship of Diana has been replaced
with the worship of self through the religion of
Humanism. However, we can be a healthy, vibrant
church even in this age of spiritual darkness.
Let's look to Paul's letter to the Ephesians to
see if we can discover some "Vital Signs of a
Vibrant Church.,"
TEXT - Ephesians 1:15-17
Copyright C 1995 by Dr. Rick E. Ferguson.
All rights reserved. No portion of this
document may be used in any form without
the written permission of the author. Bible
quotations are from the New International
Version unless otherwise indicated.
Pg. 2
Paul had a deep, abiding love for the church
in Ephesus. In our text he becomes very personal
and expressive in this love. Paul had spent nearly
two years of his life with the people of this
church. No doubt he was r ...
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