Ephesians | Week 4 | Full Service

Pastor Bill Bush · Feb 3, 2025

Big Idea

Quoting the message: United, we're called, end quote. — our calling from God can only be lived out through the community of the church, not disconnected as isolated individuals.

Jesus already loves us and redeemed us — Ephesians 4 simply asks us to live like it. That means embracing our God-given calling not as a private, individual pursuit, but as gifted members united to the body of Christ, surrendering our natural time, talent, and money so God can do the supernatural.

Key points

1
1We are called to unity, not uniformity
Pastor Bill walks through Ephesians 4:1-6, showing that the 'one body, one spirit, one Lord' language is about unity of mission, not everyone looking or thinking alike. He illustrates with a small group pairing an older empty-nest couple with young parents — completely different life stages, yet united and transformed by the same mission.
2
2We are one body with many parts, and every part matters
Using the body metaphor, Pastor Bill points out you can't function if every organ is the same — you need toes, brains, all of it working together under Christ the head. He uses his own blown-out knee and limp as an illustration of what happens when one part isn't functioning, and applies it to a church family not committed to the same call.
3
3We are called to service, not self — using our gifts matures us
He walks through Ephesians 4:11-16, explaining that leadership gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) exist to equip God's people for ministry, not to do it for them. Every believer who knows and actively uses their gift grows toward maturity; those who don't remain spiritually like children, tossed by every new teaching.
4
4Supernatural only comes when we surrender the natural
Quoting a line from a fellow pastor's sermon, Bill argues that giving time, talent, and money to the church's shared mission is what unlocks God's supernatural work, citing secular studies showing people who serve beyond themselves have less depression, addiction, and suicidal ideation.
5
5Put off the old self and find identity in Christ alone, not idolatry
Working through Ephesians 4:17-32, he unpacks 'lustful pleasure' as any craving we chase instead of God, using his own late-night eating habit as an example of chasing a quick dopamine fix that never satisfies. He warns against building identity on sexuality, career, money, or even parenting, calling any substitute for God idolatry.
6
6Men are called to lead by going first, not by being boss
He contrasts Adam's passivity in the garden with the call for men to step up spiritually first, citing a study that when a father comes to Christ genuinely, 95% of the time the whole family follows, versus about 30% when the mother comes first. He challenges men who won't read their Bible or pray, calling it losing to the enemy while claiming to be competitive.
7
7United action unleashes God's supernatural timing, as with Nehemiah
He retells the story of Jerusalem's wall standing broken for over ninety years through Zerubbabel and Ezra's time, until Nehemiah united the people and the wall was rebuilt in fifty-two days. He connects this to naming his own son Jaden after Jaden the Meronothite, an obscure builder mentioned once in Nehemiah 3, and to Rock Point's own new children's building.

Application

Pastor Bill frames it as surrendering the natural so God can bring the super — stop waiting for God to give before you give yourself.

Get engaged, not just attending
Don't just commit to a building — embrace, engage, and go all in with a local expression of the church, discovering and using your spiritual gifts in service to the body.
Surrender the natural before you see the super
Stop waiting until you have more money or more time to give or serve. Give your time, talent, and money now, trusting God to do the supernatural with it.
Put off the old self and stop chasing identity elsewhere
Quit looking for identity or purpose in sexuality, career, money, or parenting. Root your identity in the fact that Christ has already identified you as His own.
Men, step up and lead spiritually first
Husbands and fathers are asked to go first in reading Scripture and prayer rather than waiting passively, since a father's genuine faith tends to bring the whole family to Christ.

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“as we go into Ephesians chapter four, it starts off talking about we need to live the life worthy of this calling. We have a call from God”
From the transcript
“let's just start. Verse one. Come on. Stay open, bible. Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God”
From the transcript
“He says, however, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the scriptures say when he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people”
From the transcript
“He's given us gifts. Now, these are the gifts Christ gave to the church. The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers”
From the transcript
“Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do the work and build up the church, the body of Christ. See, says they're gifts. These are special gifts he gave to the people”
From the transcript
“this will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we'll be no longer be immature like children”
From the transcript
“And that's why this last thing is so important. Verse 17. He says, with the Lord's authority, say this, live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused”
From the transcript
“He says, but that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Christians here”
From the transcript
“He says, throw off the old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by the lust and deception. He goes, that's not you anymore, so quit wearing the dead man's clothes”
From the transcript
“Instead, let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Renew your thoughts and attitudes. How does the spirit do that? Through the word, through sitting there like what happened to me yesterday morning”
From the transcript
“don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry, for anger gets foothold to the devil. That's why I talk about we get angry when we hear this”
From the transcript
“He says, if you're a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work and then give to generously to those in need. He's not talking about just going out and robbing a Circle K and being selfish”
From the transcript
“He goes, don't use foul or abusive language, which now that I challenge some of us all to do giving, you just use foul and abusive language in your heart towards me”
From the transcript
“and it'll give you the thing you're seeking so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's holy spirit by the way you live”
From the transcript
“Guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another”
From the transcript
“Instead, be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you. In other words, we're called to unity not uniformity, through service not self”
From the transcript
“And it lists all these people of what they did. And in chapter three verse seven, it mentions a guy named Jaden the Maranathite. We don't even know today where Maranathite was”

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Day 1

Pastor Bill opened with a question that cuts right to the heart: are you attending the church, or are you being the church? That distinction matters more than it might first appear. Ephesians 4:1-6 describes a calling — not an invitation to show up, but an invitation to belong to something larger than yourself. Paul writes from prison, and even there his concern is not his own comfort but whether the people he loves are walking worthy of what God has called them to. Unity is the word Paul reaches for first. Not uniformity — he is not asking everyone to look the same, think the same, or arrive at faith from the same direction. He is asking something harder: that people who are genuinely different choose to be bound together by one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. That kind of unity does not happen by accident. It requires humility, patience, and a gentleness that, if we are honest, does not come naturally to most of us. The good news is that the calling comes before the capacity. God does not wait until you are humble enough to invite you in. He calls you, and then He works in you. The question is whether you are willing to let Him. Starting here — with the posture of your heart toward the people around you — is where the whole week begins.

For reflection

When you think about the people in your church community who are most different from you, what would it look like to choose unity with them this week?

Pray

Pray for a genuinely humble and patient heart toward the people in your church community — especially the ones you find it hardest to stay close to.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

The message we just heard from Ephesians 4 pushes on a simple but uncomfortable idea: most of us are more comfortable attending church than actually being it. Let's dig into what Pastor Bill was getting at.

Discussion questions

1
In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul urges believers to live 'worthy of your calling' — and he ties that calling immediately to unity. What does Paul seem to mean by unity here, and how does the message draw a line between unity and uniformity?
2
Ephesians 4:11-12 says the role of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers is to equip God's people 'to do the work and build up the church.' What changes about how we think of a congregation when equipping — not doing the ministry for people — is understood as the leaders' main job?
3
According to Ephesians 4:13-16, spiritual maturity and resistance to false teaching are connected to believers actively using their gifts in the body. What do you think that link looks like in practice — why might serving with your gifts be what produces growth rather than just consuming teaching?
4
Ephesians 4:22-24 talks about throwing off 'the old sinful nature and your former way of life' and letting the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Pastor Bill named several things people tend to build their identity around — career, relationships, sexuality, money — as examples of what the old self chases. What does it look like, practically, to root identity in Christ instead of those things?
5
Pastor Bill pointed to the Nehemiah story — specifically a largely unknown figure named Jaden the Meronothite — to illustrate what happens when ordinary people bring what they have to a shared mission. What does that story suggest about the kind of contribution that actually moves things forward in a community?
6
Pastor Bill challenged the group to stop attending the church and start being the church. What's one way that distinction might quietly reshape how a community of people approaches a week together — in conversations, decisions, or habits?

Pray together

Ask God to show us where we're still holding back — our time, our gifts, our sense of who we are — and to give us the courage to surrender those things to the shared mission He's called us into together.

Topics

Christian Identity Church Unity Serving Others Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Maturity Surrendering to God

Ephesians | Week 4 | Full Service

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together