Carlton Landing Community Church Sermons

Households for God: Eph. 5:22-6:9

Every household has a center. Something will be the gravitational center of our homes. Paul calls us to organize our households around Christ. He is the center of our marriages, families, companies, and communities, and the way we treat one another reflects that. Christian homes look different from the world because their center is different; they have been called to reflect the household of God.

The Lord of the Harvest: Luke 10:1-22

In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 disciples to announce that the kingdom of God is near. The fields were ripe for harvest, and God was sending out his laborers. The same thing is true today. In this message, Jason McMahan tells his story of serving as a missionary in Mali and outlines God's plan to send his laborers to the ends of the earth. Jason is the Director of Global Outreach at Fellowship Bible Church in NWA.

Walk in Love: Eph. 5:1-20

Be imitators of God. Walk in love. But how? To see any lasting change in our lives, we must understand the why before we attempt the how. In this passage, Paul shows us the kind of love God has given us and then tells us to love in the same way. All of our actions reflect the love God has poured out through his son, a sacrificial, God-centered love. When we have our hearts transformed by the Spirit, life change will always follow. 

Put on the New Self: Eph. 4:17-32

What changes when you become a Christian? It starts with the heart. In this passage, Paul tells Christians not to walk the way they used to, but to be renewed in the spirit of their minds. Putting on the new self is a daily commitment, slow and steady, walking on a new path. The new self is created after the image of God, and our new life is designed to look like him. We speak the truth, deal with anger, encourage, and forgive because those are the things our Heavenly Father does.

Equipping the Saints: Eph. 4:1-16

Turning the corner into chapter 4, Paul gives the theme of the second half of Ephesians in the opening verse; "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called." We've all received a calling from God, and we've been made a part of the body of Christ. Whether we're going or sending, we all have a role to play. Special guest John Rinehart and Pastor Cole talk about equipping, sending, and giving toward the mission of God. 

Missions, Prayer, and Worship: Eph. 3:1-21

Above everything else, Paul was a missionary. In this passage, he narrates his mission as an apostle - to preach the riches of Christ and bring to light God's plan for the ages, to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ. Next, Paul prays this vision into reality. Missions leads to worship and prayer is the bridge between. 

Tearing Down the Wall, Building Up the Church: Eph. 2:11-22

In Ephesians 2, Paul doesn't just say that we have been made alive with Christ; we have also been reconciled with other people. In Christ, God is bringing people together, tearing down the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, and creating a new group of people, his church. The church is the wonder of the world, God's power and love on display.

But God: Ephesians 2:1-10

The gospel is the greatest story ever told. God sent his son to seek and save the lost, turning children of wrath into sons and daughters of God, and making sinful rebels into trophies of his grace. In this passage, Paul describes the spiritual death outside of Christ and the new life for everyone who trusts in him. 

Heart-Eyes Open: Ephesians 1:15-23

The blessings of chapter one are so numerous and powerful that Paul prays for God's help to fathom them all. He asks that God would open the eyes of our hearts to see the hope in our calling, the inheritance we've been given, and the immeasurable power of God at work in us. As Christians, we can learn to see by looking to God. The more we know him, the more clearly we see everything else. 

Bless the Lord for His Blessings: Eph. 1:1-14

Paul begins the letter to the Ephesians with a cascade of blessings found in Christ. In him, we have been blessed with holiness, predestined to be adopted as God's children, redeemed, forgiven, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. The only possible result of understanding our blessings in Christ is to praise the glorious grace of God.