This Week's Passage
Ephesians 2:19–22 (ESV)
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
The Progression Paul Describes
From the Outside All the Way Home
v. 19
Belong
No longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens and members of the household of God. He moves us from the outside all the way into the family.
v. 20–21
Grow
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone, we are joined together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord.
v. 22
Dwell
We are being built together into a dwelling place for God. The home is not the building. The home is His people, where He resides by the Spirit.
Psalm 68:6 (ESV) — What God Does for the Lonely
"God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity..."
Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) — Why We Need Each Other
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."
John 13:35 (ESV) — The Badge of the Believer
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Four Truths About God's Family
What we are doing is not really about brick and mortar. It is about the empty chair, and the space for someone who has not come home yet.
A Home for the Family
1
God's Family Gives Us a Place to Belong
Watch the progression in verse 19. We were strangers, then citizens, then members of the household of God. Whether we came from a churchgoing background or none at all, God takes people from every walk of life and brings us into one family. We are no longer aliens standing on the outside. There is a chair here, and until it is filled, we get to tell people there is a place for them.
The Empty Chair
A single empty chair sits on the platform. It is not about the new building. It represents a person who has not come home yet, the solitary one for whom there is not yet a space. We are making empty spaces on purpose, so there is room for others.
Ephesians 2:19 — "You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
2
God's Family Helps Us Grow
The household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. Once the cornerstone is set, every other stone can be lined up and joined together. A single stone is ready to go, but it does no good until it is set in place with the others. We were never meant to grow alone. We grow when we are joined together.
The Coal Out of the Fire
At an RA campout, our leader Al Ringle quietly slid one coal out of the fire. Before long it turned gray and cold, while the others still glowed. When he nudged it back in, it caught fire again. A coal can be a coal off by itself, but why be a cold coal alone? In the fire it is both warmed and warming.
Proverbs 27:17 — "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." The sharpening happens in the contact, not side by side in a pew.
3
God's Family Strengthens Families
Our culture says good parents step back and let children decide everything for themselves. That sounds wise, but only because our ears have been tuned to the culture. Scripture tells parents to teach the faith diligently in the ordinary moments of everyday life. One reason God gives us His family is so we can hand the church the tools to strengthen individual homes.
The Greenhouse
A greenhouse does not create the plant, and it cannot make the plant grow. Only God can do that. What the greenhouse provides is an environment where the plant has the best chance to grow and be healthy. That is the role of the church for our families.
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 — "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
4
God's Family Reflects the Gospel
We all used to be strangers and aliens, separated from God and from each other. But God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to pay for our sin and brought us together. The fact that He can make one family out of such different people is itself a reflection of the gospel. Our greatest testimony will not be a new building. Our greatest testimony will be our love.
The Badge of the Believer
How do you know a police officer is an officer? The badge makes it official. Jesus said the badge that marks His disciples is not a big Bible or the right religious words. It is love for one another. People notice the facility, but they stay for the family when they see love.
John 13:35 — "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Adopted Into the Family
No Longer Strangers
No Longer Aliens
Now Brother and Sister
Before we came to Christ, we were all outsiders, separated from God and from real, lasting hope. But the Bible says that when we come to Christ, God adopts us into His family. The old self is gone, and we are made new. For the first time we can truly call God our Father.
And if God is your Father, then you and I are siblings. We are not strangers attending the same event. We are family, even when some of us are the strangest people we know.
Romans 8:15 — "You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'"
"The church is not an event we attend. It is a family to which we belong."
— Pastor John W. Crowder
Our Relocation Vision Statement
"We are building a home for the family, a lighthouse for the lost, and a legacy for the next generation."
Moving Forward
One Vision, Three Weeks
Over three weeks we are slowing down to look carefully at our relocation vision statement, one phrase at a time. This week we considered the first phrase, a home for the family. Make plans to be here as we walk through the rest together.
Breaking Down the Vision
1
A Home for the Family
Ephesians 2:19–22 · This Week
God's family gives us a place to belong, helps us grow, strengthens our homes, and reflects the gospel through our love for one another.
2
A Lighthouse for the Lost
Coming Next Week
A home that loves one another becomes a light to the people still searching. Next week we turn our attention outward to the lost.
3
A Legacy for the Next Generation
Coming in Week 3
We are not building only for ourselves. We are building so the next generation has a place to know and follow Jesus.
Why We Are Building
We Have Outgrown Our Space
We have outgrown our parking, our worship, and our hallways. God is doing good things, and we are out of room.
Room for the Solitary
This is the time to make empty spaces, so there is room for the lonely to find a home with us.
Belonging, Not Programs
Do not think of the new facility as a place for more programs. Think of it as a place to build belonging.
Built on Integrity
A Finance Committee and a Building Committee are leading the way with transparency every step of the journey.
Looking Ahead
The conversations around town are exciting, and we love that the community is getting excited with us. Keep inviting people into those conversations, and join us next week as we look at what it means to be a lighthouse for the lost.
Personal Reflection
Question 1
Paul describes a movement from stranger to citizen to member of the household. Where would you say you are on that journey toward God's family right now?
No longer strangers, no longer aliens, but brother and sister in the household of God.
Question 2
Think about the coal pulled out of the fire. Are there any ways you have been keeping your distance from the family, slowly going gray and cold? What would it look like to come back to the fire?
Question 3
Deuteronomy 6 calls parents to teach the faith in everyday moments. What is one ordinary part of your week where you could pass your faith on to your family?
Question 4
Love is the badge of the believer. Who is one solitary person near you that God may be asking you to invite into the family this week?
Life Group & Small Group Discussion
Discussion 1
Psalm 68:6 says God settles the solitary in a home. Who are the solitary people in our community, and what makes someone feel alone even in a crowd?
Discussion 2
Proverbs 27:17 says iron sharpens iron, but only when the two pieces actually touch. Where is that kind of sharpening contact happening in your life, and where is it missing?
Discussion 3
Pastor John said the new facility should be a place to build belonging, not just programs. What would it look like for our group to help someone go from visitor to family?
Discussion 4
Jesus said love is how the world will know we belong to Him. What is one specific way our group could let that love be visible to the people watching FBC West?
Live It Out
Ephesians 2:19
"You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
From Hearing to Belonging
It is one thing to hear that the church is a family. It is another to live like it. This week we get to move the truth of Ephesians 2 from Sunday morning into the ordinary places where we work, raise our kids, and meet our neighbors.
The empty chair is not just a picture on the platform. It is an invitation for each of us to make room for one more.
Four Steps for the Week
1
Come back to the fire. If you have drifted to the edge, find a class, a Life Group, or one person who will sit with you. You were not made to glow alone.
2
Notice the solitary. Look around your work, your street, and the ball field for the person who seems alone, and pray for one of them by name.
3
Give the invitation. You do not need all the answers. Simply tell that person there is a place for them here, and offer to bring them with you.
4
Teach at home. Use an ordinary moment, bedtime, the drive to school, or the recliner after supper, to talk with your family about who God is.
Room for One More
We are not relocating for brick and mortar. We are building so there is room for the solitary to find a home. Keep your eyes open this week for the one God wants to settle into His family.
"God settles the solitary in a home." — Psalm 68:6
A Prayer for Our Family
Father, thank You that we are no longer strangers and aliens, but members of Your household. You took us when we were on the outside and adopted us as Your own, so that we can call You Father. We did not earn a place at Your table. You provided it through Jesus, our cornerstone.
Build us together into a holy temple where You dwell by Your Spirit. Help us grow by joining ourselves to one another, like coals kept warm in the same fire. Strengthen our homes, and make our church a greenhouse where families have every chance to grow and be healthy.
Settle the solitary among us into a home. Make our love for one another the badge that points West to Jesus. As we build a home for the family, keep our hearts fixed on the empty chair and the person who has not come home yet. In Jesus' name, Amen.
"People notice the facility, but they stay for the family."
— Pastor John W. Crowder
Your Prayer
Who is the one person God brought to mind today? Bring them to Him in your own words.
