John Sypert

Genesis 2:1-3 | “What Is Work?”

[display_podcast] Last week we studied what Paul said to slaves and masters in the church at Ephesus (Eph. 6:5-9). Because slavery in the New Testament era wasn’t what we commonly think of as slavery, we said that it’s fair to think of his instructions to slaves and masters as instructions to employees and employers. The main point of that text was that God cares for how employees and employers treat one another. There should be mutual respect and fairness among bosses and their workers. Each should remember that God [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T17:22:04-06:00October 21st, 2018|Genesis, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 6:5-9 | “Work for Jesus”

[display_podcast] Slavery in America Perhaps the darkest blot on our nation’s history is the institution of slavery. For over two hundred years, millions of people were kidnapped from their homes in Africa, put on boats, and brought to the New World to be slaves. Our nation was built, in many ways, on the backs of slaves. Chattel slavery in antebellum America was horrific, cruel, dehumanizing, evil, and demonic. It created racial divisions and strife that still reverberate through our nation. Unfortunately, many Christians in the southern United States used [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T18:01:37-06:00October 14th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 6:1-4 | “Rules for Kids and Parents”

[display_podcast] New Rules for an Age-Old Game In our study of Ephesians, we’ve learned that chapters 1-3 are Paul’s outlining of what God has done to save his people and create a new people, a new society, made up of Jew and Gentile. We’ve also learned that chapters 4-6 are Paul’s instructions for how the church should live in light of their new position in Christ (4:1, 17, 5:2, 8, 15). Our calling into union with Christ reshapes our lives. It doesn’t remove us from our earthly responsibilities. Rather, [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T18:05:26-06:00September 30th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:28-33 | “A Union that Reveals a Mystery”

[display_podcast] Symbols that Point to Something Bigger Our culture is full of symbols that point to something bigger than the symbol itself. The White House is more than a house. It represents presidential power and authority. The royal family in England, though a real family, is a symbol of English history and nobility and decorum. Madison Avenue is just a street in New York City, but it’s a symbol of the advertising industry. Hollywood is just a suburb of Los Angeles, but it points to an entire industry. AT&T Stadium [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T18:07:09-06:00September 23rd, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:25-27 | “Husbands, Love Your Wives”

[display_podcast] God Created Order The world seems dominated by chaos in almost every place we look. But chaos and confusion wasn’t God’s original plan for his creation. As we learned a couple weeks ago, Genesis chapter one starts with a dark and formless world (v. 2) and then explains how God sovereignly created and ordered the world. On the sixth day, God created mankind which consisted of “male and female” (vv. 26-27). The distinction between the sexes is a good gift from God our Creator. God created men and women [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T18:09:08-06:00September 16th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:22-24 | “Wives, Submit To Your Husbands”

[display_podcast] A Word to Singles For the next three weeks, we’ll be studying what Paul says about marriage in Ephesians 5:22-33. I want to begin with a word to singles. Brothers and sisters in Christ who’re single or widowed, God isn’t withholding from you by not giving you the spouse you desire or by taking the one you so loved. In his good providence, he hasn’t provided a spouse for you as of right now. What he has provided is far better. He’s given you the most precious thing [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-28T06:34:55-06:00September 9th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Genesis 1-3 | “Men and Women: Equal, Different, and Fallen”

[display_podcast] This week we are pausing our study of Ephesians in order to think about how God created men and women. We’re doing this because the next section of Ephesians (5:22-33) is about wives and husbands. This is one of the most beautiful, most misunderstood, and even most disliked portions of Scripture. It teaches that husbands are the servant leaders of their wives and that wives should respectfully submit to their husbands. This kind of teaching cuts against the grain of what the prevailing culture says about women. Theologian Bruce [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-28T06:38:25-06:00September 2nd, 2018|Genesis, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:15-21 | “Live Carefully”

[display_podcast] The Most Precious Gift The preciousness of a gift determines how carefully we handle it. For example, as you dig through your stocking on Christmas morning, you may find candy and little knick-knacks and an apple or an orange. But you won’t pay much attention to these gifts because they aren’t that precious to you. You may even forget about them and purposefully leave them at grandma’s house because you don’t really want them. Growing up, I’d dig to the bottom until I found the treasure of a [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-28T06:40:40-06:00August 26th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:7-14 | “Be Light, Shine Light”

[display_podcast] Catholic Crimes and Cover-Up One of the most heartbreaking stories in the news today is the abuse of thousands of boys and girls by Catholic priests. As I read the grand jury report released this week concerning the decades of abuse in the dioceses of Pennsylvania, I cried and prayed and was angry and cried some more. The depth of depravity present among those who claim to represent God while taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us is immeasurable. The audacity of the bishops and other Catholic [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-28T06:42:44-06:00August 19th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 5:1-6 | “All the Reasons We Need”

[display_podcast] “Because I Said So” One of the things we all hated hearing from our parents when we were growing up was, “Because I said so.” Our parents would sometimes answer this way when we asked them why we had to do something. “Why should I pick up the books on the floor?” “Because I said so.” “Why do I have to brush my teeth?” “Because I said so.” Our parents could play this card anytime they wanted because they were the parents and we were the kids. They [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-28T06:44:41-06:00August 12th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|