Building Bridges to Peace | Ephesians 2:13-22

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and you're listening to the sermon podcast for December 28th, 2025.

This is a special Sunday, as it is the last Sunday in the year 2025.

Today, we are looking at Ephesians 2, verses 13-22, with the sermon titled, Building Bridges to Peace.

Ephesians 2:13–22

Looking back at 2025, this year the theme was Building Bridges.

And as we come to the close of the end of this year, we find ourselves in a unique moment.

We are standing on this bridge between two years, 2025 and 2026.

We're right after Christmas, right before the new year.

It is a time where we are in between these two years,

and we reflect with gratitude with how God has been faithful in the past,

we live in the present, and we look forward, trusting in God for what He has in store for us in the next year, 2026.

In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul writes about how Christ is our peace.

He is not just a teacher of peace, but Christ is peace Himself.

Through His blood, through His sacrifice, those who were far off have been brought near.

The dividing wall of hostility has been broken down.

We who were once strangers and aliens are now fellow citizens and members of God's household,

built on Christ as the cornerstone.

This message also connects with 1 Samuel 7, verse 12,

1 Samuel 7:12

where Samuel raises up this stone called an Ebenezer stone, saying,

Thus far the Lord has helped us.

It's both a remembrance and a reminder of God's faithfulness,

as well as a declaration of continued trust in Him for what is about to come next.

I always found that so interesting, this Ebenezer stone,

because it is connected with what we find in that famous hymn, Come Thou Fount.

You may know the lyric in verse 2,

Here I raise my Ebenezer.

Many people, we don't know what that word or that lyric even means,

but I found it so interesting how it's connected with 1 Samuel 7.

As we listen to this message, we will explore the observation,

the interpretation, and the application.

Let us stand on the bridge and remember that God has been there with us the entire way.

May we boldly cross the bridge faithfully.

May we trust in Him,

and may we be moved to be a peacemaker with Christ beside us.

Let us dive into God's word together.

This is one of the very few times you'll see me actually sitting down.

I've been, I was sick this week and I've been recovering.

I am recovered, but I don't want to move around and have a disaster go on.

So I hope you can forgive me with that.

But with that in mind, we're, you know, we're at the last Sunday of this year, of 2025,

and it's been really remarkable seeing how much time has been flying by.

You know, there's a famous saying that time flies when you're having fun,

and I hope that a lot of us are having a lot of fun here in the process, right?

You know, when we look back at 2025 and we think of just all of the things that have happened,

I am amazed at how fast the year has gone by.

Have you felt that way?

The year has just completely just gone by, you know?

I titled this sermon, Building Bridges to Peace.

Kind of as a, we're going to open our Bibles together.

We're going to go to Ephesians chapter 2, if you want to go ahead and open there.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

It's going to be from page 1160.

Feel free to turn there.

The theme for this year, for 2025, was building bridges.

And the reason why that was the theme was considering how important it is for us as Christians

to know that there is no dividing wall.

There's nothing that separates us from the love of Christ.

And just as Christ has loved each and every one of us,

we are called to build bridges with other people.

Those even in our own family.

Those within our community.

And just how to really think of how God has been working in this place

has just been something that's been remarkable.

And so, let's pray.

And then we will read from the Word of God.

And we'll go into it.

And Father God, we thank you for this time and for this opportunity for us to gather

on the last Sunday of 2025.

I really hope and pray that each and every one of us who are here in person

or here online,

that they know that they are loved by you.

And I hope that we've had a lot more good than bad.

You know, as I was mentioning, Father, that time flies when you're having fun.

I hope that we've had good experiences.

But even if we've had bad or ugly experiences,

may we turn to you.

May we take this Sunday, this time,

to reflect not only on our own personal walk with you,

but how you have worked in and through our personal lives

and in and through this church.

We're so grateful for your love.

We're grateful for you sending your son, Jesus,

who is our peace.

We love you.

We praise you.

We glorify you.

And we honor you.

It's in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, amen.

So, from Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

it's going to be from verses 13 through 22.

We can actually start from verse 11, right,

where it says,

one in Christ.

Therefore, remember that at one time,

you Gentiles in the flesh,

called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, right?

So, it's talking about circumcision versus uncircumcision,

which is made in the flesh by hands.

Remember that you were at the time separated from Christ,

alienated from the commonwealth of Israel

and strangers to the covenant,

the covenants of promise,

having no hope and without God in the world.

So, we're thinking of the Gentiles, right?

The idea that they were outside of salvation.

They were outside of the fold of God.

But it goes on in verse 13,

but now, right?

Don't you love when verses say,

but then or but now, right?

That's a very important thing we see.

But now in Christ Jesus,

what does it say?

You who were once far off

have been brought near by what?

By the blood of Christ.

That's very important, right?

Verse 14,

For he himself is our what?

Our peace.

Who has made us both one

and has broken down in his flesh the what?

The dividing wall of hostility.

That's very important, right?

Nothing that will separate us from Christ.

By abolishing the law of commandments

expressed in ordinances

that he might create in himself,

one new man in place of the two,

so making peace.

And might reconcile us both to God

in one body through the cross,

thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you

who were far off

and peace to those who were near.

So, it's the same message, right?

You see here that peace was being preached

to those who were far off,

those who were outside of the fold,

and those who were near.

Verse 18,

For through him,

we both have access in one spirit to the Father.

What interesting language we see here, right?

To have access to the Father, right?

I always love giving this example

where when we think of prayer,

we can think of how we have a direct line to God.

You know how difficult it is

to have a direct line to a CEO, right?

The boss, the administrator.

We think of how difficult it is

in our own everyday life

to get in touch with somebody,

and then if you get in touch with them,

do they have the time, right?

Usually, they're busy.

They've got appointments and meetings.

But when it comes to God,

having that direct line

and that direct access,

as this text is saying,

is something that is astonishing.

So, it goes into verse 19.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are what, church?

Fellow citizens.

With the saints and members

of the household of God.

That kind of reminds,

should remind us of how

when Christ says that in his,

there are many rooms, right?

We know of that verse.

In the house, there are many rooms.

And so, it goes on, verse 20.

But the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself being the what?

The cornerstone, right?

The most important stone, right?

The one that sustains everything together.

That's very powerful.

Verse 21.

In whom the whole structure,

being joined together,

grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Verse 22.

In him, you also are being built together

into a dwelling place

for God by the Spirit.

And so, this is very interesting.

We're going to piece all of this together, right?

We're thinking about it.

We celebrated the Advent season,

the Christmas season, right?

We were talking about Emmanuel,

God being, God coming near to us.

And we have this verse,

and you'll see it later on.

It was in our interactive reading,

where it said,

thus far, the Lord has helped us.

And this is connected to what we have in Ephesians

and what we have for today.

In moments when you're between,

we're basically between two seasons here.

As a church body,

we celebrated our 80th anniversary.

For many of us,

we had all of the things happening in 2025,

and we're about to go into 2026.

We're in that little middle space.

And it's a very interesting space to be in, isn't it?

Right after Christmas,

right before the new year.

But we can think to ourself

how the Lord has helped us

and been there for us.

A bridge between two years,

looking back at last year

and stepping forward into the new year.

And how important it is for us

to celebrate the past victories

that have happened through Christ.

And how we humbly come before the Lord

for direction and for guidance.

And when we look at this Ephesians passage, right?

The language is mentioning those that were far off,

those that were distant,

and they are brought near by the blood of Christ.

Mentioning the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

We think of the Christian faith.

We think of how the Word became flesh

and dwelt among us, right?

When we talk about the Advent season, right?

Emmanuel, God with us.

How we still have our nativity scene, right?

The representation.

The story of how Jesus is coming into the earth

in such humble beginnings as a child.

And we think all of this happens

so that we can be included into salvation.

That God gives us the opportunity

for us to respond to that salvation.

That we can have security in Him.

Newness of life in Him.

Ephesians is also saying

that through the cross,

Jesus creates one new humanity.

Just like how Scripture says

that we are a new creation

and how important it is for us

to lay aside

the former things of the former life

and to seek the things that are higher,

the things that are nobler,

to grow in Christ,

not to just remain a spiritual child

all of your life.

But to mature

and to grow

just as a fruit tree

will produce fruit,

we are called to do the same thing.

And the very notion

that we have access to the Father

by one Spirit

is a remarkable thing.

It should give us comfort

when we hear

that we have access to God.

It always saddens me

when I hear about people saying,

well, God is distant.

He is far away

and He doesn't care.

How wrong can you be

knowing that we have access to God?

We can pray to Him.

And even in moments

where we don't think He's there

or in moments

we don't feel He is there,

He is still there with us.

Just think of how

in our own life

here on the earth,

God's going to be there

with you

in every season of your life,

in every moment.

That's a very comforting thing.

And I, as a pastor,

I speak very much against this notion

that God is far away.

we can see

in the Christmas season

and even in these passages

the nearness of God

and how He desires

to be with us

and how in the same way

we should desire

to be in the presence

of the Lord,

to be close to Him,

to grow in Him

as it were.

And the language

when it talks about

no longer being strangers

but being welcome

in the household,

it's just like how I

preached previously

about

all of these parables

that talk about

being ready for the feast

or the great banquet

as it were

and having the proper clothes

for the banquet.

There's so many different

parallels that we can see here.

in this verse,

to no longer be a stranger

but to be part

of God's household.

That's a sense of closeness, right?

Imagine for,

in your own story,

if you invited someone,

a stranger,

into your own home,

at what point

do they become

a member of the family?

It takes a lot of intention.

And I'm not saying

you all should do that

and I'm not saying

it's all going to happen

in our own circumstance

but just think

of the amount

of trust,

love,

and intentionality

that takes

and for God

to

welcome us in.

That's powerful.

That's an amazing

kind of love

that God has for us.

We are known to God.

Scripture talks about

how we are given

new names,

new identities,

and even new clothes.

Just like how we've been

taking a break

from our Revelation series

but how in Revelation

it says,

blessed is the one

who washes his robes.

How that's so connected

with going from filthy rags

into new clothes.

Isn't that powerful?

How we see all these

connections here.

And it's a reminder for us

that Christ is the cornerstone

and we are being built

together

into a dwelling place

for God.

Christ being the cornerstone,

being the most important stone

that holds everything together.

I love thinking of the famous

children's song,

He's Got the Whole World

in His Hands.

Right?

Talking about the sustenance,

the sustaining power of God,

that He's got this.

To have the whole world

in His hands,

that's a lot of care

and intentionality, right?

That kind of imagery.

If you,

some of you,

you may have worked

with model toys

or model houses.

I have a friend of mine

who works with model tanks

and the amount of work

that it takes

to make sure things are correct

and things don't break

is a lot of work

and that's just a little tank.

Imagine how God

is sustaining the world.

How powerful that is.

And so,

I have

the slide here.

What we can observe

from that entire set of passages,

if there's anything

you can take away from that,

is that Christ is our peace.

And I have this image of,

how many of you have experienced

or you've seen something like this, right?

You're at a very serene kind of lake

and there's like that one drop

and you see the ripple effects, right?

It's very calming.

It's very satisfying.

And that's just one,

a smaller example,

but we can think of how Christ,

in all of these verses,

being our peace

and breaking down that dividing wall.

And we think how very often

the text describes

not only what the wall is,

but that the wall is dividing

and that it's hostile.

And that's,

I don't want that kind of wall.

And to know that God is

removing

that kind of wall

and offering peace instead

is just something that is,

it can be very hard for us

to wrap our mind around.

And it's something that can be

very above our understanding

and that's okay.

But I just thought that image,

nonetheless,

you can think of how

in your own context,

in your own life,

something that is calming

and peaceful.

And think of how Christ

is much greater

than just a drop on a lake

or a, you know,

whatever you have.

I mentioned about 2025

how we were focusing

on building bridges.

And by the grace of God,

we have had

10 children

dedicated to the Lord.

By the grace of God,

we have had four baptisms.

And from what I understand,

we're looking at two

beginning next year.

Isn't that showing

how God is working

in this place?

God is doing a new thing.

And we are blessed by

not just the 10 children

in the four baptisms,

but the families

that are involved in it.

And we think about how

powerful

evidence of God's grace.

We are blessed that

these families are dedicating

their children to their Lord

and that lives

are being transformed.

Making that public statement,

saying,

I believe

in Jesus.

Let us remember

to believe in Christ

is very personal.

To be baptized then,

that's very public.

And it's very remarkable.

It's something we should

all celebrate together.

You know,

I always get a little,

I get a little jealous

sometime when I

see videos of people

getting baptized

in the River Jordan.

I think that's so cool.

You know,

I couldn't afford a flight.

You know,

I didn't get baptized

in the River Jordan

and not many of us can.

But,

in any sense,

to show

that

sense of

celebration,

that public

proclamation.

We've seen

in this course

of this year

that

God has been

allowing for us

to partner

with other

organizations.

My wife,

myself,

we've talked about

our partnership

with Building Healthy Families

to help strengthen

families

and by us

being present,

that builds

relationships.

And,

not to mention

our STEAM Nights.

Do you know

our STEAM Nights

are hosted

by this church,

our own church,

and we have

an average

of 40 people

who attend

every single time?

That's something

that is for families,

for communities,

to be exposed

to something

that,

to be exposed

to the church,

but also to be

exposed to community.

And that's something

that the church

has to offer.

And,

look,

we're not a,

we're not a big church.

You know,

what matters

is building

and cultivating

those kind

of relationships.

Knowing someone

by name,

not knowing them

by a number.

And I certainly hope

big churches

don't go by numbers.

Right?

I know,

you're all laughing,

right?

How many of you guys

have seen that,

that show,

Cheers?

Right?

You,

you probably know

the theme song.

You want to know

where everybody

knows your name.

Now,

that's talking

about a bar.

Let's be honest here.

That's probably

how a church

should be

operating,

though.

The same concept,

okay?

So,

I'll tell you,

go listen to

the Cheers theme song

and think of a church.

Okay?

The notion of that,

I think,

is very powerful.

Right?

Where you know people

and you have those,

those kind of relationships.

And so,

I bring all of that

kind of,

as we,

we now go into

Christ being our peace,

Christ tearing down

the walls,

let's go into

the interpretation,

then,

of what we can,

we've gone over

the observation,

what can we observe

directly in the text

and the interpretation,

then,

is what we can

learn from this.

The first thing,

then,

is that,

let's read it together,

church,

peace begins with Christ,

not with us,

right?

Christ does not

merely teach peace,

right?

That's very important.

There's a lot of people

that teach peace,

but we're talking about

how Christ

is our peace.

It's a subtle difference,

but it's a pretty

significant difference here.

And we think of how

reconciliation,

then,

it flows from the cross.

In other words,

we have to factor in

what Christ

has done

for us,

not what we

can do.

We think about that

when it comes

to our salvation

and how

the Lord

encourages us

and equips us

to do great things

in his name.

we think about

how in these verses

it was talking about

these walls,

these dividing walls

of hostility.

It didn't just say

walls were being destroyed.

It didn't say

unifying walls

were being destroyed.

Unifying walls of love.

It's talking about

dividing walls

of hostility

being destroyed,

being torn down.

And that is why

for 2025,

we focus so much

on building bridges

with other people.

These walls

are being torn down

of hostility

when we are called

to live and love

like Christ.

And when we think

of peace then,

well,

it begins with Christ.

True peace.

peace comes from Christ.

How many of you

have met someone

who,

they were so

peaceful

and no matter

what happened

in their life,

there was something

about them.

They had a peace,

right?

Scripture talks about

the peace

that surpasses

all understanding.

talk about peace

there.

I mean,

when we think

of peace,

we think of

peace and quiet,

you know?

Can I get a moment

of peace away

from the boss

who's nagging

on me

or whatever,

you know?

Can I,

it's too loud,

these kids are

rambunctious.

Not that I've

ever experienced

that,

you know?

I admit,

I'm human,

I've got five kids

and there's a lot

more loud moments

than quiet ones.

And to be very honest,

I get a little more

freaked out

when it's quiet

than when it's loud,

you know?

So I gotta be careful

what I ask for,

right?

But anyways,

with this,

as we receive

this true peace

from Christ,

we are called

to share

in the peace

of Christ

with other people.

The second thing

then is

peace

forms.

I have a typo there.

It forms us

or forms a us,

right?

It forms us

individually

and collectively,

right?

I'm human.

I have,

I put typos

every so often.

Were they intentional

or not?

I don't know.

I'll have to find out.

We think about this

that

God

not only

saves

individual people,

but he forms

people groups,

forming a people,

the body of Christ,

transforming

marriages

or relationships

with

mother and

mother and father,

mother and child,

father.

I mean,

you can go on

with families

and these kind of things.

It is God's desire

to make all things new.

It is God's desire

to transform

each and every one of us

and it doesn't stop

in the individual though.

It continues

with others.

Think about it.

If I'm the only

Christian

in

a completely

evil

and worldly family,

you don't think

that how God

is transforming me

is going to affect

my family

and everyone

that I know?

That's the transforming

power of God.

It affects

a multitude

of people.

And we think about that,

God's desire

to make all things new.

Christ being

the transformer

of all of us.

And it should be

our desire

to want to be

molded by the Lord,

to journey with Him.

And

we think

about that.

To think that

we're no longer

strangers

but members

of God's household,

that's a very

intimate kind of setting.

thinking about

how

Christ being

the cornerstone,

right?

This

peace

forms us.

We are

transformed

as we are

transformed.

We are to

transform

by living

and loving

like Christ.

Christ.

It is not

our power,

but it is

the power

that comes

through us

from Christ.

It's just

like how

many of you

have seen,

I think

it's the mummy,

Tim.

It might be

the mummy,

where

they're trying

to light

a very dark

room

and they

get a mirror

to shine

the light

of the sun

and they get

all these

mirrors

to keep

reflecting

and to

light this

entire

dark

room

up.

I think

that's a

really

great

imagery.

Right?

The mirror

is not

the sun.

It is

reflecting

the sun

though

to light

up that

room.

In a

very similar

way,

we have

the light

of Christ

and we

are to

reflect,

radiate,

share in

that kind

of light

of Christ

with other

people.

A couple

questions I

want you to

think about.

Have you

ever thought

of the

church

as a

household?

You've

probably

thought of

the church

as,

well,

this is

the

dwelling

place of

God,

right?

This is

God's

house.

I know

my parents

used to

tell me

that all

the time.

You don't

want to be

rambunctious

because this

is God's

house.

But have

you ever

thought of

the church

being part

of God's

household?

It's kind

of an

interesting

thought,

isn't it?

And then

the other

question is

how often

do we

try to

create peace

on our

own

when we

need that

peace that

surpasses

all

understanding?

The third

thing then

is peace

shapes us

as witnesses

and peacemakers.

That's

where we

had this

idea of

the

ministry

of

reconciliation,

right?

Where peace

is not

passive,

it moves

outward

towards

other

people.

Just as

we receive

the greatest

gift of

salvation,

why would

you not

want to

share that

with other

people?

I've

always been

so confused

by that.

Why would

you not

want to

tell everyone

what you

believe in?

why would

you not

want to

share how

God's

working in

your life?

Why would

you not

want to

share the

peace of

Christ or

share the

simple fact

that Christ

is your

peace?

It's a

call for

you to

share because

this kind

of peace

is an

active kind

of peace.

And I'm

reminded how

Christ calls

us to be

peacemakers

and not

peacekeepers.

We'll go

more into

that next

week.

Blessed

are the

peacemakers.

Very

interesting

when we

think about

the difference

between a

peacekeeper

and a

peacemaker.

So let's

keep that

in mind.

And so

in all of

this then

let us go

to our

application

then.

What do

we do

about this?

Right?

We have the

observation where

we read the

text.

we have

the

interpretation

is what

are the

underlying

lessons

here.

And the

application

then is

what we

do about

it.

You know,

it's very

important for

us to

go over

all of

these because

as we

learn,

as we

grow,

we need

to live

it out.

Right?

It's kind

of, I

always think

it's interesting

how, how

many of you

have ever

bought a

self-help

book before,

you can be

honest here,

right?

And they

always say

you need to

apply what

you've learned.

I mean, this

can apply to

life skills

or training

or whatever

it is.

It doesn't have

to be just

self-help.

It can be

any sort

of thing.

You have

to apply

the skills

that you

learn.

That's no

different than

when it

comes to

scripture.

When we

read the

text and

we learn

the lessons,

we have

to apply

it to

our very

lives.

And so

we have

the question

then,

how should

we live,

right?

The first

thing is,

I've used

this in

connection

with this

idea of

bridge

building,

is to

stand on

the bridge.

Remember

God's

help.

Now, I

want you to

think of

a bridge

just like

how the

text is

talking about

the dividing

wall of

hostility being

gone.

Think of

the image

of a

bridge

to God.

That you

now have

that access.

And so,

as you

stand on

the bridge

or as

you're

journeying

in the

bridge,

remember

God's

help.

Know that

God has

been there

for you.

Right?

That he's

calling for

each and

every one

of you

into a

relationship

with him.

And maybe

it's a

possibility

for you

to think

of one

way that

God has

brought you

near to

him.

Think of

that.

God is

with us.

He's

calling for

you to

draw near

to him.

Maybe you

can reflect

on one

instance

that God

has brought

you near.

And I

also encourage

for you

to thank

God

intentionally

for his

faithfulness.

God

doesn't

give up

on us.

Now,

nobody

here has

to raise

their hand,

but it's

the most

disheartening

thing when

someone gives

up on

someone,

right?

Very

disheartening.

But when

it comes

to God,

he is

beyond our

human

understanding

and our

human

reasoning.

God

doesn't

abandon

us.

He's

always there

for us.

when we

read so

much

scripture

talking

about

the

Lord

being

patient,

kind,

and

merciful,

how the

Lord is

faithful.

We should

thank God

for that.

Just say,

Lord God,

I'm glad

you're

faithful in

my life.

And you're

the same

yesterday,

today,

and forever.

And maybe

this is a

call for you

to share

in one

story of

God's

faithfulness.

The second

thing,

then,

is to

cross the

bridge

trusting in

God,

right?

Be on

this

journey

in the

Lord.

You can

think of

the imagery

of a

bridge,

you can

think of

just

journeying

in life,

right?

You can

think of

sheep going

to green

pastures

with the

shepherd,

you can

think of

many

different

types of

imagery

about

journeying

with the

Lord.

And I

always love

going back

to the

Psalms,

where it

says,

even though

I walk

through the

valley of

the shadow

of death,

I will

fear no

evil.

Why?

Because he

trusts that

God is

with him.

That's some

amazing

faith.

faith.

When you

read that,

that should

give you

great comfort.

I mean,

that's a

lot of

trust in

the Lord.

So I

want you

to think

about one

relationship

or friendship.

How can

you represent

Christ with

a friend?

Maybe it's

a friend that

has been

marked by

tension or

distance.

How can

you represent

Christ with

others?

And you

can also,

as you

cross the

bridge,

trust that

the Lord

knows what

he's doing.

Trust in

him.

Take one

step,

right?

I love

that Christmas,

there's a

Christmas movie,

it's the

clay animation

kind of thing,

where it's,

you may know

the song,

put one foot

in front of

the other.

Do you

guys know

that song?

It's the,

what is it,

the abominable

snowman?

Right?

He's trying to

walk and

he's just a

big scary

monster,

but he learns

how to

walk,

right?

But I

love that.

You put

one foot

in front

of the

other.

I think,

I know

that's not

the heart

of that

movie,

but just

like how,

you know,

going where

everyone knows

your name is

not the

heart of

Cheers,

but we can

take little

pieces of it

nonetheless.

us.

And so,

take one

step towards

peace,

conversation,

prayer,

invitation,

even forgiveness.

And the

third thing

then,

is to be a

peacemaker

with Christ

beside you.

And I want

you to think

about one

way that

you can be

a peacemaker

and you'll

see there's

a connection

with being

a peacemaker

and a

bridge builder.

Prayer and

discipleship,

hospitality and

welcome,

community

partnership,

there's many

ways,

but in

any sense,

let this

be a call

for you

to faithfully

step forward

to be a

peacemaker

with Christ

by your

side.

And in

closing,

I want to

take to

this next

slide here.

You know,

we sang that

song,

Come Thou

Fount,

and there's

this verse

here,

which I

think is

such a

strange verse,

right?

Thus far

the Lord

has helped

us.

It's kind

of like,

well,

God has

helped us

so far,

right,

kind of

thing.

Well,

and first,

and we're not

going to turn

there,

but in

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

God is

giving the

people of

God

victory.

And it's

in this

moment in

victory where

they're saying,

God has

helped us

so far,

and because

of this,

I'm going

to raise

up an

Ebenezer

stone.

And so I

put this as

kind of a

representation.

I have no

idea what it

looked like,

okay?

But in

this,

this stone

was a

representation,

it was a

remembrance

of marking

what God

had done

for the

people.

Not only

was it a

sense of

remembrance

though,

but it was

also the

people of

God

trusting

in the

Lord for

what he

would do

next.

It's a

moment in

time.

And so

when we

think of

that hymn,

Come Thou

Fount,

we think

of that

lyric,

Here I

raise my

Ebenezer,

right?

It's raising

that stone

in victory

and continuing

to trust

in God.

And I

think about

that,

it's such

an unusual

wording for

a lyric of

a hymn,

but it's

actually

beautifully

tied in

with

scripture

and tied

in with

where we

are at,

not only

in Ephesians,

but where

we are

today at

the end

of 2025.

That in

the same

way that

the people

of God

raised up

their stone,

knowing what

God had

done,

they were

going to

continue to

trust in

him,

not knowing

what

tomorrow

was going

to hold.

And I

think about

that.

2025 is

coming to

a close

and we're

going to

enter in

2026.

And quite

frankly,

we have no

idea what

that year is

going to be

like.

And that

can be

very

disheartening,

it can be

encouraging,

who knows.

But let's

not worry

about tomorrow

just as

Christ has

told us

not to

worry about

tomorrow.

let us

put

2026

into the

hands of

God,

trusting in

him,

just as

God

knows

what he

is doing.

So let us

look back on

God's

faithfulness

and let us

step forward

into this

new year

much as

we cross

the bridge,

much as

we know

that Christ

is our

peace,

may we

step boldly

in faith.

Let us

pray together.

And

Father God,

we thank

you for

this time

and this

opportunity

for us

to go

through

these

verses

in

Ephesians,

learning a

little bit

about

the

Ebenezer

stone,

but also

importantly,

knowing about

how your

son Christ

is our

peace and

how we

are to

receive this

peace and

to share

this peace.

The language,

Father,

of removing

the wall,

the dividing

wall of

hostility,

just goes to

show us

the love

that you

have for

each and

every one

of us.

I pray

for every

person here

today in

person and

every person

who is

watching online,

whether it's

YouTube,

TikTok,

Rumble,

Facebook,

or whether

they're listening

online to

the sermon

podcast.

Christ,

I pray

that everyone

will know

that they

are loved

by you

and they

are called

to receive

salvation.

They are

called into

transformation

and they

are called

to live

and love

like you.

We love

you so much

and we

know that

this is our

last Sunday

in 2025.

May we

take these

last few

days in

the remainder

of the year

seeking you

and

may we

trust in

you to

lead and

guide us

into next

year.

It is in

the name

of Jesus

that we

pray and

we all

say together.

Amen,

church.

Amen.

Thank you

for joining

us for this

message from

Ontario Community

Church.

As we

close out

this sermon

and close

out this

year,

I want to

leave you

with this.

Jesus

Christ is

our peace.

He has

broken down

the dividing

wall of

hostility

through the

cross.

Those who

were far

off have

been brought

near.