Ephesians 6:1-9 — "Children & Parents, Bondservants & Masters" — Jimmy Alexander

Well, good morning, church.

Turn with me if you will to Ephesians chapter 6, and today we will be looking at verses 1 through 9.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Verses 1 through 9, Ephesians 6, which is all about redemptive relationships.

As we saw last time in chapter 5, verses 22 through 33, the Apostle Paul began this topic of redemptive relationships, starting with marriage.

And he continues to expound on this subject and how the Lord's salvation should transform the relationships that God has sovereignly placed in our lives.

Salvation is so much more than just getting out of hell, as if that was the finish line.

We are born again, we're sealed with the Spirit, we're regenerated so that we would have a new relationship with God and have a new relationship with people.

And that is what Paul is addressing here.

As a redeemed saint who has a new life in Christ, how should I relate to my parents, my children, my employer?

As a kid, how should I relate to my parents who are so annoying and controlling?

As a parent, how should I discipline my kids who can be so stubborn and rebellious?

As an employee, what kind of attitude should I have towards my boss?

And as an employer, how should I wield my authority and treat my employees?

And so all of this is answered for us here in this passage, and it is super helpful and it is beautiful.

And remember, church, that all of this is coming from and it's being fueled by what Paul already wrote back in chapters one through four.

Gospel living is rooted in gospel truth.

So we don't pursue redemptive relationships because it's the right thing to do.

We don't do it because it, you know, it creates a good family dynamic.

We pursue redemptive relationships because we have been loved by our Father.

We have been chosen from above.

We have every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Thus, we simply want to do what he says and be like him.

So where does Paul start?

He begins with children.

He addresses all children, and he says in verses one through three, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Honor your father and mother.

This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land.

So Paul, after addressing husbands and wives, he now focuses his attention on children.

He looks at them and he says, Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Children in the room, the Lord wants you to obey your parents.

And obedience, by definition, it means accepting rules and decisions, listening to advice or warning, uh, following guidance and authority.

And in what spirit and attitude should you obey?

Look at the verse.

It says that you are to obey in the Lord.

What does that mean?

Well, it means two things.

One, first, it means that when you obey your parents, your motivation should be your love for the Lord.

When mom tells you, hey, take out the trash, you do it not merely because she said so, but because you love Jesus.

Right?

And secondly, this phrase in the Lord, it means that when you obey your parents, you are ultimately obeying your Heavenly Father.

That is why Paul adds the statement, for this is right or fitting.

It's a right thing, it's a godly thing, it's a fitting thing to obey the authority that God has sovereignly established in your life.

When you listen to your parents and you honor them, in essence, you're saying, Lord, I am obeying your order of authority.

Now, I know, kids in the room, uh, that this is easier said than done, right?

I know what it's like to be a kid and a teenager.

Sometimes your parents' rules don't make sense.

Uh, you see your parents, you watch them live, and you see them constantly contradicting themselves.

It seems like they're trying to take the fun out of everything.

It's like, dad, you keep telling me not to pick my nose and bite my nails, yet, you know, I see you do that all the time.

That's what my kids say.

And sometimes, kids, your parents, it's just their tone.

It's the way they commanded whatever it is they wanted you to do.

They tell you to do something, and it's their tone.

And you can make excuses in your mind why rebelling against them and disrespecting them feels justified.

But you don't obey your parents because they deserve it.

They are a sinner just like you.

They make mistakes.

And I want to let you in on a little secret, kids in the room, adults are just big little kids who have learned to control their emotions a little bit better than you.

Ultimately, you don't obey them if you feel like it.

You don't honor them if you feel like they deserve it.

So long as your parents are not asking you to sin, you are to honor them because those are the parents or the guardians that God has placed in your life, and they are taking care of you, and God has commanded you to honor their authority, to respect their position as caretaker.

And Paul reminds children that this is a command that's rooted in the fifth commandment, which we just read.

We see this in Exodus 20, verse 12, Deuteronomy 5, verse 16.

Exodus 20:12 Deuteronomy 5:16

It's the only commandment that comes with a promise of blessing.

Out of all of the Ten Commandments, it is the only one that has an explicit promise attached to it.

Honor your parents and life will go well for you, and you will live long in the land.

It's as if God knew that kids love incentives.

This doesn't mean that if you obey your parents, you are guaranteed a wealthy, uh, pain-free life where you will live to be 90 years old.

God isn't saying, hey, little Johnny, if you obey your parents, I'll give you whatever you want.

That's not what this verse is saying.

What it means is this: that if you at a young age learn how to submit yourself under God's chain of command, the authority that He's established in the household, you will already, at a very young age, learn how to experience the spiritual blessings of coming under authority.

Life will go very well for you if you learn how to submit to and honor and respect God-given authority.

Those who hate God-given authority, they hate being told what to do, they're constantly pushing back, they're just resisting any form of authority, who always think to themselves, you know, I'm right, you're wrong, right?

Those kind of people, just generally speaking, are more prone to losing their job.

Um, it's harder for them on sports teams, it's difficult for them to make friends and to get along with others.

Life in many ways will be financially, relationally, socially difficult.

And so if you cling to an attitude of anti-authority, you will clash with the realities of society and work and relationships.

Even in modern psychology, we know statistically that kids who rebel against and despise their parents is directly linked to adulthood behaviors of physical aggression, uh, getting in trouble with the law, uh, manipulative behaviors, health problems, addiction, a lack of teachability, and the list goes on.

This is coming from the National Library of Medicine.

So here is my encouragement to you, children in the room, you have a profound ministry in calling before you right now.

And you will make mistakes.

At times you will have an attitude, you will get frustrated when dad says it's time for bed.

You might roll your eyes at your mom when she says you can't have a sleepover this weekend.

You might slam your Xbox controller down when dad says it's time to get off the games.

You will fail at times.

That's part of being a kid.

That's part of growing.

But there is grace, there is great grace in our Lord Jesus Christ, and He wants to give you the power and the strength needed to do His will.

And when you grow up someday, Lord willing, you become a parent, you will want your kids to respect and honor you.

Listen to me.

Your parents love you.

I hope that's the case.

They love you and they just want what's best for you.

And so their rules and their guidance and their discipline is all coming from a heart that just wants the very best for you.

They will never parent you perfectly, they will make mistakes, but that's not an excuse to dishonor them.

It's an opportunity for you to grow in the Lord and receive the promise of a good life by respecting authority and ultimately honor your father in heaven.

So as a kid, especially as a teenager, I rebelled against my parents.

I I used their sins as an excuse to disobey them.

I closed my ears to every piece of advice they gave.

In fact, whatever they told me, I would go and do the exact opposite.

And let me tell you something, life did not go well for me.

I almost died.

Life was miserable until the Lord radically lavished his grace on me and changed my stubborn heart and thankfully restored the years of my youth.

So I know this from experience.

Don't learn the hard way like me.

Hear the word of the Lord this morning.

Children, obey your parents, for this is right.

Next, Paul transitions to parents.

Uh, more specifically, he addresses fathers.

Now, the reason Paul addresses fathers here instead of mothers is because fathers are the head of the home, which we established already, and therefore fathers are to be the primary authority for exercising discipline.

Now, this doesn't mean that mothers can't discipline their kids.

That's not what this means.

But generally speaking, fathers are the ones leading in discipline, and therefore they are more prone to provoking their children.

So if husbands, we already established this, if if husbands are prone to ruling harshly over their wives, then it makes sense that they're also prone to provoking their children.

And so the verse says, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline in the instruction of the Lord.

This is what's called a negative positive command.

Don't do this, but instead do this.

And so the fact that fathers are told not to provoke their children to anger, it suggests that this is our tendency.

Now, what does this mean?

What does it look like to provoke my children?

It means to discipline in anger, reacting out of personal frustration, loss of temper, rather than a calm desire to teach.

It means setting unrealistic expectations, demanding things a child is too young or unequipped to do.

You're just setting them up for failure.

Or it's implementing harsh, sudden discipline, spanking your kids severely because they accidentally dropped a glass cup on the floor.

All of these things will create in that child a deep frustration, a sense of failure, leading to resentment.

Maybe you have a child who has a really strong will, right?

You notice they have a stubborn personality and you want to break their will, right?

And because of, well, let's be honest, because of your insecurity, every time they push back, you take it personally.

Like it's a reflection of your parenting.

Like you don't have control, right?

So what do you do?

You implement sudden, harsh punishment.

You start spanking them over the smallest thing.

You shove them in their room for an ungodly amount of time.

You you drag them down the hall with aggression to prove a point.

You start laying down hard laws, unrealistic expectations from a five-year-old, coming down hard on them, pointing out all of their problems.

Jay, look at what you did.

You did this, Jay.

If you would have just listened to me, look at your mom and how upset she is.

And you do it in the name of breaking their will.

And it feels right and it feels justified because you're fed up with the disrespect.

We are prone, fathers, to harsh discipline, to over-correction.

And these kind of reactions will discourage, it will tear down, and totally defeat your kids.

It's provocative.

It is discipline that does not mirror or reflect the nature and the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And there's here's the thing: this tactic, provoking our kids, will get you quick results.

In other words, it works.

That's why we do it.

You will get obedience from your children.

If you implement enough fear, if you scare them with harsh punishment, they will obey.

You will get short-term control over your child, but long term, you will lose them.

Because as James tells us in his epistle, human anger does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

And two things will happen.

Either number one, you will create a little Pharisee, a child who thinks that obeying the law and structure is what gives them value and acceptance.

Or two, they will grow up and resent you.

And later in life, they will not come to you for guidance.

Why would they?

They spent 18 years experiencing, knowing that sharing my faults with mom and dad is not safe.

It's not safe for me.

I will get yelled at, I will get belittled.

When will we learn, church, that the law doesn't save people?

It didn't save you, and it will not save your kids.

You can beat people with the law, you can scare people into law-living, but laws cannot transform the human heart.

Now, don't mishear me.

Please don't mishear me.

Structure is good.

Rules are good, discipline is biblical.

It's how we implement these things that are the problem.

In thinking that these things, in and of themselves, will save your child is a serious departure from the gospel.

The verse doesn't say, raise up your kids in the perfection and in the condemnation of the law.

It doesn't say that.

But in the discipline and in the instruction of the Lord.

Fathers in the room, listen to me.

Your kids do not need you constantly prodding and stirring them up.

That's just gonna make them angry.

Plus, that's not the way that your heavenly father deals with you, is it?

No.

What they need from you, the second part of the verse, is for you to bring them up in the discipline and in the instruction of the Lord.

Now, what does this mean?

It means stop disciplining your kids your way.

God's not interested in the way that you were raised, and he's not interested in modern parenting strategies.

He's interested in you parenting them his way.

And his word is so sufficient on this matter.

It means that we correct them lovingly.

We discipline bad behavior while we're trying to protect the child's spirit.

We model what it looks like to love God.

It means that we fill our child's mind with God's word, stories of faith, and how to live for Jesus and how to fight off our sin nature.

Our discipline and our instruction should mirror and reflect the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our primary goal as fathers shouldn't be to raise a hardworking, productive member of society.

That is a byproduct of raising a child who knows Jesus Christ, who loves Jesus Christ, and embraces him.

So what does this look like practically?

Maybe your eight-year-old runs across the room and drop kicks your five-year-old over a stolen toy.

Instead of becoming irate, exploding on them, screaming at the top of your lungs, then flipping them over your knee and giving them a hard spanking and then shouting, why would you do that?

What is wrong with you?

Go to your room.

You instead see this as a discipleship opportunity.

And so through gospel lens, in the power of the Spirit, through the grace of our Lord, you grab them firmly but lovingly.

You take them to another room, you look them in the eyes, and you say, Look, I love you, but we will not act like that.

We will not act like that.

The Lord does not want us to treat other people that way, especially our brothers and sisters.

That was sin against your brother, it was sin against your heavenly father.

Now there is forgiveness in Jesus, and I encourage you to ask him for it.

And I want you to apologize to your brother.

Now there's going to be a consequence for what you did.

I'm going to discipline you because I love you.

And you hug them while at the same time implementing a fitting consequence with a plan to read to them that night, Proverbs 15, 1, explaining to them how God wants us to exercise self-control rather than giving way to rage.

Gospel-centered, evangelistic, word centered parenting that points to Jesus.

The principle is this parenting is all about gospel transformation, not primarily behavior modification.

Our ultimate vision for parenting is no Longer, how do I get my kid to conform?

But rather, how can I point them to Christ in the situation?

Our ultimate hope isn't how do I get my kids to be good people, but rather how can I help them see their sin and their need for Jesus.

If your parenting strategies could fix your child, then Jesus Christ didn't have to come.

The entire point of parenting is to point them to Jesus Christ, to give every opportunity for your child to know and experience and discipline and enjoy Jesus.

So listen, there's a time to get stern, uh, there's a time to implement and exercise harsh, sudden discipline with your children, but this should be far and few between.

And when you parent your kids in Christ-likeness, you will discover that they want more time with you.

They want to hear what you have to say.

And they will be more open to coming to you as adults.

Why?

Because you didn't beat them up all the time.

You actually love them like Jesus.

And therefore they were drawn to him through you.

So, fathers, stop provoking your kids because they're just little sinners.

What do you expect?

What are you demanding from them?

Is it realistic?

What is your goal in parenting?

Is it to get them to behave so that you don't look bad?

Or is it that they might know and experience and delight themselves in the Lord Jesus Christ?

So let us then discipline them and raise them in a manner that reflects the Lord.

The closest thing that a child has to compare their heavenly father to is their earthly father.

And we will not do this perfectly.

I know I don't.

We will fail constantly because it's hard to be a gospel man, especially at home behind closed doors.

But by God's grace and with the Spirit's help, may we strive to raise our children in the instruction and in the discipline of the Lord.

Next, Paul addresses bondservants.

He moves from family dynamics to the workplace in verses five through eight.

And so he says, Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and with trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bond servant or is free.

So first we need to address what is a bondservant.

If you have the idea in your head of uh civil war slavery or you know the Holocaust in your mind, that is not what a bondservant was during this time.

Uh sometimes the word is translated slave.

A bondservant was a person who is bound by a long-term commitment, or it was someone who chose to serve out of love and loyalty rather than forced captivity.

So servitude usually it began to pay off a heavy debt.

And so, in short, it was a it was a form of employment, and it was often a good gig during this time.

So an argument could be made that it is very similar to what we understand today as an employee.

And the command starts with reverent obedience.

Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling.

And so we live in a day and age where managers and crew leaders and bosses are just despised.

We hate authority.

Don't tell me what I'm doing wrong, don't tell me what to do.

I know best.

How dare you give me any suggestions, guidance, or instruction?

It's one of the most blatant marks of the flesh in scripture.

But Paul says the exact opposite.

He says, obey them with a reverent posture.

It's this picture of looking at your boss saying, if the Lord is sovereign, and he is, then this is the boss that he has established over me, at least for today.

Therefore, God wants to develop my spiritual character through this manager.

And although he is a jerk and a Karen, I will submit with healthy fear, knowing that my ultimate boss is the Lord.

Now, this doesn't mean that you need to be a victim of workplace abuse.

That's not what I'm saying, that's not what Paul's saying.

That you should cook the books because your boss told you to.

There is a time to stand up and combat workplace abuse and don't ever submit to any form of sin.

But apart from that, obey.

Let's say, for example, I go and I clean the bathrooms at work, and I go back to my boss, and I'm like, hey, I got the bathrooms done.

What would you like for me to do next?

And he looks at me and he says, go clean them again.

What do I do?

Do I argue with them?

Uh do I throw a big fit and rip off my name tag and say, I quit, this is dumb?

That's one response, a very natural human response that social media would just applaud me for.

Or do I say to myself, Lord, this is for you.

This isn't about my comfort, it's not about my intellect.

How could I do this job better?

For your glory.

It's about eternal life.

It's about your glory, it's about the fame of God's name.

So with a joyful attitude, I clean the toilets again.

And I do it singing to the Lord.

And my manager, who doesn't know God, he sees my posture.

And he goes to bed that night thinking to himself, there's something different about this Jimmy guy.

And I'm curious to find out what it is.

It doesn't matter if I could do my boss's job better.

It doesn't matter if I didn't quite like the tone.

What matters is that God has given them that position of authority, and I am under them, and therefore I will honor that and recognize that God uses such things for my sanctification, which results in his glory.

So we are to obey reverently, but next, Paul says we should obey sincerely, as unto Christ, not as I service or people pleasers, right?

So after addressing kind of like the rebellious, the anti-authority problem we have, he's now addressing people pleasers.

Because if you're anything like me, I'm a people pleaser, I struggle with this.

You will hear the submit commands and you think to yourself, oh yes, I love to do that.

I'd love to submit.

Tell me what to do and I'll do it.

But your motivation is for everyone around you to clap their hands and say, Jimmy, wow, you're such a great person.

You're such a hard worker.

We like you so much.

We accept you because you're so good at what you do as you flip your hair back and tighten your collar and you say, I know I am, right?

And so the phrase I service here, it denotes attention, recognition.

And the phrase people pleasers, it denotes the ultimate motivation of human applause and acceptance.

The reason we work hard, the reason we sweat and we labor with a godly, sincere attitude is to please the Lord.

Colossians 3.23 says that whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as if you're working for the Lord, not for human masters.

Yes, we need a paycheck.

Yes, we need a job to pay off debt.

Yes, we want to do a good job, but the ultimate reason should be, verses seven and eight, that we want to render service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.

Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free.

So at the end of the day, we are working for the Lord.

We're rendering service to him, knowing that our heavenly bank account is being filled up.

I mean, talk about a transforming attitude on the doctrine of work, especially on Monday mornings.

It's like I should be sizzling in hell.

Like, like I know me.

I should be shut out from every good gift that I have.

I don't deserve life in every sense of the term.

But yet I get to wake up and I get to go to work for the Lord.

I have the privilege through my words and my actions and my eyes and my hands and my feet to evangelize my bosses and be a light unto my co-workers who need Jesus.

And he says that he'll reward me for that.

Wow.

The theology of work is so crucial.

We tend to compartmentalize employment as being something separate from our spiritual life.

But as John Piper says, he says, your vocation is not just a job title, but God's assignment to glorify Him through the way you work, regardless of the role you hold.

Here is the shocking reality.

The average person will spend one-third of their life at work.

That's roughly 90,000 hours at work over your lifetime.

So doesn't it make sense that God would care about how we work, our motivations, our behaviors, our witness in the workplace?

We need this, church, more than ever.

We live in an age that's becoming violently hostile towards authority, that loves getting drunk on complaining.

We live in an entitled culture where everybody loves to point the finger at bosses and managers and say, well, if I were in charge, I would do it better.

And we live in kind of this people-pleasing culture, eye service culture where we just want to be applauded and praised.

But the Lord wants us to work hardly for him, not men, knowing that you will receive an inheritance as your reward.

So how we behave in the workplace, it matters to God.

And if you're uh disgruntled, perhaps, about some of the uh you know, actions or the choices or the decisions of your boss or manager or crew leader, don't worry because Paul addresses them next.

No one is off the hook here.

And so the Apostle Paul says in verse 9 masters do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he is both their master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

And so workplace mistreatment, unfortunately, it happens.

Uh in some cultures, it's actually acceptable.

There's no laws in place for employee rights.

So in the Old Testament, we are constantly commanded to treat servants well.

With great privilege comes great responsibility.

The more authority you have, the stricter you will be judged.

So anytime someone has a position of power and authority, there's a temptation to abuse that.

There's the temptation to shorthand people money.

There's the temptation to, you know, get bureaucratic and play politics and show favoritism and discriminate people, or just to be mean to people, just to be a bully simply because you can.

You're the boss, right?

And so Paul addresses them and he says, do the same to your employees, to your bond servants.

At the end of the day, how you treat those working for you is more important than meeting quotas, closing on contracts, selling products, and yes, even workplace efficiency.

Yes, you have a business to run, but more importantly, you have a master to serve.

And how you treat the people under you that God has entrusted to you is part of how you serve Him.

And so Paul warns them stop threatening.

Again, it's similar to parenting.

This is a very common strategy that will get you quick results.

Fear is a motivator that will get people to move.

But it's not a strategy that God wants you to use.

It's not honoring to him.

It doesn't resemble Christ.

Imagine, masters, bosses, imagine if God scorned you every day.

Saying, Jimmy, if you don't do what I asked perfectly today, I'm going to cast you out of my eternal family.

That would be cruel.

But he doesn't do that, does he?

God does not treat you that way, so neither should we treat others that way.

He goes on to tell us why we should stop threatening, because we know that God is our master and he is not just the master of your employees, he's your master as well.

No matter what level of authority you have, there is always someone far above you, Jesus Christ.

There are many kings, many lords, many masters, but all are subjected to the one king, the one Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

And he sees every mistreatment and he knows every motivation.

And whatever measurement you use to judge others, God will use the same measurement with you.

That's Matthew 7, verse 2.

Matthew 7:2

And he will judge all of it.

Every thought we had, every word we spoke, every deed we performed, it will be exposed and it will be judged perfectly.

And that should be great cause for fear and trembling.

So if our master is in heaven, if if he's dealt with us patiently, graciously, lovingly, wouldn't it be reasonable and fitting to treat those under our care the same way?

Oh, how offensive it must be to God when we treat people with contempt, or worse, we exploit them when God has literally given us all things in Christ.

If you are a Christian with any level of authority in the workplace, or just in general, be careful how you treat those under your authority.

Be careful.

It is your call and duty to treat others the same way God has treated you.

So Paul ends by reminding masters, employers, bosses, managers, that although you may have a title in the workplace that distinguishes you in the eyes of humans, there's no partiality with God.

At the end of the day, when you stand before the Lord, he will not address you and judge you as manager Susie or Director Dan or CEO Jimmy, right?

You will be judged the same way as your employees.

In society, you may be a master, but before the Lord, he is your master.

So stop threatening, lead graciously, treat people fairly, and wield your authority under the Lordship of Christ.

So proclamation church, as I conclude, I want to remind us of just a few things.

First, none of this is possible through human effort.

I want to make that clear.

It's his profound love, it's his endless grace, it's his amazing power that redeems our relationships.

That's where the power is coming from.

So if you're thinking to yourself, if you're hearing this sermon and you're thinking to yourself, I just need to try harder, I just need to do better, I just need to be a better husband, a better wife, a better parent, a better employee, you have missed the entire point of Paul's command and you have forgotten the context in which he gives them.

It is impossible, church, literally impossible, to truly from your heart love your spouse, honor your parents, respect your boss, parent your children graciously, and treat the people around you rightly without the power of Christ working in me.

And this is where the gospel becomes so incredibly practical.

Our salvation is not merely about what happens between us and God.

The gospel begins to transform every relationship that we have in our life.

It changes the way a husband loves his wife, the way a wife responds to her husband, the way children honor their parents, the way parents raise their children, the way that we treat the people that we work alongside.

The gospel creates redeemed people, and redeemed people begin to have redeemed relationships, and it transforms culture and says and societies.

So whatever the conviction or the challenges for you that the Lord might be bringing to your heart from this passage, whether it's provoking your children, uh dishonoring your parents, neglecting uh your spouse, abusing authority, treating employees unfairly, don't run from that conviction.

And maybe you're thinking, it it hurts, ouch, I'm a failure.

Run to Christ.

Like that's the call.

Run to Christ.

There's great grace available to you right now, literally, right now, in Jesus Christ.

Own your failures, confess your sin, receive his forgiveness, and then ask him for the grace and the enabling power to walk differently in the days ahead.

Church, God never gives us a command without also providing the grace we need to obey it.

Do you understand that?

He doesn't call us to become better people through sheer willpower.

He calls us to abide in Christ, to draw our life from him, to depend on the Holy Spirit, not the flesh, and allow the gospel to transform us from the inside out.

And wherever the Lord brings conviction, let us not leave here condemned.

Let us not leave here feeling like failures, but let us leave encouraged, because the same Christ who commands us to walk in these things is the same Christ who gives us the grace and the power to actually do them.

So let us continue to draw life from Him in our relationships and allow the gospel that redeemed us to increasingly redeem the way that we relate to people around us.

So, church, let's pray.