Mar 8, 2026
Ready for the Fight – Communications Link with Our Commanding Officer
Paul does not equate prayer to anything the Roman soldier possessed. I suppose if we were to try to compare it to something, it might be like the radio a police officer carries. That is their vital link to dispatch and to their commanding officer. They receive information regarding their next call for service, and they can also use it to call for additional backup when needed, among other things.
Prayer is the means by which we convey our needs to our Lord, and it is also the means by which He communicates His answers to us. It is a 2-way sort of thing. In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul first offers some instructions on prayer: 1) What We Can Pray For; 2) When We Can Pray; 3) How We Are to Pray; and 4) Who We Can Pray For. Then he follows this up by taking his own advice, asking the Ephesian Christians to pray on his behalf.
The point is simple - PRAY!
Ephesians 6:18-20
Mar. 8, 2026
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- Mar 8, 2026Ready for the Fight – Communications Link with Our Commanding Officer
Mar 8, 2026Ready for the Fight – Communications Link with Our Commanding OfficerPaul does not equate prayer to anything the Roman soldier possessed. I suppose if we were to try to compare it to something, it might be like the radio a police officer carries. That is their vital link to dispatch and to their commanding officer. They receive information regarding their next call for service, and they can also use it to call for additional backup when needed, among other things.Prayer is the means by which we convey our needs to our Lord, and it is also the means by which He communicates His answers to us. It is a 2-way sort of thing. In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul first offers some instructions on prayer: 1) What We Can Pray For; 2) When We Can Pray; 3) How We Are to Pray; and 4) Who We Can Pray For. Then he follows this up by taking his own advice, asking the Ephesian Christians to pray on his behalf.The point is simple - PRAY!Ephesians 6:18-20Mar. 8, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Mar 1, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Sword of the Spirit
Mar 1, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Sword of the SpiritWhether it is some sort of skill or even a sport, anyone who wants to become an expert at something must practice, practice, practice. You keep doing it over & over until it is second nature. That musical instrument, sports equipment, or weapon becomes an extension of your own body.As we come back into our study of the Armor of God this morning, Paul finally introduces our offensive weapon. All the pieces of armor we’ve discussed so far are intended for defensive protection, though they do protect us when we are on the offensive too.God gives us one primarily offensive weapon – the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. As we familiarize ourselves with our weapon and its use, we’re going to do 3 things: we’ll look at 1) The Weapon Itself; we’ll discuss 2) Why Paul Calls the Word of God a Sword; and we’ll consider 3) How We Use this Sword.Take hold of the Word of God and proclaim it in the power of the Spirit.Ephesians 6:17bMar. 1, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Feb 22, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Helmet of Salvation
Feb 22, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Helmet of SalvationHelmets are an important safety consideration when one decides to go out for a ride. Not everybody decides to wear one, however. Some objections are that it messes up your hair, that it’s uncomfortable, or that it looks silly. But, what’s worse, helmet hair, or a bloodied and bruised noggin? It takes so little to cause a head injury. Yet, plenty of people ride around with an unfastened helmet, one that doesn’t fit, or no helmet at all. I guess they just hope they don’t hit their head. My hope and expectation is that the helmet will do what it’s supposed to do and protect my head if I hit it.Hope and expectation are also directly related to the spiritual helmet God provides us with His Holy Armor – the Helmet of Salvation. The salvation possessed by Christians gives us a confident hope and expectation for what lies ahead in our eternal future. In our study today we are going to seek to answer 3 questions about this piece of the Armor of God: 1) What is the Helmet of Salvation? 2) What Does the Helmet of Salvation Do for Us? 3) What Do We Do with the Helmet of Salvation?Christian, let God’s assurance of your salvation give you the hope and confidence to withstand Satan’s attacks.Ephesians 6:17aFeb. 22, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Feb 15, 2026Ready for the Fight: Gear Up – Shield of Faith
Feb 15, 2026Ready for the Fight: Gear Up – Shield of FaithFaith is much more than just intellectual agreement. It is easy to say that you believe in something or someone, and a completely different thing to put that faith to the test by living it out.In Ephesians 6:16, Paul speaks of faith as the next piece of God’s armor which we need to take up, and he describes it as our shield. The 3 things I want us to consider as we look at this piece of armor are: 1) True Biblical Faith Serves as Our Full-Body Spiritual Shield; 2) Make Sure Your Shield of Faith is Ready for the Fight; and 3) Know How to Wield Your Shield.Put your whole faith in God, trusting Him to be your greatest protection against Satan.Ephesians 6:16Feb. 15, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Feb 8, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Footwear – Gospel of Peace
Feb 8, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Footwear – Gospel of PeaceAn article came out shortly after the Northridge quake years ago highlighting the most common injury seen in folks afterwards – it was lacerations to their feet. People jumped out of bed or ran outside barefooted and cut themselves up on broken glass and other debris. Footwear is important. Shoes protect our feet, giving us better stability and traction.In much the same way that shoes are important to our daily routines, spiritually, footwear is also an important piece of the Armor of God. In Ephesians 6:15 we read that the Armor of God includes footwear, defined as, "The preparation of the Gospel of Peace." There are 3 things we need to define as we seek to understand this aspect of our spiritual armor: 1) What is the Gospel? 2) What is True Peace? And, 3) How Does the Gospel of Peace Prepare Us for the Spiritual Battle?Let God’s peace prepare you to stand firm and share the Good News with others.Ephesians 6:15Feb. 8, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Feb 1, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Breastplate of Righteousness
Feb 1, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Breastplate of RighteousnessAccording to the National Institute of Justice, body armor has saved the lives of more than 3,000 law enforcement officers in the last 30 years. Every officer I’ve ever known wore body armor on duty, no matter what. It was just good practice, especially not knowing what sort of situation they might find themselves in from call to call. The reality is, a bulletproof vest can only help you if you have it on. That’s why officers wear theirs all the time. You need to have all your defenses on to be prepared for the battle.This modern piece of body armor compares well to the Breastplate of Rightousness Paul lists as a component of the Armor of God in Ephesians 6. As we look deeper into this righteousness, we will seek to answer 4 questions: 1) What is Righteousness? 2) How Do We Put it On? 3) How Do We Show It? and 4) How Do We Maintain It?Arm yourself with righteousness – commit to obey God in everything.Ephesians 6:14bFeb. 1, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Jan 25, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Belt of Truth
Jan 25, 2026Ready for the Fight – Gear Up: Belt of TruthThere are things that are true all around us, and truth can certainly be found in many places. But, it is sad to realize how many in our day and age believe that moral truth is relative; that it is just whatever you choose to believe for yourself. For these people there is no absolute moral truth, there is nothing that is always right or wrong. Friends, that is simply untrue.As we continue our study on the Armor of God this morning, we come now to Paul’s description of what the armor consists of. He begins by focusing our attention on truth, but as we’ll find, it’s not just any truth, but very particular truth – absolute truth – God’s truth. After a quick review of what we've covered in this section so far, we will focus on 3 important facts: 1) The Belt of Truth is the Foundation of the Christian’s Armor; 2) We Need to Receive God’s Truth; and 3) We Need to Live Out God’s Truth.Arm yourself with God’s truth – learn it and live it.Ephesians 6:14aJan. 25, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Jan 18, 2026Ready for the Fight – Battle Plan
Jan 18, 2026Ready for the Fight – Battle PlanMilitary, law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency service workers of all stripes conduct regular, ongoing training to be ready for virtually any possible problem. They train so that they are prepared and each know their place in the overall scheme – their responsibilities, their areas of operation, what resources they have available, and more.Paul had a similar mindset almost 2,000 years ago as he wrote to Christians about the spiritual battle we’re in. He takes 10 verses at the end of the book of Ephesians to detail much about this conflict. As we come to the third aspect of our preparation this morning, we look at our Battle Plan. We’ve been advised of our enemy’s tactics. Now, we must know what our tactics are to be.In Ephesians 6:13, Paul offers us two things to understand about our spiritual battle plan. The first is a repeat of an admonition he shared previously, and it is that 1) The Christian Must be Armed. We must take up God's armor in order to be ready for the fight. From there Paul explains that 2) The Spiritual Battle Plan is Simple – Stand Firm!Christian, arm yourself, that you may be able to hold your God-given ground!Ephesians 6:13Jan. 18, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Jan 11, 2026Ready for the Fight – Reconnaissance
Jan 11, 2026Ready for the Fight – ReconnaissanceIt is critical in any battle to know who and what you’re fighting against. As Christians, we will find it difficult if not impossible to fight effectively in our spiritual battle if we can’t identify our adversary or his attacks.In Ephesians 6:12, Paul does a little reconnaissance for us to help prepare us for the fight. We will stand a much better chance in the battle if we know how our enemy fights – what are his tactics, what weapons does he use, who are his operatives, and how do they assault us?Paul reveals 2 primary things in this passage – first he tells us that 1) The Spiritual Battle is Up Close & Personal – that is the nature of our fight. Then, with the majority of the verse, he explains that 2) We Fight a Powerful Spiritual Enemy, But God is Stronger.We prepare ourselves for the battle by knowing our enemy and his tactics.Ephesians 6:12Jan. 11, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
- Jan 4, 2026Ready for the Fight – Basic Training
Jan 4, 2026Ready for the Fight – Basic TrainingOur days on this earth will sometimes be a battle. Beyond our daily struggles, we also face a spiritual battle for our eternal souls. Satan and his forces want to do everything they can to keep people from coming to faith in Christ and living for Him. This is a fight that takes place primarily on the spiritual plane, and honestly, it’s one we’re largely unaware of.In the final chapter of Ephesians, Paul talks about the spiritual battle we face daily, and our need to be ready for the fight. The beginning of the year is a great time for us to be reminded that we need to be ready for the fight. In Eph. 6:10-11, Paul gives us the substance of our Basic Training: 1) The Lord is the Source of Our Strength; and 2) The Christian Must be Armed.We need to be strong, alert, and ready to stand our ground in the fight we are in.Ephesians 6:10-11Jan. 4, 2026To watch the video of this message, click here.
