August 23, 10:15 a.m.
Take up the whole armor of God. Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. from Ephesians 3:14-21
Being a Christian can be a risky business. Especially if you lived under Roman occupation in the 1st century. The apostle Paul, writing from prison, tells the church in Ephesus that they can’t protect themselves physically from persecution. Instead, he says, they must learn to depend on God for their strength. The armor of God is all they have against the forces that seek to destroy them. But it is enough. Join us on Sunday as Pastor Curt asks what it means (and does not mean) for us, living in a very different context from the Ephesians, to put on that armor.