Will Vaus

Listen for God’s word to you from Ephesians 6:10-17…   Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation a...

Throughout our study of Ephesians, we have been emphasizing one of Paul’s major themes which is love, and we have been talking about how to plug into the power of love. Today, we are going to examine some verses from Ephesians 6 that appear, at first sight, to go against Paul’s ethic of love. The passage we are about to read raises the question:   how could Paul not call for the abolition of slavery?    This is a thorny question that will take some time and patience to answer. But let’s begin by reading the passage in question. Listen for God’s word to you from Ephesians 6:5-9…   Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people because you know that the Lord will reward each one for w...

Today is an anniversary. Five years ago today, I began to serve as the pastor of this church.   Isaiah 58:12 says, “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins, and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”   I believe this verse applies to us today. We are called by God to be rebuilders of the ancient ruins. This year, our church is celebrating 155 years in this building. But the history of this congregation is much older, going back to 1639. There have been times over the past four hundred years when this congregation has waxed, and times when it has waned. Right now, we are on an upswing, and I believe the Lord has called us to spiritually rebuild his work here in Yarmouth Port.   Haggai 2 also has some interesting verses that, I believe, apply to us today…   “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But...