July 20, 2025: BEYOND
Ephesians 3: 20-21

Rev. Dr. Leslie Taylor, preaching

This scripture is the primary text for the General Assembly theme, "Beyond". Rev. Renae Earl, Min. Audrey Barton, and I gathered in Memphis, TN from July 11-15 with approximately 3,000 other Disciples from around the country to do the business of the church and offer praise "...to the one who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to them be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!”

In the General Assembly Preaching resource, Rev. Shannon W. Dycus writes, "Amen! This passage finds us at the end of a powerful prayer highlighting power, glory, and abundance across generations — at work within us. We've been, and likely voiced, prayers just like this. Ephesians 3 is an early Sunday morning prayer spoken by folks who walk a bumpy road and know the steadiness of God. It speaks of a God that moves in and through us even when we waver along that bumpy road. There is trust in the receiver of this prayer, that what we knowingly and unknowingly need, across people and time, will be heard and held. This is a prayer of leaders who wake with the sun and are relying on God to shepherd them and people they love with grace and love. These are the final words of an intimate conversation, the kind where we open our teary eyes and recognize we have not been alone. So again, we say Amen!

How do we arise from a prayer we are certain we have prayed in the fullness of God? What if God has heeded the depth of our needs? What if we are indeed filled with a power at work in us that has abundance and imagination? What do we do after an answered prayer?

In all the significant and important words of this chapter, I cling to the first word of verse 20 as the most powerful. Now. In the concluding words of this unbounded conversation that has traveled through generations, we hear this clear and specific temporal marker. This one word adds an important pivot acknowledging a readiness to live the hope of this prayer.

Now draws us in from what God has done for our ancestors and calls us to our presence to God today. Now is a statement of faith and belief about the power that is actively living within us.

Now amplifies this benediction and affirms it as a clear call to action.

The beauty of this passage lies in this invitation to us — what if we acted like we have the power we pray for? Sometimes, the familiarity of our spiritual practices, both personally and as a congregation, makes our acts of faith routine and ordinary, and we miss the power in them. If we linger in this invitation, we give ourselves permission to see beyond our regular expectations and welcome sacred imagination into our belief and actions. Like the voice of prayer in our passage, we are invited to receive the presence of God that is far more than we ordinarily anticipate.

As we consider our practices of faith, I believe we often miss opportunities to embody our words and our hopes. Our logical and spirited words don't always get to be lived out through our physical beings. I wonder how we might invite our bodies to respond to an Amen that we believed had power in it. Raising our hands or standing in belief, expressing laughter of joy or releasing tears of burden — these actions connect our prayers and our belief in Now. How do we act, with our spirits and our bodies, like believers who pray bold and answered prayers?

The way we worship is the way we live.

Worship is the work of the people, bringing together our fullest selves in a communal act of love and gratitude.  Each voice is important; each person is valued as the Spirit draws out our authentic gifts and talents, shared in the ever-widening circle of God’s people.  We hope you’ll join us this week as we gather to worship the God of extravagant welcome.