Sacred Texts: words to live by
Strengthened in your inner being / What’s forming you?
Readings: Ephesians 3:14-21, 1 Thess 5:11-18
Preacher: Rev Phil Swain
In the final week of our Sacred Texts series, Phil will explore Paul’s prayer that we might be “strengthened in our inner being” and become rooted and grounded in Christ’s love. In a world where so many voices, pressures and experiences are continually shaping us, what does genuine inner strength look like—and what is forming us?
We will reflect on how sacred texts can become companions that encourage, challenge and sustain us, and how our church community can help us strengthen and build one another up. As part of the sermon, Wayne will share a passage that has been significant in his own journey of faith.
Reflection Questions
Exploring the Passage (Eph 3:14-21)
- In 1 Thessalonians 5:11–18, Paul gives a series of short instructions for life together. Which instruction stands out to you most, and why?
- What might it mean to “encourage one another and build each other up”? How is this different from simply being agreeable or offering compliments?
- In Ephesians 3:14–21, Paul prays that believers will be strengthened through God’s Spirit and rooted and grounded in love. How might this inner strengthening help us live out Paul’s instructions in 1 Thessalonians?
Pondering the Sermon Themes
- The water took the shape of each container holding it. What are some of the voices, environments or pressures that can gradually shape who we become?
- Wayne spoke about encouragement through practical acts of kindness—bus trips, welcoming, music, technology, morning tea and simply being present. What did his examples suggest about the ways an ordinary act can build someone up?
- The sermon described sacred texts as companions that travel with us through different seasons of life. Has a Bible passage spoken to you differently at different times in your life?
Going Deeper
- How can we listen openly to people who think differently without automatically conforming to them or becoming defensive?
- What could help our worshipping community and Circles become places where people are genuinely known, lovingly challenged and strengthened in faith?
- The sermon concluded with two questions: What text will you carry, and whose life will you help strengthen? What might your answer be this week?
Sermon Text
I have brought along some water this morning—and three very different containers. This first container is fairly simple: straight-sided, almost cylindrical. The water within it takes that same tall, straight-sided shape.
But look at this vase, with all its curves. The water has taken the shape of that container too.
And what do you think will happen if I pour water into this wine decanter? Once again, the water takes the shape of whatever is holding it. It spreads out at the bottom and narrows toward the top.
It is the same substance each time, but in every case the water takes the shape of whatever is holding it. The water does not stop and ask, “Is this the shape I want to become?” It simply conforms to the environment in which it finds itself.
And I wonder whether something similar can happen to us.
Not literally, of course, and usually not all at once. But gradually, often without noticing it, we can begin to take the shape of the environment around us. The truth is that all of us are being formed by something.
Our parents and families form us, sometimes in wonderful ways and sometimes in ways we need to question later in life. Our friendships form us. Our workplaces form us, with their expectations and pressures. Our experiences of success and disappointment form us. The things people say about us can find their way inside us and shape how we see ourselves.
The news we watch forms us. The political voices we listen to form us. And, increasingly, the technology we use is designed to form us. Companies use algorithms to learn what captures our attention: what makes us stop, what makes us click, what makes us anxious, what makes us angry. They then feed us more of it. We might think that the screen is simply showing us what we are interested in, but over time it can also begin to influence what we desire, what we fear, what we believe and how we see the world.
There is a line often attributed to Carl Jung: “The world will ask you who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you.”
There is no shortage of people, pressures and voices willing to tell us who we should be and what shape our lives should take. And so the subtitle of today’s sermon is a deceptively simple question: “What’s forming you?”
Not, “Are you being formed?” because all of us are. The deeper question is: What is forming us—and into what kind of people are we being formed?
Of course, as people of faith, we also believe that God is at work forming us. Isn’t that at the heart of discipleship? We are invited to follow Jesus and, as we do, to be shaped more and more by the life, character and love of Jesus.
But I think we need to make an important distinction here. God is not simply one more voice competing with advertisers, political parties and social expectations to impose a shape upon us.
God does not form us to manipulate us, control us or diminish us. God’s desire is to draw us more deeply into the people we were created to become—people who are alive in Christ, secure in love, open to the Spirit and increasingly able to love God and love others.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 12: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Paul does not say that we can escape every influence around us, or that everything in our culture is wrong. But he does invite us to become more conscious of the patterns into which we are being shaped, and to open ourselves to the transforming work of God.
And I want to acknowledge that this is not easy.
Many of us feel that the pressures have become relentless. There are pressures to perform, pressures to succeed, pressures to keep up, pressures to choose a side, pressures to appear certain even when we are not. We are surrounded by messages telling us that we are not doing enough, achieving enough, owning enough or becoming enough.
And that is why one line from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 has stayed with me as we have moved through this series. Paul prays: “I pray that, according to the riches of God’s glory, you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
Paul prays that we might be strengthened in our inner being.
He is not praying that we will become tougher, louder or more forceful. He is praying that, at the centre of who we are, we will have a deep assurance that we are known, loved and held by God.
When that conviction takes root within us, it gives us a steadiness that the voices around us cannot easily take away. We do not have to react immediately to every pressure placed upon us. We can pause and discern. We can listen without automatically conforming. We can consider what others say without allowing every opinion, criticism or expectation to determine who we are.
And according to Paul, this inner strength is not something we manufacture by ourselves. It is a gift of God’s Spirit, as Christ dwells within us and our lives become rooted and grounded in love.
A tree does not survive strong winds by fighting the wind or pretending it is not there. It survives because its roots reach deeply into the soil. Paul’s prayer is that we will be so deeply rooted in the love of Christ that the pressures around us do not get the final say about who we are becoming.
Over the past few weeks, we have been exploring the idea of sacred texts: passages from the Bible that speak into our lives and somehow stay with us. Words that we return to, carry with us, wrestle with and pray through. Words that remind us of who God is, who we are, and what kind of life we are being invited to live.
God can and does speak to us through Scripture, but simply reading a verse does not make every difficulty disappear. Sacred texts are not slogans that protect us from every hard question. In fact, sometimes they unsettle us. Sometimes they challenge the shape our lives have taken. Sometimes they confront us with truths we would rather avoid. But these words can also become places where God meets us.
As we return to them, they begin to live within us. They help the life and love of Christ take deeper root within us.
This is part of the reason we have invited people throughout this series to think about their own sacred texts. It is not simply an interesting exercise in choosing a favourite Bible verse. It is an invitation to notice which words of Scripture God has used—or may be beginning to use—to shape and strengthen our inner being.
Rather than only speaking about this in the abstract, I have invited Wayne to share with us this morning. One of the sacred texts Wayne has carried through his life is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
I have asked Wayne to share something of how God has spoken to him through those words, how they have shaped his approach to life and faith, and why he believes they may also be important words for us as a church community.
Wayne…
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:11
Well, this is my sacred text, and it’s one that, in many ways, I hope defines the way you might see me and the way I live.
These words remind us that faith is not meant to be lived alone. We face moments when we feel discouraged, uncertain, tired or overwhelmed. At these times, a kind word, a listening ear, or a brief text or phone call that reminds us genuinely that someone cares can make an enormous difference.
To encourage someone is more than just offering a quick compliment, which can sometimes be shallow. It’s really about noticing when someone needs support and being willing to walk alongside them. We can strengthen others by reminding them of God’s faithfulness, praying with them, or simply being present in times of need.
Encouragement is something we can offer every day. Gene Getz, an American theologian and author whom some of you may remember, wrote *Encouraging One Another* as part of a series back in 1981.
Dare I remember that far back? It was around that time that we studied one of those books in a home group, and I remember it really well. We looked at this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5 and what it means to encourage and build one another up. It is like building a building from the ground up on a firm foundation—the firm foundation of Christ. Kind words of encouragement supported the Thessalonians in their day as they sought to support each other.
Our pressures today are different, but they are also the same. We simply have more tools today that can just as easily break us down as build us up. We are inundated with media and social media that are often so negative. Sometimes, in the social media we read, it seems that people are trying to break each other down.
We read about the tragic consequences of that. However, we should be able to use social media positively—to be thoughtful and build one another up. We have that opportunity.
As some of you may know—and some of you here may also be members—there is a social media group called Lifetime Gold Frequent Flyer, which is attached to an airline.
What is interesting is that the administrators of that group want people to share positive experiences of travel. If anyone tries to get on there and bag or break down the airline, they are quickly removed. I think that is quite refreshing. It’s positive.
Now, pastoral care is so much about kindness, and doing little things for one another can help build each other up, as the early church did.
It’s why I like to serve, and it’s why I love the bus trips as well. I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when we go somewhere interesting. They can look forward to it, and then it gives them something to talk about after we have done the trip. It is so much about kindness and the things we can do to build one another up.
And a shout-out to our music team—to Kobie, Steve, Heather, Bill, Margie and Johannes. Thank you for leading us this morning and building us up. We have really enjoyed that.
Thank you, Claire, for your welcome at the front door, and thank you to the tech team quietly going about their business up there so that we can hear. To Peter, Mike and Chris, thank you for enabling us to come together like this and hear everything that is going on.
And to those watching the livestream—hello, Janet, and all the others watching. Through today’s technology, you can be part of us as we build each other up.
Thanks also for the morning tea. I think it’s Roger and Eileen, but it might be someone different because I don’t see you! But yes—morning tea. Delicious. I just sneaked one.
But it’s not only about the morning tea. It is about the environment it creates, where we can be together, talk together and share. We can build one another up.
So Paul’s challenge to us is to consider the example we set. Are our words building people up or breaking them down? Do our words encourage people and help them feel stronger in their faith? Is the way we treat them positive?
We set examples for our friends, families and work colleagues through the Christian values by which we live—values expressed in deeds and not only in words.
I hope that we all choose to be people who encourage, support and strengthen one another through our words and actions. In doing so, are we helping to create a community that builds one another up upon the firm foundation that is Christ Jesus?
Thank you, Wayne. What I hear in that is that this verse has not simply been something you have remembered; over time, it has helped shape the way you have approached your faith, your relationships and your place within the church.
And perhaps that is when a passage of Scripture truly becomes sacred to us—not merely when we know the words, but when those words begin to live within us and shape the way we live.
Sacred texts can become companions—words that travel with us through the different seasons of life. Have you ever had the experience of the same Bible verse speaking to you in different ways at different times? A passage that challenged us at one point may encourage us at another. Words that once seemed fairly ordinary can suddenly take on new depth because of something we are experiencing.
But Wayne’s sacred text also reminds us of something important: these companions are not given to us only for our own private strength. “Encourage one another and build each other up.” God strengthens our inner being, but very often God does that through the people around us.
Sometimes another person reminds us of what is true when we are struggling to remember it ourselves. Sometimes it is the gift of someone listening without trying to fix things. At other times, it is someone speaking a word of encouragement at precisely the right moment.
And encouragement is not simply telling people that everything they do is wonderful. At its heart, encouragement is about giving courage — to help someone keep going, try again, face something difficult, or take the next faithful step.
Sometimes building one another up includes comfort and reassurance; sometimes it includes an honest question or a loving challenge.
This is one of the reasons Christian community matters. We can read the Bible by ourselves, pray by ourselves and reflect by ourselves—and all of those things are valuable. But there are things we will only discover when we listen to Scripture with other people. Someone else notices something we have missed. Their experience gives a passage a depth we have never seen before. Their questions unsettle an assumption we have carried for years. Their faith holds us when our own faith feels fragile.
That can happen within our 9am community. It happens as we gather for worship, hear Scripture, sing and pray together. It happens when someone shares something honestly, when different generations listen to one another, and when a conversation after the service becomes more than simply, “How was your week?” Every time we listen, encourage, include, pray for or make space for another person, we are helping to shape the kind of community we are becoming.
And this is also part of the hope behind our Circles. Circles are not simply another church program or another meeting to fit into an already busy week. They are an attempt to create smaller spaces where we have time to listen to one another, explore Scripture, ask genuine questions, share something of our lives and offer encouragement and prayer.
None of that requires us to have all the answers or to be experts in the Bible. It asks us to turn up, to listen, to be honest where we can, and to become people who help one another remain rooted and grounded in love.
Because a church community is always forming its people. The way we speak to one another forms us. The stories we celebrate form us. The questions we make room for form us. The people we notice, include and listen to form us.
So the question is not only, “What kind of people is our church forming?” It is also, “What kind of church are we forming together?” Are we becoming a community in which people are pressured to fit a particular shape, or a community in which each of us is helped to become more deeply rooted in the love of Christ?
We began this morning with water taking the shape of whatever was holding it. And the truth is that when we leave this place, all those pressures and voices will still be there. They will continue to compete for our attention and try to tell us who we should be.
Paul does not pray that we will somehow escape all of that. He prays for something deeper: that through God’s Spirit we will be strengthened in our inner being; that Christ will dwell within us; and that our lives will become rooted and grounded in love.
Sacred texts can be part of that strengthening. They can become words we carry—companions that remind us who God is, who we are, and the kind of people we are called to become.
Perhaps you already know the text you carry. Perhaps one has emerged for you during this series. Or perhaps your invitation is simply to begin noticing: Which words of Scripture keep drawing you back? Which words speak courage, challenge or hope into your life? Which words might God be inviting you to return to until they begin to take deeper root within you?
And we do not carry these words only for ourselves. Wayne’s text calls us to “encourage one another and build each other up.”
Sometimes we are strengthened by the faith of another person. Sometimes we are the person called to hold hope for someone else, to remind them that they are loved, to listen, to pray, or to speak the word of courage they need to hear.
So, as we finish this series, I want to leave us with two questions.
What text will you carry?
And whose life will you help strengthen?
May God strengthen us through the Spirit in our inner being. May Christ dwell deeply within us. And may we become a community rooted and grounded in love, encouraging one another and building each other up.
Amen.