Sermon Notes - Ephesians 4:1-6 - Building a Foundation, Fellowship - Rising Sun Baptist Church - May 24, 2026

1.       A couple of our foundation pieces require us to be together.

a.       Praying dependently to our God, can be done alone but our desire is that our prayers together be passionate as we call out to our God.

b.       Biblical based teaching, tends to happen when more than one person is in the room.

c.       Christ Centered worship is a way of living life so that when we come together we are truly focused on our Jesus.

d.       Ministry is us carrying out what God had created us to do.

e.       It is done alone, but we can accomplish more together.

f.         Discipleship requires us to pour into each other.

g.        For one person to help another learn what it means to be a Christ Follower.

h.       There needs to be some level of connection.

2.       All of these happen best when we are together.

a.       Which brings us to this week’s foundation piece, Fellowship.

b.       Sometimes Fellowship is translated as communion.

c.       Not the partaking of the bread and fruit of vine that we do quarterly.

d.       Not the Lord’s Supper.

e.       But communion, as in a connection, a sharing of something, a joining together, an agreement with each other.

3.       Fellowship includes hanging out and having a good time, but there is more to it.  

a.       A lot of our fellowship may look like we are simply hanging out to have fun.

b.       Fellowship is not just about having a meal, going to a show, playing games, etc.…

c.       Those things happen amongst Christ followers, because we have things in common.

d.       We support each other.

e.       We encourage each other.

f.         We enjoy spending time together.

4.       Sometimes there is less stress spending time with like minded people.

5.       Acts 2:42-47

a.       When you hear talk about the New Testament Church this is it.

b.       They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.

c.       We talked about Biblical based teaching and discipleship already.

d.       Prayer is mentioned here.

e.       We started our series on praying dependently on our God.

f.         Then there is the breaking of bread, or fellowship.

6.       In these verses fellowship is seen by:

a.       They devoted themselves to meeting together.

b.       They broke bread from house to house.

c.       They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts.

7.       To put it into a single statement, The early church spent time together.

a.       It included hanging out, but it was more than playing cards or whatever they did back then.

b.       It was also more than the occasional Bible study.

c.       When we look at these verses, they were interacting daily.

d.       They were being the Church regularly.

e.       They were visiting each other.

f.         They were enjoying being a blessing and being blessed by each other.  

8.       That is a key part of our foundation of building a life together.

a.       It is doing life together.

b.       That is more than going to church a time or two each week.

c.       It is about walking along side each other.

d.       In some ways it is hand and hand with discipleship.

e.       Think about how many more discipleship opportunities there are when you spend time walking through life with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

f.         We are more likely to have conversations about the challenges we are facing if we spend time together.

9.       Fellowship is how we connect.

10.  We have a great example of this.

11.  John 17:11

a.       The Father and Son are one.

b.       They are united.

c.       We will never be as close as the Father is to the Son.

d.       But we are to be united.

e.       Walking through life together.

f.         Connected.

g.        Sharing our beliefs, our joy, our pain.

h.       Being aligned with God and each other as we walk through this life.

i.          Ministering to those around us.

j.          Reaching the lost.

12.  We are to be in communion with each other.

13.  Galatians 3:27-28

a.       We are all one in Christ.

b.       Our connectedness through Jesus is greater than our differences.

c.       We look different, we have different backgrounds, and ancestry.

d.       We may dress differently.

e.       We may like different music or different food.

f.         But as Christ followers we are to be united in prayer, studying the Word of God, doing ministry, fellowshipping together, and more.

g.        All of these are to be a part of our lives.

h.       We are one Body.

i.          We are The Church.

j.          United.

k.       Doing life together.

14.  Ephesians Chapter 4 starts with Therefore.

a.       Which means we need to look at what comes before the therefore to understand how they are connected.

b.       In this case it is a prayer that Paul prayed for the Ephesian church.

15.  Let’s read that prayer.

16.  Ephesians 3:14-21

a.       A powerful prayer.

b.       A prayer for each of us to know God.

c.       To depend on Him.

d.       Knowing how amazing He is.

e.       And relying on Him to grow our faith.

17.  Let’s move to the therefore and beyond.

18.  Ephesians 4:1

a.       We are to walk worthy of the calling we have received.

b.       Now this does not have to be a calling to some formal ministry that affects a few.

c.       This is a calling for each one of us.

d.       It is a calling to pursue Jesus in this life.

e.       To pursue righteousness.

f.         To be part of the Church, the Body of Christ.

g.        We are called to live worthy of being a child of God.

h.       Not that we will be perfect.

i.          But that we are walking in that direction.

19.  Think back to the prayer in chapter 3.

a.       We are to walk towards Christ in His strength.

b.       We are to be rooted firmly in Jesus.

c.       Being filled with His fullness.

d.       As we walk worthy in the calling of being a child of God.

20.  Ephesians 4:2-3

a.       Our approach to fellowship with each other is to be with humility, gentleness, and patience.

b.       We are to walk beside each other with humility.

c.       In that we understand that we are dependent on God.

d.       That we realize that none of us are better than the others.

e.       We are not to be aggressive or rude to assert our thoughts, emotions, or control over each other as we gather in fellowship.

f.         We are to have self-control.

g.        Patience in fellowship would be to have restraint in not lashing out if someone hurts us.

h.       If our fellowship is grounded in the teachings found in the Word of God, the chances of us being united in the guiding of the Holy Spirit significantly increase.

i.          Holding on to the peace that is found by our common ground and belief in Jesus.

j.          As we fellowship together, we will have our differences, we will not always agree.

k.       But if we are focusing on Jesus, those differences will be handled with humility, gentleness, and patience.

l.          The differences won’t cause division.

m.    Instead, as it stated in the prayer, we will remember how limitless our God’s love is.

n.       And that love will help us to be united.

o.       To have an impact on the world for our Jesus.

21.  Ephesians 4:4-6

a.       One Body… the Church.

b.       One Spirit… the Holy Spirit, who indwells each of us.

c.       One Hope… that gives us confidence in our future with God.

d.       One Lord… Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.

e.       The One who redeems us.

f.         One Faith… the trust we have in who Jesus is and what He did for us.

g.        One baptism… the believer’s baptism that we do as an outward expression of what has already been done in our hearts.

h.       One God and Father… who is our Father.

i.          Who has made it possible for us to be grafted into the Vine through our faith in Jesus and His saving work on the cross.

j.          This may seem like a lot.

k.       But look back at verse 20 of the prayer.

22.  Ephesians 3:20

a.       If we are seeking to be united as a church family.

b.       United in fellowship.

c.       God can do more than we could ever imagine as He works in us and through us.

23.  Being united in fellowship is a natural part of us being children of God.  

24.  Romans 14:1-4

a.       Whether you are a new Christ follower or a super saint, we are to be united in fellowship.

b.       Ok, there is no such thing as super saints.

c.       But I hope you get my point.

d.       No matter how long we have been living for Jesus, we are to be united in fellowship.

e.       No matter how far we are in our sanctification process, we are to be united in fellowship.

25.  When we think of building our foundation and fellowship being one of those key building blocks.

a.       We need to invite new believers into our established circles.

b.       New church members are to be included.

c.       Those who may be looking for a church home, should be part of our fellowship.

26.  People of all different backgrounds are welcomed into our life of fellowship.

a.       We are to help young believers grow in their faith.

b.       We are to walk with others as they become accustomed to a new community or a new church.

c.       We are to be willing to adapt, while staying true to the Word, if it can help others fellowship with us.

d.       If God has accepted someone.

e.       If they are a believer in Jesus, we are to be united with them.

27.  Fellowship is a key part of us building our lives together.

28.  As a church and as individuals we need to be praying about how we fellowship.

a.       Are we willing to learn from others or are we too set in our ways?

b.       Do we approach our fellowship in humility, gentleness, and patience?

c.       Am I ready to do life with others?

29.  Our prayer today and always should be for God to show us how we are to fellowship.

30.  If you want to join this fellowship of believers, but are not a member of our church.

a.       We would love to have you.

b.       If you are a Christ follower, we have a sheet in the back for our membership class.

c.       I will be working on a modified version for those who are requesting transfers from another SBC church.

d.       But we would love to spend some time getting to know you and helping you determine if this is your new church home.

31.  If you do not know Jesus, that is a critical first step.

a.       At some point in all of our lives, we realize something is missing.

b.       That something is King Jesus.

c.       Scripture tells us that we are all sinners.

d.       We are lost.

e.       Which is why, Jesus came to earth.

f.         Lived a perfect sinless life.

g.        Then as our Savior, He became the perfect sacrifice.

h.       He died on a cross and paid our sin debt.

i.          But that is not where it ends.

j.          On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead.

k.       Granting all who confess their sins and choose to follow Him new life.

l.          A glorious future as children of God.

m.    If you are ready to repent and give your life to Jesus, I invite you to come forward during our final song.

n.       I would love to pray with you.