Remembrance | Pastor Daniel Collins | September 27th, 2026
Pastor Daniel
September 26th and September 27th
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22
“One of the great battles of the spiritual life involves remembering. In fact, ‘remember’ is among the most frequent biblical commands, second only to ‘fear not.’ Fears, threats, competing affections, and distractions all conspire to make us forget, to lose the plot of our own redemption stories, forgetting even the most recent revelations of God’s nearness to us. Forgetting the God who holds us together, the many competing voices of this world pick us apart like vultures over their prey, leaving us pulled apart and picked over.”
Tyler Staton [from After Amen]
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
Ephesians 2:19
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinarand settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:1-4
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…”
Genesis 1:28a
“The greatest love of the heavenly city is the love of God, and the greatest love of the earthly city is the love of self.”
St. Augustine [from The City of God]
Genesis Pattern: Grace. Rebellion. Divine Judgement. New Grace.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1-3
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Ephesians 2:20
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:21-22
A visible witness of reconciliation to the world.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Together, we are to be visible witness who are both faithful and disruptive.
A Faithful Witness
Faithful in belief.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42
Faithful in behavior.
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-Control.
Faithful in practice.
Scripture & Prayer.
Worship & Community.
Fasting & Simplicity.
Silence & Solitude.
Self-Examination & Reflection.
Confession & Accountability.
Peacemaking & Reconciliation.
Service & Generosity.
Justice & Care for the Poor.
Sabbath & Celebration.
A Disruptive Witness
“We need a method of living in light of the gospel that unsettles people from their stupor. They way we communicate our faith must puncture the buzz of modern life.”
Alan Noble [from Disruptive Witness]
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.”
Eugene Peter [from The Message]
“I wonder if anything is more urgent today, for the honor of Christ and the spread of the gospel, that that the church should be, and should be seen to be, what by God’s purpose and Christ’s achievement it already is: a single new humanity, a model of human community, a family of reconciled brothers and sisters who love their Father and love each other, the evident dwelling pace of God by His Spirit. Only then will the world believe in Christ as Peacemaker. Only then will God receive the glory due to His name.”
John Stott [from The Message of Ephesians]