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

It would be hard to overstate the significance of the Jerusalem’s temple in the mind and life of a first century Israelite like Paul.

The gospel authors record the awe Jesus’s disciples felt when they encountered the temple. But even more impressive that the great architecture was that in Paul and the Apostles' thinking, the Temple was the centre of the cosmos.

It was THE place that heaven and Earth overlapped; the hotspot of God’s presence.

But Jesus saw the corruption of Israel's leadership behind those massive stones and the magnificent buildings. The week before he was arrested Jesus went into Jerusalem, right into the Temple courts, and openly accused the priests and the leaders of Israel of corruption.

Messing with the temple system is dangerous business.

At Jesus' trial one of the false accusations used against him was that he claimed he would destroy the physical Temple and rebuild it in three days.

But Jesus’s claim was that he was the new Temple. In him, God’s presence and rule had come into the world in a new way. Now, Jesus is the place where Heaven and Earth overlap - not the physical Temple building. Jesus was referring to his own body, that would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days when he rose to new life.

After his death and resurrection, Jesus said that God’s presence would come and live in and among his followers. That they would become communities of people where God rests and rules. They would be temples!

And through these communities - these living temples - God’s presence, rest and rule, God’s dwelling with his people, was to fill the whole world. All because of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection.

We, Trinity Vineyard Church, are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Sometimes it's hardly noticeable. Sometimes work seems to leap forward massively in only a few days. But whether we notice it or not, IT IS happening.

Come Holy Spirit of the Living God. We continue to ask to receive Your presence. Build us, your living temple, into a unified space, hosting your presence.

"In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets".
Ephesians 3: 4-5

We’ve titled our new sermon series 'Receive the Holy Spirit' for two reasons. First, because the ability to understand what Paul means when he talks about his new insight requires the gift of the Spirit. Second, because living in response to that reality also takes the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This insight, this new view of reality, is NOT one Paul reached on his own just by being smart. It is NOT a view of reality that is only available to a few with money and influence. It is an insight into the identity of Christ Jesus and it has been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.

Paul wants to share his new view of reality with the Ephesians and with us today as we 'read their mail', but, it can only truly be revealed to us by the Spirit of God.

To have the identity of Jesus revealed to you is a sign that the Spirit of God has descended upon you and has begun work on your imagination. The Spirit has begun to shift your view of reality.

It is that same Holy Spirit who with God the father announced Jesus’s identity, who Paul says is at work revealing Christ to him as an apostle.

And the personal presence of God, His Spirit, is here today.

Still hovering in dark places. Hovering over our imaginations.

Revealing who Jesus is.

Pointing us to the crucified and risen Jesus.

Transforming us and empowering us so we can love God and others.

"Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?"
Jonah 9:11

Many of us didn’t plan to settle in Woolwich — I certainly didn’t. Yet here we are, called to more than just survive. It’s easy to despair when faced with violence, addiction, and poverty in our city. The temptation is to retreat into safe Christian circles. But Jesus calls us to engage, not escape.

God loves this city, just as He loved Nineveh (Jonah 4:11) and instructed the exiled Israelites to seek the peace and prosperity of Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4-7). We are called to do the same in Woolwich.

Rather than consume the city’s resources or critique it from afar, we must ask: How can I bring life here? Jesus says we are the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt preserves and flavours; light reveals and transforms. Our presence and actions should make a tangible difference.

Examples like the Mizens — who responded to their son’s murder with forgiveness and hope — remind us that faith empowers us to bring good out of bad.

Let’s pray, participate, and love our city. Whether through serving, building relationships, or simple daily actions, we are sent here for a purpose. God has entrusted this space to us. Let’s shine brightly.