Welcome
In prayer we come face to face with our need, and face to face with God’s sufficiency.
We wake up to our shortcomings and his boundless grace.
We taste and see that He is good and He does good.
Hallelujah, amen.
Praying,
AB
REVIVE US AGAIN
Call to worship:
To all who are weary and need rest
To all who mourn and long for comfort
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares
To all who fail and desire strength
To all who sin and need a Savior
This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of
His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the
Friend of sinners, welcome.
GREAT ARE YOU LORD
PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY-GOOD GOOD FATHER
Sermon: Ephesians 2:18-22
There is a passage in Isaiah, where God, speaking of His people, Israel says, ‘This people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.’ I am struck every time I read that passage, every time I think of that passage how easy it is to do the right things, to think the right things, to say the right things, to behave in the right way, all the while having a heart that is far from God. Having a heart that is hardened and calloused toward God. If you and I are to display the invisible power of the Gospel to a watching world, that will never occur when we simply do or say or act the right way. We must be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit to look more like Christ, the One who has welcomed us to God the Father. We’re going to sing a song now that is a reminder of the new identity that we have in and through Christ. And what I hope this does for you, and for me is fuel in us a desire to walk in a manner worthy of the call of God. Walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel.
Who You Say I Am
If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, every word that we just sung is true of You. Not because you have earned it, deserved it, or accomplished anything, but simply because God is kind, gracious and merciful to give you a new identity in and through Christ. We’re going to read responsively a passage of Scripture that we have referenced throughout our morning, a passage that reminds us who we were, who we are, and Who God has always been.
Responsive Reading:
LEADER:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you
once walked, following the course of this world,
following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is
now at work in the sons of disobedience—
ALL:
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with
which he loved us, even when we were dead in our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—
LEADER:
by grace you have been saved—
ALL:
and raised us up with him and seated us with Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
LEADER:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of
works, so that no one may boast.
ALL:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Raise Up The Crown (All Hail The Power)