Ephesians 1:1-3

Michael McIlwain

Central Baptist Church

Liberty, TX

1-20-21

Today we explored the topic of Functioning as the Body of Christ: The Four Spaces of Belonging. We are continuing to dig deep into what it means to equip the church for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Our world is filled with distrust, hate, and fear. There is a remedy for this. It is the love of God lived out daily by God's people. the church. We look at 1 John 4:7-8; 18-19 and explore how to demonstrate such love.

Cecily McIlwain joins me for an interview where we discuss Spiritual Growth through Community. No person is an island. We need each other.

God has given gifts to His church to help the body of Christ function in a healthy manner as she endeavors to advance His glorious kingdom. However, more important than the gifts are the people that He gives to the church. Ephesians 4:11 describes 5 categories of people that God has given to His church. Each church needs these in order to function properly.

God is aware of what is wrong in the world and has provided a remedy. Isaiah 59:14-21

John 3:16 is a powerful Advent and Christmas scripture. God's love is revealed to us in Him sending His Son to live as a human, understand our pain and suffering by personal experience, die on the cross to pay the penalty our sin deserved, and then rise again to give us new life.

Today we look at Isaiah 40:3-5 and seek to learn how we can prepare ourselves and the world in which we live for the coming of the Lord.

1. We must prepare ourselves to receive Christ and His gospel (v.3)

2. We must have our hearts leveled by divine grace. (v.4)

3. A prepared people will see the glory of God. (v.5)

Today we light the Hope candle and rejoice that Christ has come to expel the deep darkness from our midst. We also rejoice that He will come again to permanently eradicate the darkness and bring out His glorious rule and reign of righteousness, peace, and joy. Today's passage is from Isaiah 9:2, 6-7.

2020 has been a tough year, but there are many reasons we can praise God. Today we will look at three reasons as we explore Revelation 19:1-9.