Sermons from First Evangelical Free Church in Sioux City, IA

2:11-12 What we were. Prior to Jesus, Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) were ridiculed and thought to have no hope for salvation. But that wasn’t God’s plan! Instead, His work was to bless all people through the Jews: most directly, through Jesus Christ!

2:13-18 What we are. Because of Christ’s work, not only can we have salvation because of a right relationship with God, but we also can enjoy the unity that the gospel produces: no longer would the world be divided between Jews and Gentiles. Each is succeeded by one new people of God, unified in their worship of Him.

2:19-22 What we are becoming. This radical change means that Christ’s church is a part of what He has planned since before there was time: God’s truth, Old and New Testament, has Jesus Christ as its cornerstone, and the people that result are Christ’s church, indwelt by God Himself.

The Point: The gospel changes everything both individually and corporately so that Jesus Christ would be glorified in us.

Prayer: Lord, so often our picture of Your work is too small. Too individual. Or too abstract. Thank you for changing us and calling us to be Christ’s church. Work in us that our unity and love would reflect our Savior to a world who needs the hope that only He can provide – and does provide!

Application: Spend time marveling at – and worshipping the Lord for – a gospel that is even bigger than we think! Good news for all the world that changes everyone and everything!

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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2:8-9 Saved by God’s grace. Paul makes clear that our salvation is – from start to finish – entirely by God’s grace, received through faith. We contribute nothing; He accomplishes everything. Our salvation is not something we ever earn or deserve, but is a gift, given to us by our loving God. We dare not boast. Instead, we dare to respond with worship and by living as testimonies to our wonderful Savior.

2:10 Saved for God’s purpose. This means that our salvation isn’t simply a self-improvement project for our own sake, as if Christians can now do whatever they want. No, we have far more value than that: our salvation has a purpose, a goal. We are to walk in the works that God has provided for us, that which He planned from before there was time!

The Point: Works do not save – only God does! Works, instead, are how we now respond to God saving us; they are a part of our worship.

Prayer: Father, we are so tempted to think that our own efforts are part of our salvation. When we think that way, we miss Your amazing grace and we get both You and the gospel wrong. Instead, help us to receive Your grace fully and joyfully, and then to see our works as part of Your gracious and perfect calling for our lives.

Application: When is the last time you thanked the Lord for saving you? How should your thoughts, actions, attitudes, and goals reflect the salvation that you have been gifted?

2:1-3 From death… Paul describes us as we were without Jesus: dead. Not just sick or needing a bit of help, but dead. We had given in to the ways of the sinful world, we were followers of the devil in our rebellion, and we repeatedly chose our own sinful passions over anything faithful, true, or good. This is what total depravity looks like: everything tainted by our sin, by our fallenness. And we had no way to rescue ourselves.

2:4-7 …to life! But here’s the great news: God rescued us! Through no merit of our own, without deserving it even a little bit, the Lord shows His love for us by giving us mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. Our salvation – and our new life – is wrapped up in Him. His resurrection is ours, His eternal life is ours, too! In Jesus, we have life, now and forevermore.

The Point: Only by recognizing how dead we were can we truly enjoy and respond to the life we now have in Christ.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for saving us! Thank you even for this picture of how hopeless we were – it’s your love that shows us how much we need Jesus, just as it’s your love that brings us from death to life through the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior and King. Give us joy in what Christ has done!

Application: Do you trust Jesus Christ to give you life? He is our only hope – not ourselves, not anything we can do. Do you agree with Jesus that you need a Rescuer, a Savior, and that He is the One who has done all the work for you?

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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1:15-17 Why Paul praises. What an encouragement that we have Paul’s prayer recorded for us: he praises God for His work in the Ephesians to make them both faithful in the Lord and also loving toward one another.

1:18-19 What Paul prays for. Because of the Lord’s work in the Ephesians, Paul prays that they would gain a deeper and wider understanding of all that they already have in Jesus: He has already done the work; they (and we!) get the opportunity to more fully realize what all it means to be saved in Jesus and to have life in Him.

1:20-23 Christ over all. Christ’s work is a blessing rooted in eternity past, and it’s what we will enjoy forever. Yet, it’s also what we have right now, in this life – and we need it! Christ’s rule and authority are our blessing and guarantee that He will see us safely from this day through to our heavenly home.

The Point: In Christ, we are more blessed that we realize.

Prayer: Lord, give us a deeper understanding, and a more joyful response to, all that You have planned and will accomplish and are – right now – at work to bring about in Your church. Give us encouragement by seeing the bigger picture of Your grace given to us and working in us.

Application: In this case, simply knowing is how we respond. Know and believe and cherish the Lord who cares for His church past, present, and future. Trust Him all the more and rejoice in Him that His plans are for our blessing forever!

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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1:11-12 We have an inheritance. In Christ, we have been predestined to obtain an inheritance. All our blessing is found in Jesus and He is everything that we need. God’s plan is being accomplished through Jesus to take people who are sinful yet chosen and to turn them into living examples and testimonies to God’s glory.

1:13-14 We have the Spirit. What is our proof of such a blessing, of such an inheritance? It is the Holy Spirit – the downpayment, the promise, that all of God’s plans not only are true, but also that they will hold and never fail. Everyone who hears of Jesus and responds to Him in genuine belief has the promised Holy Spirit.

The Point: When we realize, embrace, and rehearse the fact that all our blessings are in and by Jesus (and only found in Jesus!), then we respond with the praise that God deserves and that we were made to give. God is glorified in us as we take joy in Him.

Prayer: Father, transform our thinking and our desires so that we would realize the amazing inheritance that we have been given in Christ. Have that eternal blessing drive us toward faithful praise and worship in this life so that all around us would see – and by grace, respond to – your glory.

Application: Keep your eyes fixed upon your Savior: keep praising Him, trusting Him, and waiting for your inheritance in Him. Jesus is where all our blessing and purpose are found.

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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1:1-2 Grace and peace. Paul’s letter begins with a theme that will unfold throughout the coming chapters: God’s grace and peace for His people.

1:3-6 Past blessing. The Lord’s sovereign decisions, His predestining of us, is not something to fear or to see as restrictive. Instead, it is His blessing! It is because He chose us that we enjoy Christ today. It is because He chose us that we have purpose and meaning for our identity.

1:7-10 Present blessing. The blessings of the Lord matter every bit as much today: God gives to us all the grace we could need and tells us of what is amazingly true: we are a part of what Jesus will do to unite all things in Himself!

The Point: God’s love for His people didn’t just start the day that you or I trusted Him. Instead, Paul writes that God has loved us since before the foundation of the world, and that love led to Him choosing us, bringing us to salvation in Jesus, so that we would live in the joy of Christ now and forever.

Prayer: Lord, what an amazing reality – that we have been blessed, just as we are right now blessed, in Jesus! Thank you for your sovereign grace, for choosing us, for loving us. Thank you that, right now, your care is for us and your promises sustain us as we await the return of our King!

Application: Believe and respond in worship to the God who is described in these verses. Not the God re-defined by critics or skeptics. Trust the living God and enjoy His blessing.

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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2:1-3 In those days. Luke tells us the historical details of the setting for Christ’s birth: Caesar had ordered a tax census that required folks to go to their hometowns in order to register.

2:4-5 In David’s line. Yet, Caesar is not the center of this story! Instead, we rapidly switch to Joseph and Mary who were heading to Bethlehem. Why? Because Joseph was of the line of David. Luke reminds us that Mary was with child (1:26-38), which is crucial to the story.

2:6-7 In a manger. While in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus in the humblest of circumstances. The prophesied Messiah has come – but not in earthly power or wealth!

The Point: God’s promised Messiah came exactly as He had said, and in a way that uniquely displays both God’s sovereignty and Christ’s humility.

Prayer: Lord – we usually give our attention to whatever seems most flashy, loudest, or most lavish. What a challenge to us that our Savior was brought into this world through very “ordinary” circumstances, each a miracle worked by you! Teach us to trust you in all things and to believe that your will and plans are perfect and for the joy of your people forever.

Application: trust the Lord who is in charge of all things, large and small – from government decrees to genealogies! Believe and share with others how this wonder-working God has done the miracle of saving us from our sins, and that all came into focus with the life of Jesus, starting here with His birth.

Here is how I will apply these truths: ___________________

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