grace given to each one of us

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12597 Ephesians 4:1-16.  Jesus made all believers one. We have the unity of the Spirit, and are called to one destiny. Walking in a manner worthy of that calling requires:

  1. Keeping the peace by bearing with one another: accepting our differences and the various levels of Christian maturity that exist within the fellowship (2-3).
  2. Keeping active in the ministry that each one of us was given by God’s grace: by utilizing our individual spiritual gifts (7).
  3. Keeping equipped for this ministry by growing into mature Christians under the leadership of equipping ministers (11-13).  These have been given gifts that enable the whole body to function according to the commands of the head, Jesus Christ.

LORD, we have lost our unity in you. Forgive us for failing to keep the peace, for failing to do ministry by the grace you gave each one of us, and for failing to listen to your word through your equipping ministers.

Posted in church, divisions, grace, Holy Spirit, ministry, spiritual gifts | Tagged | Leave a comment

the stewardship of God’s grace

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12596 Ephesians 3.  Preaching to the Gentile Ephesians the gospel of God’s grace was a great privilege for Paul. He gladly accepted the dishonor of being imprisoned and mistreated for that cause. He considered the work a gift of God’s grace (2, 7, 8). His challenge was to reveal to the Gentiles the fact that God had opened his door of grace to them through Christ. He described that fact in various ways:

  1. All believers are fellow heirs: we have the same inheritance — the same hope (6).
  2. All believers are members of the same body: the body of Christ — the church (6).
  3. All believers are partakers of the same promise: the promise made to Christ (6).
  4. All believers have the same purpose: to reveal to the angelic beings (and all others) the wisdom of heir creator (10).
  5. All believers can know the love of Christ in heir hearts and be filled with all the fullness of God (17-19).
  6. All believers have access to he same power – power to do more than we can imagine, and that power is from the Holy Spirit inside us (16,20).

LORD,  may we endure what we have to endure for the honor of sharing your gospel, because being stewards of your grace is worth any sacrifice.

Posted in church, commitment, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, ministry, perseverance, suffering | Tagged | 1 Comment

but God’s grace

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12595 Ephesians 2.  We were lost, but God’s grace has saved us!

  1. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God’s grace has made us alive together with Christ (1-5).
  2. We were incapable of bringing glory to God, but God’s grace has seated us at his side in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that now we are his workmanship, walking in good works (6-10).
  3. We Gentiles were separated, alienated, with no hope and without God in the world, but now God’s grace has brought us near by the blood of Christ (11-13).
  4. The law of commandments had created a dividing wall of hostility, but God’s grace has created one new man, reconciling both Jew and Gentile to himself in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (14-16).
  5. We were strangers and aliens to the Father, but God’s grace has come and preached peace to those who were far off, and peace to those who were near. We are now fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s family, having access in one Spirit to the Father (17-19).
  6. We were a dwelling place for Satan and all of his foul spirits and false gods. Now God’s grace has built us into the structure of his holy temple in the Lord. We are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (20-22).

LORD, we thank you for saving us by your grace.

Posted in adoption, dependence upon God, grace, relationship with God, the cross | Tagged | Leave a comment

to the praise of his glorious grace

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Ephesus_Selcuk_2Ephesians 1.  The hope of a slave, living in Ephesus in the first century was that he might somehow win his redemption and become part of the great and powerful society in which he was a mere servant. A significant portion of the great city consisted of slaves. The churches of Ephesus probably contained many slaves. Paul used this hope as a metaphor to talk about the hope to which all believers are destined. We are destined to display the praise of God’s glorious grace (6).  Our future consists of:

  1. holiness (4)
  2. sonship (5)
  3. bringing praise to God (6,12,14)
  4. unity in Christ (10)

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is that they would be given insight into the power of God at work in their lives right now. Just as Christ is now exalted in the heavens as head over all things, so the church is exalted because we are his body, his fullness (16-23).

LORD, it is so easy to get caught up in the dismal world of what we are not. Reveal to us the glorious hope that we have in Christ, our inheritance. And may the destiny that we have in Christ inspire us to live as your sons today.

Posted in adoption, church, future, grace, holiness, praise, unity | Tagged | 2 Comments

boasting in the cross

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12594 Galatians 6.  Paul was motivated by what Christ did for the Galatians on the cross. He said “far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (14). Paul had not preached to the Galatians because he wanted to change them, he preached to the Galatians because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. The Gospel is not about how good we can become. It is about how good God is. God’s goodness sent his only begotten Son to the cross to die in our place. God’s goodness and grace as seen on the cross of Calvary leads not to our glorifying ourselves, but to glorifying Christ.

LORD, may we only boast in who you are and what you did for us.

go to sermon

another sermon

Posted in grace, humility, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

resurrection or restoration?

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12593Isaiah 26-27.  Is Isaiah promising resurrection here, or merely the restoration of Israel?  He uses language of physical resurrection: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead” (26:19). But then he seems to be predicting that the exiles will return to the land (27:13).  In chapter 26, Isaiah speaks of the former lords who ruled over Israel (like the Egyptians and Assyrians). These are dead, have been destroyed, and all memory of them has been wiped out (14).  But Israel remains.  Israel has reason to hope. That hope is not a choice between resurrection  and restoration, but a combination of the two. God will not forget his nation, nor will he forget a single believer within it.

LORD, we trust in you for a resurrection from among the dead.

Posted in confidence, resurrection, sleep of death | Tagged , | Leave a comment

not silent

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12592 Psalm 115.  God is there, and he is not silent, even though Israel’s enemies see him as non-existent because he is not represented by an idol.  By making some noise — blessing and praising the LORD we can show that he is the sovereign of the heavens. This psalm encourages Israel to stop acting like dead people — who are asleep in silence awaiting resurrection day (17).  Idol worshippers create gods who (like the dead) can make no noise (5, 7) and the idolaters eventually die and become silent like their idols (8).

LORD, today we resolve to make some noise — to show that we serve a God who is not silent, and cannot be silenced.

Posted in sleep of death, sovereignty of God, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

being led by the Spirit

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Galatians 5:16-26.  Paul tells the Galatians to walk by the Spirit. That means letting the Holy Spirit be the controlling power in their motivations, and the deciding influence in their actions. That is being led by the Spirit (18), which is passive.

It being passive makes it harder for us because it involves letting the Holy Spirit take control and do what God wants to do in our lives, not what we want to do, and it means doing what God wants to do in his way, not our way.
But that is the only way we are going to produce the Spirit’s fruit, instead of our own fruit. Jesus said “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). He also said “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5 ).
That reinforces the idea that Paul is getting across to the Galatians. Fruit bearing is passive: God wants to grow the fruit on us.

LORD, we submit to your process. Grow your fruit on us.

go to sermon

Posted in commitment, grace, Holy Spirit, sanctification, will of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

the gospel for the free

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

Galatians 5:  1-15.  What does standing in freedom look like? Paul had told the Corinthians “faith, hope, and love abide” (1 Corinthians 13:13). To abide is to remain, to stand firm. A person who is trusting in God and not himself for his salvation is going to manifest these three character traits.
We see that here in Galatians 5. Instead of by works the believer is to live by faith (5), he will produce works, but that will be faith working (6).
Instead of despairing because he cannot do it all himself, the believer eagerly waits for the hope of righteousness (5).
Instead of biting and devouring others, the believer serves others through love (13). Love is his means of demonstrating his faith (6). And love actually helps him do what his slave counterpart cannot do: fulfill the law (14).

LORD, we confess to you that – all too often we have tried to live the Christian life on our own terms, to fulfill the law the best way we know how. We know that is wrong. Only one person could fulfill your law.
But we also know that he did. By his sinless life and sacrificial death Christ bought our freedom. We are free! We ask you today to help us to stand firm in that freedom. Help us not to get entangled in any kind of bondage. Enable us to live by faith, to wait eagerly for our hope, and to manifest our faith by serving one another through love. In Jesus’ name. Amen

go to sermon

Posted in dependence upon God, faith, Jesus Christ, works | Tagged | Leave a comment

we have waited

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12591 Isaiah 25.  We have waited for the LORD to save us by subduing the oppressor (1-5,10-12).  We have waited for the feast which all peoples will enjoy on Mt. Zion (6). We have waited for the day when the veil of death is swallowed up for all nations (7-8a). We have waited for the LORD to eliminate sorrow and shame (8b). We have waited for the day of rejoicing and gladness when we can say “this is our God, we have waited for him” (9).

LORD, thank you for being the stronghold and shelter in which we can wait for your deliverance. Grant us perseverance as we wait for your ultimate answer to our prayers.

Posted in deliverance, perseverance, resurrection, second coming, vindication | Tagged | Leave a comment