Read: Ephesians 1:1-2 & Acts 18
Watch: https://bibleproject.com/videos/ephesians/
Welcome to the start of a new school year, the arrival of fall (on its way), and the launch of a new sermon series! We are beginning a journey through the profound words of the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. We’ll take our time with this letter, because we’re in no hurry. Our desire is to drink deeply from the promises of God so they can develop into rivers of living water within us.
This series is titled: Life Together in Christ.
If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are “In Christ.” You are God’s masterpiece! You are His precious poem, priceless painting, or sacred sculpture. You are His favorite, because only the One-True, All-Powerful God can have each of us as His favorite! Remember, He is not done creating you. We must continue to yield and participate with Him as He crafts us. But you are not alone.
Together, we are God’s holy people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation! As we learn to live and love together, we are formed into the Body and the Bride of Christ. We become so much more than we could ever be on our own. Remember, you are a vital piece of God’s puzzle, and together with other crazy-shaped people, you make up this masterpiece!
As we begin this journey, let’s pray this prayer together, adapted from Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT) and put into a plural form for our corporate prayer.
Let’s Pray:
“When we think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, we fall to our knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. We pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give us mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit. And we pray that Christ will be more and more at home in our hearts as we trust in Him. May our roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may we have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May we experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then we will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.”
Discussion questions:
- The prayer from Ephesians 3 asks that our “roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.” What does it practically look like to “put down roots” in God’s love in your daily life?
2. “You are God’s masterpiece! You are His precious poem, priceless painting, or sacred sculpture.”
How has the world’s definition of your worth influenced your perception of yourself, and how can viewing yourself as God’s masterpiece change the way you live, work, and interact with others?
3. We are “not alone” and that together we form “the Body” and “the Bride of Christ.”
What is one specific way you can intentionally connect with or serve another “crazy-shaped person” in our church this week to help build up the Body of Christ?
