280 likes | 421 Views
Part of Something Bigger than Me- Eph 4:4-16. Theme Passage. Eph 1 3 Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 1) Live it Out: God’s Presence Surrounds Me- Eph 4:4-6.
E N D
Theme Passage Eph1 3 Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
1) Live it Out: God’s Presence Surrounds Me- Eph 4:4-6 4 There is one body & one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
1) Live it Out: God’s Presence Surrounds Me- Eph 4:4-6 6 one God & Father of all, who is above all, & through all, & in you all.
There is no church apart from the presence of God. We do not invoke or “work up” His presence - we do however have to acknowledge His presence.
Col 1 16 … All things were created through Him & for Him. 17 And He is before all things, & in Him all things consist.
Col 1 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
1) Live it Out: God’s Presence Surrounds Me- Eph 4:4-6 Do I live in and live out God’s presence or just attend church?
2) Live it Out: A Role for Me- Eph 4:7, 11 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, & gave gifts to men."…
2) Live it Out: A Role for Me- Eph 4:7, 11 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers,
I Cor 12 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
“God did not save spectators, but participators in His Kingdom”
2) Live it Out: A Role for Me- Eph 4:7, 11 Do I know my role in the Kingdom… am I living it out?
3) Live it Out: A Purpose Driving Me- Eph 4:12 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
The consumer mentality says that the church is here for me, Christ followers understand that they are here for others.
Rom 14 19 So then, we must pursue what promotes peace & what builds up one another. HCSB
3) Live it Out: A Purpose Driving Me- Eph 4:12 Am I living out my faith to build my fellow believers or am I just trying to make myself content?
4) Live it Out: A Goal Before Me-Eph 4:13, 15-16 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; …
4) Live it Out: A Goal Before Me-Eph 4:13, 15-16 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
4) Live it Out: A Goal Before Me-Eph 4:13, 15-16 16 from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The goal of living out our faith is not to be a decent church member, but a working, serving, growing, profitable part God’s Kingdom.
The activities of our life should drive us toward the goals: to contribute to others, as well as ourselves, growing in Christ-likeness and spreading the light of Christ into a dark world.
“Our bar is set too low. Church attendance, Bible knowledge and listening to messages about God are not a high enough standard for followers of Jesus (Matt 25).”
4) Live it Out: A Goal Before Me-Eph 4:13, 15-16 What is my goal in living out my faith?