November 11, 2018
It’s week 10 of Ephesians: As our society continues its trend toward self-centered and superficial worldviews, many have adopted a watered-down view of God that that leads us away from the glory we were made to enjoy. Ephesians shatters this diluted view of God by putting the weight of His glory in our faces in a way that is overwhelming and life-transforming.
Here’s how you can prepare for Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Ephesians 5:1–21.
Continuing where chapeter 4 left off, Paul connects his call to represent Christ in the world to our identity as beloved children of God. Christians are to reflect the sacrificial love that we have seen and experienced in Jesus. This sort of life is to be characterized by purity and thankfulness. The Church is to shine the life-giving light of God’s love into a world that is filled with a darkness that leads people toward shame and destruction. The way to this sort of life is an increasing dependence upon the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. As a Christian increasingly experiences the power of the Holy Spirit, it leads to expressions of thankfulness and a willing deference to one another. All of this is rooted in and empowered by one’s experience of the sacrificial love of Jesus.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Based on Isaiah 60:1–3, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners.
Welcome!
Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)
God Is So Good (You Are Worthy) (Pat Barrett, Daniel Bashta, Ben Smith)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Our Father in heaven, we thank You
that You have led us into the light.
We thank You for sending the Savior to call us from death to life.
We confess that we were dead in sin before we heard His call,
but when we heard Him, like Lazarus, we arose.
But, O Father, the grave clothes bind us still.
Old habits that we cannot throw off,
old customs that are so much a part of our lives
that we are helpless to live the new life that Christ calls us to live.
Give us strength, O Father, to break the bonds;
give us courage to live a new life in You;
give us faith to believe that with Your help we cannot fail.
All this we ask in the name of the Savior
who has taught us to come to You. Amen.
Nothing But The Blood (Robert Lowry, arr. Charlie Hall)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Peter 1:3–5
Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
Christ Is Risen (Mia Fieldes, Matt Maher)
Take My Life And Let It Be (Frances Ridley Havergal, Henri Abraham Cesar Malan, arr. Norton Hall Band)