Sermon Recap: April 19, 2015

1. As Christians, no matter where we are in our faith, we are called to be good students of God's Word. 

2. All Christians go through two conversions: one away from the world, where we turn from sin, and one back to the world, where we take our new lives into the world and live in light of the gospel. 

3. We are to be imitators of God by mirroring our lives after His truth, His holiness, and His love. 

4. We are not called to be robots, but imitators who gladly obey God as His dearly loved children. 

5. God does not love us randomly or "just because." This is a sacrificial love in which God chooses us in Christ, who gave Himself up for us. 

6. As Christians we are also called to walk in love, following Jesus because He loved us. 

7. There are two areas of sin we must confront in order to walk in the love of Christ and be imitators of God: a) greed and b) sexual immorality. 

8. Paul addresses these issues in Ephesians because sexual immorality and greed have great ability to hinder our witness to the world as imitators of God. 

9. Both of these sins are centered around our own selfish desires, but as imitators of God we seek God's will and walk in Christ's love above our own sinful desires. 

10. The true love of God is corrective of our sin and preventative of pursuing our selfish desires. 

Sermon Recap: April 12, 2015

Ephesians 4:25-32

1. As Christians, we are not forgiven randomly for our sins. We are forgiven because of Jesus Christ. 

2. We are able to forgive and show grace to others when we understand how much we have been forgiven in Christ. 

3. When we envy and become bitter, we are believing that God is better toward other people than He is to us. 

4. Bitterness is about belief long before it is about action. 

5. When we have bitterness, we do not believe in the grace of God and His providence. 

6. Bitterness is a grudging attitude that doesn't desire the best in others. 

7. To be free of bitterness and resentment, we must remember who we are in Christ. 

8. It is impossible to forgive someone to whom you feel superior. 

9. When we refuse to forgive, we are forgetting what we have been given in Christ. 

10. As followers of Christ who are forgiven, we are called to make sure no root of bitterness springs up among fellow believers by showing grace and forgiving others. 

Sermon Recap: March 29, 2015

Ephesians 4

1. Paul is not simply asking the Ephesian Christians to be more moral people. 

2. As followers of Christ, we are called to live distinctly because of our faith, among those who do not believe. 

3. Distinct lives point to a distinct God. 

4. Christians are to live distinctly for the glory of God and for the mission of God. 

5. Every Christian is called to the mission of God, to bring glory to Him and reach other people for Christ. 

6. There is still a moral transformation that happens when someone becomes a Christian, but that is only in response to the grace of God give in Jesus Christ. 

7. Any change in us that causes us to look more like Christ is the result of God's grace, not a work of our own to achieve the grace of God. 

8. We must always ask ourselves, "What about following Jesus makes you different?" in order to continue living convictional lives.

Sermon Recap: March 22, 2015

Ephesians 4:11-16

1. Every Christian is given gifts and abilities by God to grow and contribute to the body of Christ in unity. 

2. We all start as children in the Christian life. 

3. Children eventually and hopefully grow up. In the same way, we as believers are meant to grow in our faith. 

4. Paul writes that Christians are to be steady and consistent in living out their faith, not being tossed around by circumstances or swayed by false teaching. 

5. Growth takes effort. Our knowledge of the gospel should produce an effort in us to grow. 

6. We cannot earn God's forgiveness and favor by our efforts, but we are called to work out our salvation. 

7. God grows His children by the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of Jesus Christ.

8. We must continue to return to the news of the gospel and the truth of God's Word to mature and grow.

9. Conversion to Christianity is not an end, but a beginning for all new believers. 

10. It is never too late to start growing in Christ. 

SERMON RECAP: MARCH 8, 2015 (EPHESIANS - WEEK 10)

Sermon Recap - March 8, 2015 - Ephesians Week 10 - Dean Inserra

1. Paul prays before God for spiritual power and strength for the Ephesians. 

2. Paul acknowledges the Trinity: He prays to God the Father, for hearts to be changed by the Holy Spirit, so that Christ the Messiah may dwell in the hearts of the Ephesians.  

3. God does this work in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, to lead us to faith in Him. 

4. When we don't believe that God changes hearts, we go to drastic measures to try to do things on our own. 

5. Paul prays 4 specific things for these believers: 

    a. To be rooted and established in love (v. 17) 

    b. To comprehend the depth of God's love (v. 18) 

    c. To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (v. 19) 

    d. To be filled with the Spirit and fullness of God (v. 19) 

6. The love of God is so big that it takes the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to help us comprehend it. 

7. Christians are to praise God for His unlimited ability to love us, hear our prayers, and change our hearts. 

8. Even faith itself is an act of God's grace that allows us to come to Him. 

9. As people of God, we are meant to be a living demonstration of God's glory. 

10. We cannot add to God's glory, but we are called to praise Him for who He is and what He has already done, and give Him the glory that belongs to Him. 

Sermon Recap: March 1, 2015 (Ephesians - Week 2)

Sermon Recap - March 1, 2015 - Ephesians Week 2 - Pastor Matt Crawford

1. In Ephesians 3, Paul writes about the mystery of the faith that he is sent to preach to the Gentiles. 

2. Paul tells us that we know the mystery because it has now been revealed through Jesus Christ. 

3. We see God's plan to have mercy on sinners and justify us before himself in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. 

4. Now that the mystery of grace has been revealed in Christ, the rest of the world should know it by how we live as believers and followers of Christ.

5. Ephesians 3:8-13 shows us 3 aspects of God's divine plan to send Christ to Earth: 

     a. Jesus accomplished God's eternal plan
-God's grace is on display in that he knew that we would rebel against Him, yet he chose to create us and send Jesus to save us. 

     b. Jesus offers confident access to God 
-Anyone who knows Christ as Savior has equal and direct access to God through prayer. 

     c. Jesus' sacrifice changes our perspective on suffering 
-Faithfulness in the midst of suffering leads to the glory of God.
-Affliction in this life pales in comparison to the eternal weight of God's glory that he is working out through His gospel. 

For more resources, you can check out our Ephesians devotionals.