Tag: Ephesians 2:8-10

Morning Musing: Ephesians 2:8-10

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“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love stories of redemption. The greater and more profound the turnaround, the better. They are even better when the person who experiences the most dramatic turnaround is the one you least expected, the one who seemed to be the furthest gone. At the end of this incredible passage, Paul helps us see that the turnaround God has planned for us is just this dramatic. We’ve seen how we were totally lost to sin. We’ve seen how God nonetheless planned to save us in Christ anyway so that His glory might be revealed in us. Here, we see just how amazing is the gift we have in Him. Let’s explore it together.

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We’re for Them

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This past Sunday we took a look at the final piece of our identity as a church. We are a place designed by God to reach out into our community to advance His kingdom. God made us like this because He is for our community. He is for your community too. The church is to be for the world because our God loves the people in it. Keep reading to find out more.

We’re for Them

I’m not totally sure if they still do them nowadays, but a few years ago both Lowe’s and Home Depot had kids build days one Saturday each month.  The projects were usually pretty cheesy, but for the boys they were a lot of fun.  It was fun for us to get to see their excitement.  The setup was pretty much the same at both stores.  There were several makeshift tables composed of upside-down buckets and 8-foot shelf boards.  There were a couple of folks at a check-in table taking names and handing out the build kits.  Then, you spread out at one of the work stations with a pair of safety goggles and got to work.  The kits themselves were generally simple enough and with pretty clear instructions.  All the pieces were pre-cut and all the nail holes were pre-drilled.  You just followed the instructions and let the kids bang away with the little hammers they provided. 

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Morning Musings: Ephesians 2:8-10

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For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship; created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  (ESV – Read the chapter)

For anyone who would argue that our salvation has in even the tiniest of ways to do with our good works, this verse puts the lie to their position.  Any individual, church, or even whole faith tradition that says otherwise is mistaken.  That’s a pretty strong way to put it, but there really isn’t any other way around what Paul says here.  Salvation comes by grace through faith and not by works.  Period.  We didn’t have anything to do with it being given to us beyond receiving the gift by faith. Read the rest…