Sermon Notes, January 3, 2016
Rev.
Garry McGlinchy
Rev. McGlinchy’s sermon was
titled “A New Years Blessing” and his scripture reference was Ephesians 1:3-14. This passage talks about our adoption into
God’s family through Jesus, and throughout his message, Pastor Garry interwove
the story of the adoption of Tate into their family.
Paul starts his letter to the
Ephesians praising God for His spiritual
blessings through Christ. (v. 3) What are these spiritual blessings? Being chosen for salvation, being adopted as
His children, receiving His redemption and forgiveness, insight as to who God
is, receiving the Holy Spirit, the spiritual gifts, the power to do God’s will,
and the hope and reassurance of living with Christ forever. Because we have an intimate relationship with
Christ we can enjoy these blessings now!
These blessings are from God, not from the world; and they are eternal,
not temporary.
God chose us. (v. 4) Our salvation depends on God alone; not
because we deserved it, but because He graciously and freely offered it to
us. We did nothing to influence,
persuade, or manipulate God’s decision to save us. He saved us because He had planned to save us
from the beginning! He gets the glory, the credit for our salvation. Pastor
Garry and Beccy chose Tate. The lawyer
told Tate, ”The coolest thing about being adopted is knowing that your parents
chose you.”
God adopted us. (v. 5) It is
through Christ’s ultimate and final sacrifice that we are brought into the
family of God. We are heirs along with
Christ. (Romans 8:17) In Roman law, an
adopted child had the same rights as a biological child, even if the child was
once a slave. Even though we were once slaves to our sinful desires, we are now
free as if we never had lived as slaves to sin. (Galatians 4:4-7) this adoption
Paul talks about shows how strong our relationship is with God. After adopting
Tate, Beccy and Garry’s relationship with him became stronger, and continues to
do so.
God redeems and forgives us. (v. 7-8) Christ paid the price so that
all can be freed from the chains of sinful slavery that once bound us all. And when we are redeemed, we are also
forgiven! Thanks to God’s plan for
salvation, we are forgiven through the shedding of Christ’s blood. (Romans
5:9) In order to receive this redemption
and forgiveness, we must acknowledge that we can’t save ourselves. Without God’s LOVE, GRACE and MERCY no person
can be saved. Only God has that kind of
power. The only way we can be saved is
through the sacrificial blood of the Lamb.
God shares His plan with His children. (v. 9) Initially, God didn’t plan on keeping His
plan a mystery. Without Christ’s
resurrection, God’s plan would still be a mystery to us. So what was His plan? To unite Jews and Gentiles into one body with
Christ as the head. To some, God’s plan
remains a mystery, but God will make His
plans perfectly clear to everyone when the time is right. (Philippians
2:9-11) The second part of God’s plan is
to offer salvation for all of mankind.
He is a sovereign God, in control of everything. God’s purpose of salvation cannot be undone,
ruined or thwarted by Satan’s evil plans!
It is through the Holy Spirit
that we have God’s Guarantee that we
do in fact belong to Him. (v. 13-14) The presence of the Holy Spirit in our
lives represents the authenticity of our Faith.
It is further proof that we are God’s children. It secures eternal life for us. It transforms
us. The Holy Spirit completes the
spiritual blessings that God freely gives us.
After they adopted Tate, Garry and Beccy received a birth certificate in
the mail. This certificate gives
authenticity and guarantees that Tate is in fact their son. This is what the Holy Spirit does for us.
God has freely given spiritual
blessings to all those who believe. He chose us. He adopted us. He redeemed and forgave us. He reveals His plan to us. He gives us His guarantee.
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