Whether wallow on how we fall short of the impossible standards we believe we should be able to maintain, or revel in how we rise above others through our own strength, pride hurts. It drains. It hurts others and breaks relationships. There is an alternative, a better way, the only way. When we embrace our weakness and rely on God’s strength and then labour in the freedom of trusting that God will not fail, extraordinary things happen. This is true for the Church, which is God’s chosen instrument to display His awesome power, wisdom and grace, not ours.

One of our great human frustrations is the limitation of our knowledge. We hate an unsolved mystery. God makes it clear that He alone has all knowledge and that He reveals it as He wills. The right attitude towards God clears the way for knowledge and wisdom that is worthwhile, and through His Son, His Word and His Spirit He makes it known. We can confidently live each day comforted by the assurance of His protection and revelation.

We all want to belong, to be part of something special, but what is the greatest thing we can ever be part of? The first half of the book of Ephesians takes us through how blessed we are for what God has done for us through Jesus. It then makes it clear that God has always planned to use the Jewish Nation to reconcile all Nations to Him. God has always been building, and continues to build, His Family. Being part of God’s Eternal Family is far bigger than anything else we can ever be part of.

Traumatic memories are not pleasant, but they can be useful, they can remind us of God’s grace in rescuing us. Ephesians 2:11-13 challenges us to remember what we were before Jesus rescued us, it’s not pleasant but it’s valuable. The truth can be hard, even offensive, but it’s powerful. This Scripture calls us to acknowledge the truth and to speak it boldly and lovingly, it may cost us the rejection from the world, but it draws us home to God and fills us with His precious hope.

The new year, a new start, lies before us. How are we going to approach it? The question of what we will eat this year is oddly , what drives much of our decisions. Jesus teaches us not to be anxious and not to be preoccupied with what we will eat and drink, but rather to focus on God’s Kingdom. How can we do that this year?

Christmas should be a time of joy when we appreciate what God has done by becoming human as Jesus Christ, and look forward to His return as Saviour, King and Righteous Judge. When Christ first came to Bethlehem, some welcomed Him and worshipped Him, while others rejected Him. Will we welcome Him with joy or reject Him when He returns? Let’s unwrap this Christmas to find out.

Last week we looked at Jesus, the coming savior, and how we should spread this incredible news! This morning, we look at Jesus, the coming King, as told from time immortal. From the moment mankind fell, God put in place a plan to save us from the consequences of sin, in the form of a living King coming to earth. To understand the magnitude of this grace, we need to understand what kind of king Jesus is and how it differs from our understanding of what an earthly king is. Only when we understand that will be in a position to worship Him, as we were created, in a way that pleases Him. To truly understand Jesus’s kingship, we need to see what the Bible foretold of Jesus, what He did on earth, and what He still plans to do!

Jesus told us to remember Him, and at Christmas we remember Jesus, who He is and what He’s done. One way we do this is by singing Christmas songs like “Joy to the world”. Isaac Watts wrote this hymn around Psalm 98 which foretells, not only Christ’s birth, but also His ultimate victory. When we celebrate Jesus Christ, are we celebrating what He’s done as well as what He will do, and what do we do with this wonderful knowledge of His Salvation?

Last week, Pete spoke about one of those “church” words, grace. We throw it around without much thought, without considering what it means. Grace is the gifts that God gives, that we did not and can not earn. Today, we look at what that grace means for us, and how we should respond to that grace. To do this effectively, we need to remember who God is. Who the Father is, who the Son is and who the Holy Spirit is. When we understand these things, then we are saved by God’s grace and called and enabled to do good works, which God ordained for us before the universe existed.

God’s grace and mercy are the focal point of the Gospel. They are so magnificent that they are put on display for all to see and appreciate, but we struggle to do that. Appreciating God’s grace is life-changing, we need to gaze on it and pray that He would help us to comprehend it with our whole being.

Knowing what unthinkably wonderful blessings God has given to His Church, His adopted children, purchased from slavery and promised in marriage to His Son, has been the constant theme of the first chapter of Ephesians. Paul prays that the Church would understand, with their whole being, who they are, by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus Christ. Now the Holy Spirit, writing through Paul, reminds the Church who we were, and where we were, before He rescued us. The message is sobering, even shocking, but we must understand where we came from to appreciate where we’re going.

There are times in our lives when things aren’t going our way. It feels like we are swimming against the tide. Then someone comes along, and even the smallest of gestures, like a smile or kind deed, can change the tide. When this happens, we feel a deep sense of gratitude. That’s how Paul felt for these Ephesians, and what he does to express his gratitude is incredible. It’s a blueprint for how we should pray for others - he prays for a wealth we can scarcely comprehend.

Lasting commitment is rare and precious. We’re designed to value it and we long for permanence, but the emptiness of loss is everywhere. Having seen the wealth that God gives us through choosing us to be blameless, the riches of Christ as He gave His life to pay for our sin and free us from slavery to death, we now look at the guarantee of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to those who believe like an engagement ring is given as a pledge of eternal commitment. Praise be to Father, Son and Holy Spirit for their love for us.

The introduction to Ephesians makes clear the wealth that God has given to those who have faith in Jesus Christ. It begins with the blessings of God the Father, and now continues to the riches of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. The treasure of Christ is of unspeakable value. Nobody can afford it, and nobody can acquire it, it can only be received in faith as a gift. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is our heart is also, where are our hearts?

Paul begins Ephesians reminding the people of that Church that they were chosen by the Father, ransomed by the Son, and reborn by the Holy Spirit. Evidently they needed a reminder of how much they had been blessed so that they could focus on that rather than on what they didn’t have or had lost. Living with this focus is true wealth, how do we do that?

Today we’re starting our journey in the remarkable book of Ephesians as we celebrate the Lord’s Table. During his 30+ years of truly remarkable ministry, Paul visited Ephesus on two of his three missionary journeys. Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey. It was a key strategic location for the Roman empire. It had a bustling economy, with over a million inhabitants, and millions more visiting each year. It was a centre of Greek philosophy as well, with the temple to the Greek God, Artemis, the goddess of wild animals. Also known as the temple of Diana (Roman goddess) – it was four times larger than the Parthenon in Greece.

Many of the Roman leaders would head to Ephesus for their vacations, it was one of the most influential cities in the ancient world. Paul spent 3 months in the Jewish synagogue teaching the Jews about Christ. Later, he spent two years in the school of Tychicus teaching the world about Jesus. So effective was his teaching, that we learn that no one that went to Ephesus did not hear the good news of the Gospel. The Ephesians received more of Paul’s teaching than any other place or group of people – they were the most spiritually advanced of all the churches of the Roman empire.