Sermon Central
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Living On Another Level
Contributed by Jim Luthy on Jan 23, 2002 (message contributor)
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1. You Are Blessed!
Contributed on Jan 23, 2002
On a level other than the one we can see, at a supernatural level, in the realm where good and evil do battle and evil always loses, God has blessed us. He wants us to live according to that blessing.
You Are Blessed Ephesians 1:3-14 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." – Ephesians 1:3 Poor Little Orphan Annie! It’s "a hard-knock life" for her and her friends. All the hard chores, ...read more
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2. Jesus Is Your Reward
Contributed on Jan 23, 2002
The Spirit who brings wisdom and revelation is the Holy Spirit. It is God himself visiting us to give us his wisdom, and to give us revelation. Why? According to Ephesians 1:17 it’s so that we may know him better.
Pursue Understanding: Jesus Is Your Reward Pastor Jim Luthy Ephesians 1:15-23 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better." As I shared the message that we are blessed, the ...read more
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3. You Are God's Workmanship
Contributed on Jan 29, 2002
In the way that he has made us his and made us vessels that can be filled—and be useful—we are a finished product. We are God’s workmanship.
Pursue Understanding: You Are God’s Workmanship Pastor Jim Luthy Ephesians 2:1-10 We’ve already seen that to live on another level you need to understand that you are blessed and that Jesus is your reward. Now we must add to that the understanding that we are God’s workmanship, his ...read more
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4. You Belong
Contributed on Feb 26, 2002
When Jesus was crucified in the flesh, we lost our capacity to distinguish ourselves from one another based on what we can see. We belong because we belong to him.
You Belong Pastor Jim Luthy Ephesians 2:11-22 Let me introduce you to Dain. It’s not hard to tell that Dain is a Christian. He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior when he was a child and grew up in the church. He went to Sunday School every week, winning perfect attendance pins more ...read more
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5. Receive Grace To Proclaim Christ
Contributed on Feb 26, 2002
God wants you to understand and believe that being a servant of the gospel is his gift to you. He invites you to receive that gift as a part of his life-changing grace.
Receive Grace: To Proclaim Christ Ephesians 3:1-13 Pastor Jim Luthy Paul said he became a servant of "this gospel." "This gospel," according to Ephesians 1-2, is the good news that we are blessed in the heavenly realms. It is finished. The papers have been signed the ...read more
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6. Receive Grace To Possess Christ
Contributed on Feb 26, 2002
Proclaiming Christ without possessing Christ is nothing more than putting on appearances.
Receive Grace: To Possess Christ Ephesians 3:14-21 Pastor Jim Luthy Every October a scramble takes place in our country to come up with a good costume. Over the years I’ve seen people dressed up like famous men and women such as Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and even Doc Holliday. Presidents are ...read more
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7. Receive Grace To Present Christ
Contributed on Feb 27, 2002
The presence of God will never be revealed to us, through us, or in us, if we don’t receive our gifts and employ them in unity.
Receive Grace: To Present Christ (Together) Ephesians 4:1-16 Pastor Jim Luthy What we have learned so far from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is that we are to pursue understanding and receive grace. Having pursued understanding, we know that we are blessed in the heavenly realms, ...read more
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8. So, Live On Another Level
Contributed on Mar 15, 2002
You don’t have to live like many of those around us are living—in despair and fear and shame. You can have a new life. You can put on a new self.
So…Live On Another Level Pastor Jim Luthy Ephesians 4:17-24 You’ve pursued understanding and received grace. So what? That’s a great question: "So what?" We’ve reduced it to be the question of the lazy and uncooperative: "So?" But the truth is, people who make a difference ask that ...read more
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9. Live A Life Of Love
Contributed on Apr 9, 2002
Having pursued understanding and received grace, Paul calls us to live on another level. It begins with living a life of love, which requires that we continually put off the old and put on the new.
Live a Life of Love Pastor Jim Luthy Ephesians 4:25-5:2 In the film "Grand Canyon" an immigration attorney breaks out of a traffic jam and attempts to bypass it. His route takes him along streets that seem progressively darker and more deserted. Then the predictable nightmare: the man’s ...read more
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10. Live As Children Of Light
Contributed on Oct 30, 2002
A child of light concerns himself with conduct that is personally and morally fitting for those who are blessed and have Christ dwelling in them.
In our study of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, we were first challenged to pursue understanding—we are blessed in the heavenly realms; we can know Christ more and more, and as we know him he will become for us our only prize, our greatest treasure; we are God’s completed work, ...read more
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11. Submit To One Another
Contributed on Oct 30, 2002
Submitting to one another is not a matter of law, but of liberty. It is not the chain of bondage we tend to make it out to be. Rather, it is the triumph of one who has been set free.
You are Free to Submit to One Another Ephesians 5:21-6:9 Pastor Jim Luthy In our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we have learned the importance of pursuing understanding and receiving grace. Those who understand the blessings we have in Christ and have received the grace to proclaim ...read more
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12. Be Strong
Contributed on Oct 30, 2002
Living on another level requires us to recognize that what we see is not the only reality. We must recognize that there is not only the natural, but the supernatural, and we survive in both realms by being strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Be Strong! Ephesians 6:10-20 Pastor Jim Luthy I received an e-mail the other day with the subject reading "How did we ever survive?" I don’t know who authored it. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat ...read more