Service Series

Intro: A 200 year old church was getting prepared for their anniversary celebration when calamity struck. The bell ringer was called out of town. The sexton at the church immediately advertised for a bell ringer to fill in. When the replacement arrived, the sexton took him to the steps leading to the tower.

-After climbing all the way to the top, the men were out of breath. Just as the reached the landing the bell ringer tripped and fell face 1st into the bell and the bell rung out. Stunned by the blow the bell ringer fell over the railing all the way to the ground.

-Amazingly he was unhurt but an ambulance was called in anyway. When the doctor arrived on the scene he asked the sexton if he knew the man’s name. He said, “No. But his face sure does ring a bell.”

-I know! Pretty corny. But you know what? Sometimes we have a little confusion as to what our identity in Christ is supposed to be. Sometimes we’re not too sure what exactly it means to have a relationship w/Christ and how that impacts us as individuals and as a church.

-Think @ that for a second. How does being a “born again” Xian impact the way you live your life? How should our faith impact how the church functions? Today we’re continuing our series “DNA: the genetic makeup of VillageChurch.” Last week we saw how our church leadership functions. This week we’re going to place our focus on the congregation and find out if they have anything they’re to do; to see if they have any responsibilities. I’m going to go out on a limb and say, “Yes.”

-Well, what’s the responsibility of the everyday believer? Jesus summed it up for us nicely in Matt. 22: 37-40 where it says, “Love the Lord your God w/all your heart, and w/all your soul and w/all your mind. This is the 1st and greatest commandment. And the 2nd is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets hang on these 2 commandments.”

Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see the Apostle Paul, who wrote the text we’ll be examining, sharing w/believers what God has in mind for His followers to do. I really like this text b/c it demonstrates that God thinks big things for us! He has expectations for our lives other than just breathing!

-I’d so that’s contrary to what most of us think. Many of us get nervous wondering if there’s any way God could use us. How could a God so big, the creator of the universe, have any intentions for a single individual life?

-The text we’re going to look at answers 3 very important questions I believe most of us have concerning our relationship w/God.

TEXT: EPHESIANS 2: 10

Bckgrd: This section of Scripture shares w/us the great riches we have in Christ. That means no person has to be spiritually deprived. No Xian and no church has the excuse that God doesn’t have the ability and resources to do a great work w/us and thru us. Eph. 1: 18, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”

-Do you have doubts as to what God can do through you? Do you have questions as to what God wants you and this church to do? Let’s examine 3 questions most of us have. The 1st question that our text will answer is:

DIV. 1: AM I WORTHY TO DO ANYTHING FOR GOD? (v. 10)

Exp: The Bible gives us a true report as to who we are as people. We’re told in Rom. 3: 23 that we’ve all sinned; that we’ve all failed God. Jer. 17: 9 tells us the true condition of our hearts. It says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

A. Rom. 3: 10-11 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” That is the resume of every person. And that’s not a very impressive portfolio. So w/that in mind, a lot of us feel very unworthy of receiving anything from God; or we feel like there’s no way God could use us in any way.

1. But the beginning of v. 10 dispels those worries. It says we are God’s “workmanship.” The Greek word that’s used here is the word “poema”. It’s where we get our word “poem.” And it carries w/it the connotation of a “work of art.” Now how does that strike you? Paul tells us that we are God’s “Work of Art.” That sounds pretty cool to me.