Title: Make the choice
Text: Ephesians 2:1-10
Theme: Christian Living
Topic: Why we must choose to invest our life today
Thesis: What we do with our lives now will either waste our lives or invest it for all eternity.
Tagline: Make the choice before it’s too late.
Thrust: To persuade listeners to make a choice now of investing their lives rather than wasting it
Take-off:
1. At any given time we are either wasting our lives or investing it.
2. Illus. Tragedy at sea, MV Princess of the Stars, where 21 children died.
3. It’s a greater tragedy when we don’t invest our lives while we still have a choice.
Teaching Points:
1. There was a time when we didn’t have a choice (vv.1-3).
a. We can’t help but waste our lives (v.1).
b. Something/someone controlled our lives (v.2).
c. We were heading for GSD, Guaranteed Sure Destruction (v.3).
d. Illus. Use of robots in Iraq
2. Now we have the choice (vv.4-9).
a. The Bible calls this “being saved.”
b. It’s 100% God – we had nothing to do with it (The use of grace and other grace-related words in vv.4-9). Illus. being born and dying, in both situations we are at the mercy of others
c. It’s 100% effective – we can be sure it really works (The perfect tense of the verbs used in vv.4-9). Illus. someone gave me a cell phone but it doesn’t work
d. It’s 100% for God’s glory – we cannot boast about it (vv.6-9). Illus. Mega star Sharon Cuneta in her talk show, she invites stars but she’s always the star in the end
3. The choice is now ours to make (v.10).
a. God has already provided all the resources we need.
b. God has already planned all the opportunities we want.
c. Illus. Daughter of Freddie Webb vs. Son of Freddie Webb
Touchdown:
1. What we do with our lives now (if we are in Christ) will either waste our lives or invest it for all eternity.
2. Now we have a choice. Make the choice before it’s too late.
3. If we are not yet saved, the only choice we can ever make is call upon the Lord for His mercy and grace.
4. Illus. Gruesome scene when divers went to the submerged ship, one person tried to kick the glass window but obviously he failed, he died trying (his feet was still touching the window)
