November 9, 2018 - Preparing for the Lord's Day
November 10, 2018Preparing for the Lord's Day
Paul declares in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We see in this verse that God saves us by His grace through the work of Christ, not by our work. But we also see that Jesus, who saved us by His work alone, now calls us to live as new creations and to do the good work He has prepared beforehand. The grace that saves us is the grace that sanctifies us, changing our lives and directing our walk. This Sunday we will explore Paul’s model of ongoing sanctification in Ephesians 4:17-25.
As we worship the Lord together this Sunday, we will receive fresh reminders of the glory and grace of this God who changes us. We will join our voices together singing of God’s perfect holiness in the Processional Hymn of Praise “Holy, Holy, Holy!” We will also celebrate the grace that saves us by singing the Acclamation of Praise “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” We will then respond to God’s Word singing “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” and reflect on the steadfast love that changes us. Let us come to worship with an expectation to revel in the glory of God, to strengthen our faith in the work of Christ, and to be freshly empowered by the Holy Spirit that we might be transformed by God’s grace and sent on God’s mission.