New Community Part 2 - Saved By Grace

You're taking your Bible, you're turning to Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, and we're going to turn our attention to verse 8 and 9 and a little bit of verse 10 today in Ephesians chapter 2.

Many of you of a certain age will remember.

One of the greatest, most impactful American athletes of all time, Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers.

He was a superb athlete, but he was also colorful and controversial.

He was the goat of trash talking, the best of all time.

He could combine good looks, charisma, and athleticism like few have ever done.

And if you remember him, you remember how he loved to boast in almost a kind of entertaining rhyme.

When he won the world championship first in 1964, he said, I shook up the world.

I am the greatest.

He was interviewed one time and he said, I've wrestled with alligators.

I've tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning and thrown thunder in jail.

He said, I'm so mean, I make medicine sick.

And another time he boasted, I'm so fast I can run through a hurricane and not get wet.

Now, it was part entertainment and a whole little, a lot of confidence as well.

And when he was questioned about his boasting, he said, well, it ain't bragging if you can back it up.

And most of the time he did.

Now, most of us are not so entertaining or as cocky as that.

but we do value confidence and self-sufficiency.

We're drawn to it.

But today we're going to remember that the greatest decision a person can ever make in their life, the foundation indeed for all of life, comes not from what you can do at all.

It comes from receiving what someone else has done for you.

In our Bibles in Ephesians chapter 2, we are walking through this Bible chapter during the weeks of August.

And we are talking about a new community.

Because as you've picked up and some of you are familiar with the rhythms around here, school starts and August hits.

It's kind of a new beginning, a new season of ministry.

And so we've got all the membership.

Things that are happening in connection and encouraging you to get in a group and encouraging some of you who haven't been baptized to be baptized.

And all of that is a wonderful rhythm of life.

But...

In Ephesians 2, we learn a great deal about what it means to be a part of a new community.

And here's the first lesson.

In order to be a new community, it starts with a new creation.

A new family starts with a new birth.

To experience new community, you have to, first of all, experience what God can do for you.

And you really can't be in the church until you are in Christ.

You can go to a class, and we have them because I think that's helpful.

But you can go to a class.

You can sign a card.

You can be baptized as we had several people today, which is a wonderful step of faith.

But you could do all kinds of things and not be in the church.

The only way you get in the body of Christ is you've got to be in Christ first.

God has to do something for you.

And so we get to Ephesians chapter 2, and we find here three verses.

ephesians 2 8 and 9 and in these three verses you have what somebody called the gospel in a nutshell like you need the whole bible but if you lost your bible and knew these three verses you would still have enough truth to have a relationship with god and and to experience salvation these three verses have a way of just crystallizing the bible into a one of the clearest, succinct descriptions of what it means to be a Christian that you'll ever find.

I memorized these verses when I was a student in high school, maybe middle school, I don't know.

And I've gone to them all of my life.

You need these verses.

Ephesians 2 says, eight nine and ten and if you're able to i invite you to stand we do that at calvary as a way of just affirming god's word in our life if you're able to and willing to we invite you to as we read this the word of the lord from the second chapter of ephesians beginning in verse eight this is the word of the lord for you are saved by grace through faith and this is not from yourselves It is God's gift, not from works, so that no one can boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Lord God, I pray that you would open our hearts and minds to see the truth of your gospel and what it means to be saved, to be in Jesus.

And Lord, for that person here who isn't settled, isn't sure, Lord, I pray today, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would make the good news of your gospel so clear to them, how different it is from human religion.

And for those of us who have experienced your kindness and grace, Lord, fill our hearts with glory and gratitude as we give you thanks for all you have done for us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

And you may be seated.