8:30 AM Traditional Service

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t measure up to someone else’s expectations? Have you ever felt like you were prevented from joining a social group because you didn’t fit with the people in that group in some way? In Ephesians 2, Paul tackles both of these issues. In the first half of the chapter, he writes one of the most well known verses among everything he wrote: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” In other words, your salvation and relationship with God isn’t something you can earn—it’s a gift to be freely received in faith. The second half of the chapter looks at the fact that since this is true, there is no more barrier between Jews and Gentiles, the latter of whom the Jews considered “unclean.” Once people trust Jesus, they are are all clean and made part of the same family! As someone once said, “at the foot of the cross, the playing field is level.”  This is great news for you too—you have God’s love and a relationship with him too—by grace, through faith!

Big Idea Question: Describe a time when  you received an unexpected or undeserved gift…