Summary of He is risen
Preamble
Brent does a really great and quick summary of the weeks leading up to Jesus’ Crucifixion. Brent reminds us that when Jesus died the mentality was “well, I guess this is all over.” But that is not the case! Jesus didn’t stay dead. He is risen.
What’s the point of Easter?
To find the answer to this question we look at Ephesians 2:8-10. The significance of Easter is God’s grace. “For by God’s grace we have been saved.
What is God’s grace and why do we struggle with grace?
God’s grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners. God loves you and accepts you as you are right now. We don’t need to start doing something to receive God’s grace. We don’t need to stop doing something to receive his grace.
We struggle with grace because our society tells us we must earn grace instead of receiving it without merit. But to receive God’s grace all we have to do is accept it.
Jesus didn’t stay dead – faith helps us accept this
There is a choice that we must make to receive God’s grace: do we believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Do we believe that God can actually save us? Answering yes to these questions involves faith and trust.
Saved by grace through faith
Even though we read this part of Ephesians off the page and understand the words we often misunderstand and think it is our faith that saves us. This is incorrect. It is God’s grace that has saved us, through the faith which is also a gift from God. Thus there is nothing we can do to achieve salvation through our own efforts.
How to become a Christian
Confess with your mouth that Jesus was raised from the dead and you will be saved. This means we believe he was God’s son. We believe he was the sacrifice that paid the cost of our own sins. Jesus is the only way into a relationship with God.
A church full of competent people
Brent challenges the church family of SouthRidge and says we have fallen into the trap of being competent. We have become proud of our ability to be self sufficient.
Stop boasting
Our challenge: strip away our appearance of competence. Stop being self sufficient. Stop boasting about ourselves. Boast only of Jesus and what God has done in our lives. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship…” This is our sanctification, which is a term that means God changes us after our salvation. Sometimes it is done quickly and sometimes it takes a lifetime. We are being called for a life of surrender, to allow God to lead our live, for him to be in control.
Closing
Brent closes by telling a story about a professor named Dr. Christiansen. This story involes push ups and donuts. (Note: to understand how good this story really is you should really listen to the audio or watch the message video.)
About this Message Series
This is a message in a series called Ephesians. The goal of this series is to discuss the topics and themes that arise from the New Testament book Ephesians. The book of Ephesians is a letter that Paul wrote while in prison. Sometimes it is called a Prison Epistle. It was written to encourage believers. He was encouraging other faithful followers of Jesus to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. This series was started in January 2016.
About the Speaker
Brent is the lead pastor here at SouthRidge. He and his wife Pam were part of the original church plant.