Communion Message
God's secret plan
September 12, 2004
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Reading in Ephesians today: How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Christ Jesus. And this gave him great pleasure.

So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ--everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God. And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.

I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.

May God bless the reading of his Holy Word.

The Scriptures say at times like this we should examine our self, and so I'd like to invite you, if you are physically able, to join with me now as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

The elements that we hold remind us of so many things. The elements remind us that you always keep your promises. A promise recorded clear back in Genesis was fulfilled in the fullness of your time in your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The elements that we hold remind us that you keep your promises. The elements that we hold remind us that you have chosen to love us with an everlasting love. Even while we were still enemies of you, Jesus died for our sin. And the elements that we hold remind us that sin does not have a trivial cost, for you paid the wages of our sin on Calvary's cross. We desire to bring glory to you, Lord, and yet each and every day each and every one of us stumble in some way.

We are thankful, Lord, for your Holy Word that says if we confess our sins you are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is our desire Lord, as we now partake of these elements in remembrance of you. Let's partake of the bread...and also the cup.

Lord, you chose to go beyond redeeming our lives from destruction. You chose to adopt us into your family, to make us your very own children, to allow us to have the privilege of addressing Almighty God as our Father.

Let us pray together: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts; for we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.