Communion Message
Reading from Ephesians 1&3 (New Living Translation)
October 16, 2005
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Reading this day from the Book of Ephesians: "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 Jesus Christ. 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."

And "When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen."

Amen. May God bless the reading of His word. Now the Scriptures say at times like this we should examine our self, and so I would 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.

Truly Lord what an incredible plan You have in time and eternity to draw us close to You, to adopt us as Your very own children, to be our heavenly and perfect Father; thank you Lord for Your great provision for us for our every need, and Lord, thank you for saving our souls, thank you for Calvary's cross.

The sacred elements that we now hold remind us of the sacrifice that has been made on our behalf and we partake of these sacred elements in remembrance of You. Let us partake of the bread and also the cup.

Thank you Lord. Thank you for being merciful to us who do not deserve Your mercy. Thank you for being gracious to us, patient with us, faithful to us, and Your promises. Thank you Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said, amen.