Final Words
Notes
Transcript
Kid Prayers:
"Dear God, I went to this wedding and they were kissing right there in church. Is that OK?"
"Dear God, thank You for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy."
“Dear God, I need you to make my mom not allergic to cats. I really want a cat and I really don’t want to ask my mom to move out.”
What someone prays for tells you a lot about them. Selfish people will pray selfish prayers.
Here in Ephesians 3, Paul offers three prayers for the church in Ephesus that I would like to pray over you and then he gives us a benediction about the power of our great God that, in this time of transition, can I still us with hope.
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
A Prayer for the Power to Endure (Verse 16-17a)
2. A Prayer for the Power to Understand (Verse 17b-18)
3. A Prayer for the Power to Experience (Verse 19)
Conclusion
If you, as a church body, refuse to give up when it gets really difficult - if you keep pursuing God’s love for you and and allow it to fill you till overflowing, so that God’s love pours out of you and fills others, then I confidently believe that the glory of God will fill this place and that God will do immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine.