Ephesians 1 - Sky High View of Prayer and Christ

 Baptism of Our Lord 11am, January 10, 2021 Online at Zoom & https://www.facebook.com/centrechurchpa/ Baptism of Jesus, Daniel Bonnell, bonnellart.com 83 New Park Road, New Park, PA 17352 Office (717) 993-2345 Pastor Don Hackett (717) 203-1018 https://centrechurchpa.org Baptism of Our Lord - January 10, 2021 Announcements Prelude Lighting of the Epiphany Candles Hymn #115 As with Gladness Men of Old https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp52sx2_GYs Call to Worship (from Ephesians 1:11-19 NIV) Let us receive the Apostle Paul's prayer as our own: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Lord, receive our worship today! Prayer of Confession & the Lord's Prayer Most wonderful God, foolish and flawed though we are, we too delight in your beloved Son. As we gather in his name, may the heavens be opened for us, that we may catch a glimpse of that Light and Love that transforms our common days with a beauty not of our making. Through Christ Jesus our Lord., who taught us to pray: 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, as 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, forever. Amen. Hymn # 117 Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JbA3-bOJbo Sharing of Prayer Requests (Connie) Prayers of the People Loving Father, you anointed Jesus at his baptism with the Holy Spirit, and revealed him as your dear Son. Thank you for making us your children by water and the Spirit. Keep us faithful to you throughout our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. The Offering (Don) (online donations at https://centrechurchpa.org/) Offertory Scripture - Ephesians 1:20-23 (the Message) All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. Sermon "A Sky High View of Christ" Rev. Dr. Don Hackett View from the air When is the last time you flew in a plane? For some, that experience has not happened yet. For others, they used to fly to places all the time before the pandemic. Growing up in an Air Force family we travelled in planes a lot. I can remember flying from San Francisco to Japan in 1962. The ocean was amazing. You could look to the edge of the horizon and not see land. That was cool and a bit concerning for me as a second grader. We were flying in a four prop Air Force C-54. Those four propellers were churning up the air and carrying us over the ocean. I had a window seat right next to the wing. This is the days before Gameboys, so I just looked at the window and took it all in. All was fine until I noticed one the propellers was slowing down and then stopped. My mom was sitting next to me, so I asked her why it was not moving. She told me not to worry about it. I thought, "OK, they still have three other motors going." A few moments later, I looked over the other side of the plane and another propeller was stopping. I looked out the window and did not see land anywhere. Now I am concerned. I asked my mother again about the situation. Always cool, calm, and collected, my mother said we would be fine. We were about halfway from Hawaii to Tokyo. Hawaii was 2,300 miles behind us! As it turns out the pilot had to find the closest airstrip. Good luck! Thanks be to God a little coral island, called Wake Island, was nearby. We landed for emergency repairs and were on our way after a few hours. I was thankful for the view in the air but so glad to be on the ground again! Today I want to take us all up in the air. We are going to get sky high perspective of God is doing. Living life day in and day out on ground level can become tiring. Occasionally we need to get the big picture on what our lives are all about. Our passage in Ephesians One helps us do just that! It begins with a wonderful prayer and concludes with awesome look at the Risen Christ. First let us talk about prayer. Paul's prayer When we gather each week for prayer, all sorts of concerns and praises come to up for prayer...people who are sick, those recovering, people failing in health, those with financial needs, and friends with heavy loads at home and work. We do our best to understand each need and offer prayers on their behalf. I get a sense that our prayers poke a hole in the clouds of darkness. Then the light and blessings of Heaven comes down to the people and places that need it the most. I think Paul had this same image in mind. As Paul thought about his friends in Ephesus and hear about their faith and love, this is what he prayed: I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Let look carefully at this prayer. It can be a great model for our prayers. Paul thoughts about others led to prayer. I like that! Sometimes we think about someone and then forget about them. Paul lets his thoughts lead him to prayer. If someone comes to mind, try that. Offer a short prayer for them and bless them. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit brings people to mind so we can pray for them and encourage them. It does not have to be a long prayer. Pray something short like, "Lord, thank you for bringing this person to mind. Bless and help them today. If you want me to do something else for this person, please show me. In Christ, Amen." You will be amazed how many people will come to mind in a day who need your prayers. We are in this with God and prayer is a keyway together we bless and love the world. Thanksgiving When Paul starts to pray, he begins with thanksgiving. In the beginning of this paragraph we see he says: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. When people choose to follow God and love others this is a good thing! We should give thanks! That is why I am so thankful for all of you. You love God, follow Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to use you to love others. Prayers of thanks are good on every occasion. They have a way of opening us up to the reality that God is in the room. When we are feeling down, prayers of thanksgiving point our eyes and hearts to the good and beautiful around us. Feeling trapped or sad, offer up quiet prayers for all the ways God has provided for you and protected you. You will start to know that you are not alone, God is there to comfort. See God, hope, & the riches Paul then zeroes in on the most important things to pray for others. First, he asks God to give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so they can know God better. If God is the source of all love, wisdom, light, and love, then the better we know God all these riches become more a part of our lives. As we seek God more and more, we experience his love and light growing in us. This is what happened to Moses. The more he was with God on the mountain top, he began to grow and glow. His life and heart were being changed to be like God's. Paul's prayer continues: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. The better you and I get to know God our hearts begin to be filled with hope. Why? We come to understand that we are beloved children of God. We are a part of God's family. He has wonderful plans for us. God invites us home so we can be forgiven, healed, restored to wholeness, and put on the great adventure of life with God. This our glorious inheritance... life abundant and overflowing that begins here and continues forever. When you know this life is not all there is, we have hope. This hope and these rich spiritual blessings carry us and keeps us moving with God. See the power of Christ See God. See hope. See riches. See power. See Christ. Paul prays for us to see the power of Christ that is available to us. God does not give us a set of AA batteries and say, "This is all I have for you. Make it work." No, no, no, no! You want power? God will show you power! Here is what the power of God can do. Paul describes it as "his incomparably great power." So what kind of power do you and I have in Christ? God demonstrated his power when God, raised Christ from the dead, gave him the place of power in Heaven, and put all things under Christ's command. All leaders and governments, all powers seen, and unseen will answer to our Lord Jesus Christ. The New International Version puts it this way, Ephesians 1:20-21: God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. That is power! There is no great power in the whole universe. God raised his son, Jesus, from death to life. This Risen Christ now rules over all people and things. That includes you and me and the whole church. I used the Message translation for the second half of scripture because I love the way it comes across in this passage. It reads: At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. Christ now offers you and me the power to live in ways that will bless the whole world. That is our purpose and mission...love God and love the world and everything and everyone in it. We cannot do this on our own. We need more than AA batteries. You and I need the Master of the Universe to pour His power in us each day. * You want to be strong and keep the faith in hard times? * You need patience and want to overcome your fears? * You need courage to go where God is sending you? * You need love to offer even your enemies? God is here to fill us up. You see, we are central to what God is doing in the world. We can think the world and evil have all the control, power, and hold the future in their hands. Not so! Hear this truth and reality again: The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. Christ will continue to send his people out to love the world until all have heard. Let us pray: God we give thanks to you for every good and perfect gift! Give us that Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know You better. Open eyes to see the hope, inheritance, and power we have in Christ. Amen. Confession of Faith (The Apostles' Creed, AD390) I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. Hymn #118 Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Bf0IowI3k Benediction (Don) - Give thanks. - Ask for Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know God better. - Ask God to open our eyes to see the hope, inheritance, and power we have in Christ. Let the majesty of the Father be the light by which we walk, the compassion of the Son be the love by which we live, the presence of the Spirit be the power by which we serve. Amen. 2