Ephesians 2

Why would you ever want to be like a dumpster? A dumpster with the word grace written on it reminds Tammy Marcelain of the great work that God can do in our lives to bring hope and joy and meaning when we receive His grace.

Is there something more than being saved from sin? Tom Norvell reminds us that we were saved from what we were to be what we are: God's people created with purpose to do good works.

"Dear Child of Grace, Paul powerfully tells the truth about where each of you was before grace:You were the offspring of the prince of the power of..."

What's so amazing about grace? Grace is amazing because of all the great things it does for us and changes in us.

"Dear Father, friend of the far and the near, I am so thankful that Christ came and preached peace to those who were far off and to those who were..."

How can we receive grace and still be so ungracious? Danny Sims uses a cartoon and touch of humor to remind us that we did not discover grace!

"So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family...."

Why would he choose this bunch to be his plan? Phil Ware continues his series on Catch and Release reminding us that we are chosen to be Jesus' witnesses specifically because of who we are and what he has done for us in our lives.

Why is it so hard to learn this simple lesson on which so much of life hangs? Phil Ware continues his series on the prodigal son called the Journey home and he looks at the hardest lesson learned, that it is better to be a servant in our Father's house than to be on our own and alone.

Does your policy cover this? What's our best way to insure what is really important to us, our going to heaven?

How are we to respond to such an extravagant gift? Phil Ware thinks through the implications of Jesus' death for us.

Registered forgiveness! No humiliation! No shame! Max Lucado shares a short anecdote on forgiveness and grace.

What's your excuse? Ron Rose talks about Napoleon Dynamite and his skills and reminds us that we don't have enough skills, but God does!

"Dear Father, King of the Ages, Thank you for the new life you have infused into my being. I once was dead because of the misdeeds and sins in which I..."

"Together, we are [God's] house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined....."

"Dear Father, reconciler of humanity, Thank you for sending Jesus to break down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and non-Jew. By the way he...."

"For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of...."

"Dear Father, perfecter of humanity, My God, even my believing was not something I was clever enough to do. It was your gift to me, not from my..."

"Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even..."

What do you do when things fracture between you and someone important to you? Phil Ware talks about what to do when relationships are shattered and how it feels easier to trade in those relationships for new ones, but asks if this is really smartest and if it honors Christ and our walk with God.

How do you understand it? Joey's granddaughter Landrye has taught him a great deal about God's grace.

"Dear Father, ruler of heaven and earth, When you raised up Christ, you raised me out of my dead state as well. You set me on a throne of honor with....."

"In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant..."

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the..."

"Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions — it is by grace you have..."

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have..."

"It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. "

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. "

"[Jesus] brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father..."

"[Christ] brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to..."

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 2:8-9 -- It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 2:4-5 -- But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

The Father is looking to use you, no matter how unlikely it seems possible! Rubel Shelley reminds us that God does his best work through the most unlikely of people.

We don't want to be swimming with Jonah on the shoreline! Phil Ware continues with his series on Saved at Sea from the great Bible stories of sea rescues and this time examines Jonah and that he was saved from death for God's great purposes.

Don't focus on the building waves or let the pitching boat convince you otherwise. Melissa Troyer reminds us of Jesus who brings peace in the worst of storms, both the early disciples in a boat and us in our troubled world.

"Dear Holy Child of God, Many folks pause this time of year to remember My birth. That is a good thing. They rejoice with the angels singing praises....."

Let's live out God's gift of grace by celebrating God's goodness, loving Jesus, and obeying what the Lord taught as we love, serve, and treat others as our Savior did! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online, virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us and help us celebrate and live in appreciation to the grace of God.

What is the Phil Ware continues with his series on The Story focusing on the What Is and Who Is and the Why Is of Jesus' coming.

Can you be captured by freedom and grace? Phil Ware uses the climactic moment in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" where he is told to "earn it" to emphasize the difference between grace and obligation.

Life without grace leaves us with a distorted understanding of God. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of God's grace: both his common grace and his sacrificial grace meant to save us from our sinful failures and save us to share his gracious purposes with the world.

Have you notice any strange odors lately at work? There are spiritually dead people all around us.

What difference does this gift make in your life? God's gift of grace in Jesus' Christ carries with it the responsibility to live changed lives.

Grace is the mercy and love of God freely shared with us. Grace is also the style, the way in which God shares this mercy and love James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that not only is God's grace available in his love and mercy, it is also beautiful in the artistic style he brings us this beauty!

Sometimes, everyone gets to be a part of things My status as an Argentine was a fleeting thing. It ended when the World Cup celebration was over. But my right to be a part of God’s people will never end.

Will we open up and really trust him to change our story into a grace story? All around us are people who are grace stories -- people who have opened up to God and received his grace and had their hard lives changed for the better.

Now this is a reason to rejoice in hope! Phil Ware writes about the funeral of his father-in-law Mel Nelson and reminds us what it means to be edited by grace.

Is there really a Christmas gift worth regifting? Tom Norvell reminds us that this is really a gift worth regifting -- Jesus -- because he is our hope, joy, love, and peace and others need to hear us speak of him when they need him most.

I had heard of grace before, but on that day I was in the middle of it. Ron Rose is back with his coffee and this time he is thinking and remembering and celebrating the grace a friend received that changed his life and now inspires Ron and his wife Lyn!

Have you lost your identity? Phil Ware challenges us to look at our identity built around the question of "Who are you?" and the answer framed by the work of Jesus.

We not only live in the overflow of grace, we are now the flow of that grace into the lives of those around us. Phil Ware reminds of the importance and power of grace and that we can live out of the overflow of this grace and bless others.

Have you ever been a stranger in a strange land? As Christians, we have family around the world. Some of our family members speak other languages, but we are still family

"Dear Precious Disciple, Paul beautifully described the Father's grace in the first part of his letter to the Ephesians. He emphasized that the..."

"And in [Jesus] you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

""You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.""

"Dear Child of Glory, The world is filled with many beautiful and precious people. Unfortunately, so many of them miss their greatest opportunities......"

"You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at..."

"What is meant by our being citizens in heaven? It means that we are under heaven's government. Christ the king of heaven reigns in our hearts; our..."

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 2:10 -- For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 2:19 -- 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.

If an event is epoch-changing, part of the dynamic that makes the event so transformational is the timing. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware combine to bless us with a powerful message on the timing of Jesus' coming and death as well as a virtual worship service focused on our right on time Savior.

God perched His grace on a tree of torture in the middle of humanity's worst abuses so that grace would be available to everyone... even you! James Nored and Phil Ware explore the wonderfully unsettling nature of God's grace and His desire to make it accessible to everyone.

Is there any hope for the monotonous mess of life? Max Lucado recognizes the monotonous routine of life and its challenges and reminds us that God's grace meets us in our messes and gives us the power to live our way out of them.

"Dear Child of God, In the aftermath of your big Christmas celebrations, don't forget the words of My servant Zechariah, "Do not despise these small....."

Are we willing to take the risk and reach outside our comfort zones to connect people with Jesus? Phil Ware continues his series on 'The Andrew Effect' and connecting people with Jesus, this time focusing on including people of other cultures, races, and languages.

Can something good come from our time in the wilderness? Mark Frost continues his series on interim ministry and Israel's time in the wilderness

Paul blows away the confusion and declares us all equally heirs of God's promise! Phil Ware continues his series on the way God values a woman and how Pentecost begins a new humanity that is to work itself out in the life of Jesus' people, the church.

Where is your certainty found? Phillip Morrison reminds us that our assurance is based on what God does and has done in Jesus, not what we can accomplish for God!

Sometimes we need more than a lifeline Lenny Skutnik dove into the Potomac River to save a woman too weak to grasp the lifeline she's been thrown. In the same way, God reached out to save us when we were powerless.

If it makes God mad, shouldn't we get angry, too? Rubel Shelly reminds that God hates and gets angry at evil and calls us to be stirred to anger and action.

Are we doing what we were made to do? We were created for a purpose.

Love it or hate it... it is sure easy to live in the past. Do not stay rooted in your past successes or failures. Instead, embrace the future God has planned for you.

"Dear Beloved, The early Christians were greatly encouraged by Luke's account of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. I joined those two disciples on...."

Paul's declaration to the Galatians is a racial, social, and gender earthquake. Phil Ware continues his series of articles on the role of women and God's plan for women in Jesus' church; this week focuses on Paul's liberating statements in Galatians 3:26-29 and Romans 8.

How many hours do you have to pray to earn a trip to heaven? Some people see Christianity like a rewards program, where you earn the right to go to heaven by doing enough good things. That's not what the Bible says.

Why do we have such a strong urge to do good? Tom Norvell talks about our desire to go good and how strong it is and how we battle against the desire to do evil.

Where do you fit into God's plan? Tom Norvell writes about God's plan for us from Ephesians 1 and reminds us that we are chosen and God has something special for us to do!

What is your ambition in life? Tom Norvell shares with us some insights from 1 Thessalonians and how to life a quiet life and honor God and win the hearts of outsiders.

How strong is the pull in your life? We shouldn't play around with sin because it opens the door of heart to evil and satan.

Hope beyond our world's brokenness! Phil Ware continues his series on the value of woman in the eyes of God and how we incorporate that value into our belief system, roles, and treatment of women in our church culutures.

How close is God to us? Phil Ware shares insight in his SpiritFire series on the Holy Spirit and reminds us of the incredible promises of God's nearness and personal indwelling in us through the Holy Spirit.

What is your destiny? God has a plan for each of us, a destiny, to use us for his glory.

Are you an insider or outsider to the promises of God? Phil Ware reminds himself that he didn't have any right to expect the grace of God to be shared with him since he wasn't a child of Abraham by race and was included only because of God's mercy.

What in the world is a dandelion Christian? Muriel Larson uses the dandelion to show us how we ought to live as Christians!

With whom else could you have this grace? Phil Ware continues his series on the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Spirit's intercession before the Father in prayer that guarantees that our words and emotions are heard.

It's not too late to start today! Mike Barres reminds us that it is never too late to begin pursuing God's dreams and plans and purposes for us.

Stop trying to be 'every mom'! Jordan Harrell leaves us with a powerful and beautiful reminder of God only calls us to be who he made to be in the situation he placed us!

Isn't it time we said it? what we can learn from Rosa Parks' simple act of courage and defiance.

In our relationship with Christ, what unites us all? Summertime is a great time of the year! There is nothing I enjoy more than spending a day at the swimming pool, having a cookout in the park, watching my favorite baseball team play late on a warm evening and watching the neighborhood kids play without th

He had to realize he could not make his life work on his own. No matter how badly we have messed up our lives, God still loves us and will forgive us.

We are saved by God's action, not our action. God sent his Son to die for our sins. We cannot be good enough to save ourselves. We cannot be bad enough that God's grace cannot save us.

Is grace a gift or does it come with conditions? Phil Ware reminds us that people make up their own definitions of what grace means all the time, but Jesus defines grace, exemplifies it, and pours it out upon us and he should be our example and definition of grace.

Because we could not be James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that we all needed Jesus' redemptive death on the cross so we could find new life in the grace of God.

"Dear Child of Grace, Many people in your fallen world accept or reject others based on race. They exclude those who are not of their race. The..."

Don't view yourself as less than who God says you are! Max Lucado reminds us not to think less of ourselves than God, our Creator does, and he declares that we are his masterpiece.

Have you ever redeemed your time on an elevator? Ron Rose talks about redeeming elevator time and listening to the Holy Spirit about ways to minister and be a blessing to people.

You ready to reach out? Phil Ware talks about being mission-minded and outreach oriented and not letting other cultures, languages, ethnicities, races, or differences block us from sharing Jesus.

What divides and separates us? With very different types of issues emerging recently on the issue of race, why not look at some Scriptures to see how God feels about this issue.

What can we do when we can't walk in the shoes of another in grief? Lisa Mikitarian shares from current events and from her own experience about the grief and sorrow those we love face and how to help them -- support them, come alongside of them to support, care, and love them.

We are broken vessels, saved by grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit to make a difference in our broken world with the grace that we have received. Demetrius Collins & Phil Ware lead through worship in song, the Lord's Supper, a powerful message from God's word about not being lazy and neglectful of the opportunities God has given us to lead others to Jesus, along with a closing blessing for worship

Better check those tax forms one more time If we try to earn our own salvation, we will never have peace with God. Peace comes from accepting his free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

What is the most beautiful piece of art you have seen? The beauty of things visible on earth or in us is a great reminder of God's greatness and love for us.

How do you process things these days? Russ reminds us that we are to have the mind of Christ, our Jesus filter, through which we process the things in our lives and the way we look at people around us.

What are you living for this next year? We must live our burden, passion, and vision if we are to honor God.

Surprises in the family tree Jesus' family tree teaches us that God can work through all kinds of people.

Can you see God's signature on his masterpiece? Phil Ware reminds us that we are all God's gifted children and that God has put his signature on each of us in three different ways.

Saved every way a person can be saved Phil Ware continues his series on Out of the Box and focusing on the big Four primal fears that Jesus helps us address and he reminds us that salvation involves a from, for, and to component and shouldn't be simply elevator theology.

What can we learn from a broken coffee cup? A broken mug helps Tom Norvel remind himself of what is most important about life and ministry, that we are not through when we are damaged, but we must press on.

What goes way beyond new at being new? Life comes in many packages, but something way beyond new is fresh, like a loaf of bread.

So what's the big problem with all this self stuff? When we put self in the middle of everything, then everything becomes about I, me, my, and mine, and not about God and we mess up our self-absorbed lives.

Do spooky things scare you? There are scary things in this world, but we need not fear any of them. The one who is in us is greater than the powers of this world.

Is rest really necessary for holy and whole living? Phil Ware talks about the importance of rest and the Sabbath principle.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Phil Ware challenges us to look beyond the cosmetic image we see in the mirror and view ourselves as God does.