Liturgy for Life : WK 1 - WED
Celebration
Ephesians 1:3-8
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. [4] Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. [5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. [6] So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. [7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. [8] He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
We’re continuing our focus on celebration for a simple reason. In my opinion, we, as Christians, are not really great at celebrating. Specifically, authentic celebration. Sure, we might be good at celebrating birthdays or holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving. But what about celebrating our God? We began to dig into this area yesterday through Psalm 8, and I’m inviting us to get even more personal with this passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Paul’s celebration of God’s grace, God’s action on our behalf, reminds us that even before God created the world He loved us and chose us to be holy and without fault in His eyes. Our lives have been redeemed and united with God through Christ and this passage says it give God great pleasure. Notice verses 7 and 8, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us.” The kindness of God causes Paul to praise God . . . to celebrate God, and so that is why he says, “So we praise God.”
God’s people are a celebrating people. The Church of Christ is a community that celebrates through their praise and worship, celebrating God’s generous (showering) love and kindness to all of humanity. Celebration is a critical part of the liturgy, the regular routine lived out by those who realize and remember that apart from God and His blessing us with His love and grace, there is not much to celebrate.
Ephesians 1:3-8
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. [4] Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. [5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. [6] So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. [7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. [8] He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
We’re continuing our focus on celebration for a simple reason. In my opinion, we, as Christians, are not really great at celebrating. Specifically, authentic celebration. Sure, we might be good at celebrating birthdays or holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving. But what about celebrating our God? We began to dig into this area yesterday through Psalm 8, and I’m inviting us to get even more personal with this passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Paul’s celebration of God’s grace, God’s action on our behalf, reminds us that even before God created the world He loved us and chose us to be holy and without fault in His eyes. Our lives have been redeemed and united with God through Christ and this passage says it give God great pleasure. Notice verses 7 and 8, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us.” The kindness of God causes Paul to praise God . . . to celebrate God, and so that is why he says, “So we praise God.”
God’s people are a celebrating people. The Church of Christ is a community that celebrates through their praise and worship, celebrating God’s generous (showering) love and kindness to all of humanity. Celebration is a critical part of the liturgy, the regular routine lived out by those who realize and remember that apart from God and His blessing us with His love and grace, there is not much to celebrate.
- Take a couple of minutes to reflect on God’s kindness toward you. What comes to mind?
- As you contemplate God showering His kindness on you, how does this make you feel?
- Take a couple of minutes right now to celebrate God and praise Him for His glorious grace He has poured out on you.
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