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The children of God!

How would you answer?

* * 0 Grateful for the

Children of God! Eph 1:15-16 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention

of you in my prayers:

* * 0The 1st half of this chapter is about

“how good it is to be in Jesus!” Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly

places in Christ,●Eph. 1:3-14 Paul delivers “A prayer of praise”

to Jesus!−“To the praise of His glory!”

–Eph. 1:6 “to the praise of His glorious grace”–Eph. 1:12 “to the praise of His glory”–Eph. 1:14 “to the praise of His glory”

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The 2nd half is a “prayer of praise for the saints!”

●The “your & you” of verses 15 & 16 goes back to the “saints” of verse 1!−Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the

will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

−Eph 1:15-16 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

●Saints (hag'-ee-os) = set apart, holy ones!

* * 0 In the Bible we often find our

“need” for one another!●Two are better than one! (Eccl. 4:9-

12)●The weak need the strong! (Gal. 6:1-

2)●Others before ourselves! (Phil. 2:3-4)●We need one another! (Heb. 10:24-

25)−Js 5:19-20 Brethren, if anyone among you

wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

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I. A Word of Praise! Eph 1:15-16a Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love

for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you...

●I wonder how often we remember to give thanks as we should?−If you are anything like me, then all of us

can and should do better!●We should be thankful for God and all

that He does for us, but also for one another!

* * 0 A life of thanksgiving!

●1 Thess 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.●Eph 5:20 giving thanks always for all

things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.●Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word

or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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II. A Word of Prayer!Eph 1:16b ... making mention of you in my

prayers:●Paul would not only give thanks/ praise for

them, he would also pray for them!−Rom 1:9b ... that without ceasing I make

mention of you always in my prayers.−Phil 1:4 always in every prayer of mine

making request for you all with joy,.−Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

* * 0 Focusing on others in prayer!

●Now, I know we pray for the sick & them traveling and maybe the missionaries, but what about the rest of us?−Do we take time to pray for one another?−The Bible often tells us there is a need for this!

–1 Tim 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

–Js 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

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III. A Word of Power!(Eph. 1:17-23)

●Praise and prayer releases “power!”●Paul is praying that they will come to

know first hand the power of God in their lives!

●Paul wrote about this power to the church of Roman!−Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the

gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

* * 0 The Knowledge of God is

“Dynamite!”●The English word “power” found here in (Eph.

1:19 & Rom. 1:16) both come from the Greek word doo'-nam-is = force; might; strength; miraculous power!−When God shows up expect things to get

exciting!−Expect everything to change and never be the

same again!●As is the case with dynamite, this knowledge

needs to be handled with care!

* * 0 Conclusion:

●I would like to end by saying, “thank you for being here today, for being a part of my life!”

●We need one another and we are always better together!

●I will make sure I take more time to pray for you and I hope you will do the same for me!

●Have you come to know the power of God in your life? If not, then why not come today?

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Grumbling and gratitude are, for the

child of God, in conflict. Be grateful and you

won’t grumble. Grumble and you won’t

be grateful!