"Essential Building Blocks" (Part 2), Pastor David Doster, March 18 2018

/

"Essential Building Blocks" (Part 2, Selected Texts)

I. Gallery of God's grace                                                                                             (Introduction)

"If you're God's child, you are a gallery of His glorious grace. The walls of your heart have been festooned with the gorgeous artwork of redemption: wisdom for the foolishness of sin, power for the weakness of sin, forgiveness for the guilt of sin, and deliverance from the bondage of sin. Grace means that beautiful things are being done for you and happening within you."  Paul Tripp (New Morning Mercies)

II. Growing together                                                                                                       (Ephesians 4:1-16)

"Spiritual growth, more than increasing in knowledge or following a set of established rules, is an ongoing process of being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. It is a life changing transformation, involving both our efforts and the work of the Holy Spirit in us."                                                                                                                                 BCBC on Growth

" ...for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."  Hebrews 5:13-14

"The members of the church grow by feeding on God's Word and ministering to one another."  Warren Wiersbe

Evidence of Spiritual Growth:

  • Christlikeness
  • Stability
  • Truth coupled with love
  • Cooperation

III. Serving together

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." 1 Peter 4:10

Assessing your gifting:

  1. What do you enjoy doing?
  2. What service has God been blessing?
  3. How have others been encouraged?
  4. What has the Holy Spirit confirmed in you?

IV. Bearing His fruit                                                                                                                              (Application)