We dive back into the sermon series, Rooted in Christ, Living in a New World, with an overview of what sin is and why we very much need the grace of Jesus, which is what the main thrust of this sermon is about. Grace is more than a get-out-of-hell-free card, and more than simply the power do do pleasing things for God. It is the gift of Jesus Himself.

Church Elder Ed Grossman walks us through an overview of the bool of Ephesians.

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called? Ephesians says that our leaders are gifts from Christ.  Leaders are not here to do all the work for you. They serve the body of Christ by equipping each of us to do the work of the Kingdom.  Our guest speaker Phill Hall teaches us our role as followers, of not only Jesus but of our church leaders. And when we follow well, it makes all the difference.

When we find ourselves in transition, we can experience a wide variety of emotions. But Associate Pastor Steve Wick reminds us that God is always with us and will go before us in times of change.

Many think the Kingdom of God is something that it is not. The Kingdom is where ever the Lord’s will is being done and His ways are obeyed. We must know what it means for Christ to reign as King in our hearts while understanding the roadblocks to pursuing the Kingdom of God. In this, Pastor Ken Abramson’s last sermon at GREFC, he strives to convey how we can be more Kingdom oriented in our daily lives.

Many Christians are unaware of the path they need to take to move toward deep faith and the inherent obstacles in that path that block their progress. Without a firm understanding of what holds us back and how to overcome it, we will never attain full maturity in the faith. Pastor Ken Abramson walks us through what we need to know and Who we need to run to, to attain a deep and abiding faith.

In the Christian world we talk a lot about spiritual maturity. But everyone has a different definition of what spiritual maturity is. Pastor Ken Abramson shares what GREFC has chosen to aim for and why.

As times change, it is vitally important for the church to understand the times… not only the surrounding culture but the influence the culture has on Christianity. We need to understand what is good, better and best when it comes to pursuing God. The reality is that the family of God must keep front and center the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. If these are not central, nothing we do will last.

Many in our culture mistakenly believe that people, at the core, are good, that the path to heaven is in trying to do more good things than bad, and that as God evaluates them, they will be found weighted in the right direction. But the first few verses in Ephesians 2 confirm that this is not true. Once we decide to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us and starts a battle with our fleshly nature. The question is: Who is winning?

The church in Ephesus was a healthy church with great leaders. Yet in Revelation we see a strong warning to this church and eventually the church died. Somewhere along the way, despite a once thriving church, they stopped their forward progress and instead slid into oblivion. This can also happen in individuals. God expects all of us, no matter where we are in our faith journey, to keep moving forward and growing a healthy root system. Pastor Ken Abramson walks us through three ways to keep moving into deeper relationship with God.