ADOPTED FOR A PURPOSE (5 OF 8)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Ephesians 1:2-14
This content is part of a series.
Adopted for a Purpose (5 of 8)
Series: Purpose Driven Life
Jeff Strite
Ephesians 1:3-14
OPEN: One woman shared a story of her childhood as a victim of polio. She said, ''When my mother left me in Sunday School I always asked to wear her locket. She thought I liked the locket, but that wasn't it at all. I knew I wasn't worth coming back for, but I knew she would come back for her locket.''
APPLY: What was that little girl's afraid of? She was afraid that she wasn't wanted. BUT, she felt that if she had something with her that was valuable... that her mother would always come back for her.
What Paul is telling us in Ephesians 1 is this:
God believes we are valuable.
God believes we are worth coming back for.
And so God has used some very specific and very emotional language to describe how valuable we really are to Him.
Look again at vs. 4 and 5
''For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.''
We've been chosen
We've been pre-destined
And we've been chosen and pre-destined to be adopted
I. We've been adopted...
I was adopted when I was 11 years old. I lived with my biological parents from the day of my birth until I left for College... but I was adopted when I was buried with Christ at the age of 11.
But, did you know that there are men and women - who were adopted when they were younger - who can't seem to get beyond the feeling that they weren't wanted. That they'd been rejected and abandoned. God doesn't look on adoption that way, however. In fact, throughout Scripture some of the greatest men and women of all time were not raised by their birth parents...
Moses - wasn't raised by his parents... he was adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in the courts of Egypt.
Samuel - he was a miracle baby. His mother was barren and she promised God that (if He gave ...
Series: Purpose Driven Life
Jeff Strite
Ephesians 1:3-14
OPEN: One woman shared a story of her childhood as a victim of polio. She said, ''When my mother left me in Sunday School I always asked to wear her locket. She thought I liked the locket, but that wasn't it at all. I knew I wasn't worth coming back for, but I knew she would come back for her locket.''
APPLY: What was that little girl's afraid of? She was afraid that she wasn't wanted. BUT, she felt that if she had something with her that was valuable... that her mother would always come back for her.
What Paul is telling us in Ephesians 1 is this:
God believes we are valuable.
God believes we are worth coming back for.
And so God has used some very specific and very emotional language to describe how valuable we really are to Him.
Look again at vs. 4 and 5
''For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.''
We've been chosen
We've been pre-destined
And we've been chosen and pre-destined to be adopted
I. We've been adopted...
I was adopted when I was 11 years old. I lived with my biological parents from the day of my birth until I left for College... but I was adopted when I was buried with Christ at the age of 11.
But, did you know that there are men and women - who were adopted when they were younger - who can't seem to get beyond the feeling that they weren't wanted. That they'd been rejected and abandoned. God doesn't look on adoption that way, however. In fact, throughout Scripture some of the greatest men and women of all time were not raised by their birth parents...
Moses - wasn't raised by his parents... he was adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in the courts of Egypt.
Samuel - he was a miracle baby. His mother was barren and she promised God that (if He gave ...
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