"Will You Grow?" - A Message from Ephesians 4:7-16

Hello  Friends!

I serve a congregation that is full of vibrant, seasoned believers who truly love the Lord.  Worship each week is terrific. The sanctuary is full.  We are trying new ministries - some successfully, some...we'll see.  I imagine how pleased God must be.

Yet, we, like every congregation, are tempted to rest in our church's accomplishments.  Our leadership wants to do what we can do to avoid this. So I am leading a brief, three-week worship series entitled, "Will You Grow?"

Will you grow?  It's a fair question that leads us to introspection and prayer.  In this initial offering/message, we set the tone and challenge the listener to be intentional about the topic by adding 15 minutes of prayer each day to explore with God what His response might be to our question, "Dear God...how might you want me to grow?"

As you listen, I trust that Holy Spirit will speak to you.  May God bless you as you respond to Him!

Peace, Pastor Kirk McCormick

 “Will you Grow?”

Ephesians 4:7-16

Aim 1 – Growth protects us from the trickery of the world.

Ephesians 4:14 – “Then [when we have grown to maturity in Jesus] we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their

deceitful scheming.”

Aim 2 – Growth produces an adult-shaped faith.

Ephesians 4:15 – “Instead (i.e.: of being spiritual infants crawling through life), speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Aim 3 – Growth promotes Security and Opportunity for others.

Ephesians 4:16 – “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

** So we go back to the question at hand, “Will you Grow?”

…is it attractive to you to be more mature,

to walk instead of crawl,

to produce spiritual fruit that benefits not only you but others, too?

Today’s Challenge: A Commitment to Growth Starts with…

Prayer!

Point:  Each of us needs a transformative moment where God convinces our hearts IF we are to grow into new things…

…so we’re encouraging you to accept and work at this Challenge to Pray…

…this is today’s 4^th Aim of Growth… to develop a more consistent connection with God.

Will you Grow? = Will you Pray?