[0:00] That was beautiful. Eric, thank you, and Emily. Good morning. Sure is good to be back with you at First Baptist. I think last time I preached, I started wearing my sunglasses, then took them off. I can't remember, but I'm trying to get to where I'm not having to wear them when I preach, so I'm hoping to pray that'll go well today.
[0:24] Those of you that don't know, I had an injury a number of years ago that causes quite a bit of head pain, so we're still trying to deal with that and distrust the Lord to take care of that this morning. Wasn't that a beautiful song? Emmanuel, God with us.
[0:43] I'm going to summarize this message this morning, so any of you who go to sleep, at least you'll get the summary, okay? God with us, Jesus Christ. That's our hope. Hope we can trust is hope in Jesus Christ. If you truly have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, you have hope.
[1:14] If you just go to church and are religious and just trying to do the best you can, but you've never surrendered your life to Christ, received God's grace, my friend, you might celebrate Christmas, but you won't truly experience Christmas.
[1:36] And you might know the word hope, but you won't truly live with hope because Jesus Christ is our only source of true hope.
[1:48] But the good news is it's available for everyone. That's what's phenomenal. God loved us enough. He sent His Son to save us. Amen? What a blessing. As we begin to go through this study, Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 14, I want us first to pray for your pastor and the team that's on the mission trip. Joe and Mason and Pat and Chris are four of the folks that are on this mission trip to Taiwan.
[2:17] So let's pray for them right now as they're sharing the hope of Christ overseas, and let's pray for God's blessing here this morning again. Bow with me, please. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you, letting you know that we love you and we praise you and we thank you for the hope that we have, not because of who we are, certainly, but the hope that we have found in your Son, Jesus Christ.
[2:44] Father, we lift Joe and Mason and Pat and Chris to you, the rest of the team. We pray, God, that you would use them as your vessels in Taiwan. Bring them back safely, we pray, God. Watch them with their families and protect them while these guys are gone.
[3:01] And Lord, as they are probably in bed or getting ready for bed now, I pray that you would just give them a sense of comfort. And Father, as we are in the midst of this time of worship this morning, may you comfort our hearts.
[3:15] But also, Father, may you speak to our hearts in such a way that if any of us here today need to respond to you, either to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, or if we're believers who simply need to rededicate or recommit ourselves to you, God, help us to leave here this morning only, only after we have done what you lead us to do.
[3:45] For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm going to ask you, look at that team right there. I guess that's the team in Taiwan, is that right? Amen. Praise the Lord. I'm going to ask you to stand, if you're able to, stand in the honor of reading the Word of God.
[3:59] Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 14. Hope we can trust. Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.
[4:14] For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in love before Him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He lavished on us in the Beloved One.
[4:39] In Him we have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness of His Son with eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has eternal grace that He has