FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT: PREPARED FOR THE PRIZE

We’re excited to enter the season of Lent to continue building our discipleship. Please join us for the Ash Wednesday service on February 18 at 6 pm in the Fellowship Hall to start the Lenten season. Our Lent small group study will be Experience Jesus. Really. by John Eldredge, we will engage 5 small-group lessons on experiencing the nature of Jesus in our lives. This sounds easy, but our world makes it harder and harder for us to truly experience Christ. You will find sign-up sheets outside the Fellowship Hall. This study is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. This Sunday is the final sermon in our series Fight the Good Fight. This fight is a battle for our hearts and souls in our culture. It is fighting the moral and spiritual turbulence of our world that pushes us towards destruction. In the sermon Prepared for the Prize we turn to Ephesians 6:10-17. By putting on the full armor of God, we are encouraged to hold onto Christ as our pillar and guide through the most difficult times. Often, we feel we are fighting this fight alone when God is the one who provides us with strength and perseverance. Our spiritual battles can only be won by the living God who empowers us. Our faith in him is what gets us through the darkness of our world and into God’s glorious light. As we engage Ephesians chapter 6, we pray that God fills you with confidence and motivation to engage the battle of faith while wearing the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17: ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.