Ephesians | Week 1 | Full Service

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68 min

Pastor Brent Hatchett · Jan 6, 2025 · 4 min read · 68 min listen

Quoting the message: God has a plan, and that plan includes you, end quote..

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Big Idea

Before time began, God chose you, not because you were good, but because He is good. In Ephesians 1, Pastor Brent shows that to be in Christ means you've been chosen, adopted, and set apart as holy, and that demands a faithful response of total surrender to Jesus in 2025.

Key points

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1Ephesians answers two questions: what does it mean to be in Christ, and what does that demand of us?
Pastor Brent leans on commentator Kent Hughes to frame the whole book of Ephesians around this question, noting the first three chapters give rich theology (chosen, made alive, united as one) while the last three chapters apply it to daily life like marriage, family, and spiritual armor.
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2God chose you before time began, not because of your goodness but because of His goodness.
Using the story of his stepdad choosing to be his father when he married his mother, Pastor Brent shows that God had us on His mind before creation. He lists things God did not choose us for (cute, smart, talented, gifted, even good) and lands on the truth that God chose us because it is in His nature, seeing all our flaws and still choosing us.
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3To be holy means to be set apart for a specific person and purpose.
Pastor Brent clarifies that holiness isn't about sinlessness or perfect performance, but about being set apart. He illustrates this with his dad's IBC root beer, which was reserved just for him, arguing that if a man can feel that way about a drink, God feels infinitely more that way about us.
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4Being a faithful follower means picking up a cross of obedience, giving Jesus total access rather than partial access.
He distinguishes fans from true followers, defining a faithful follower through Matthew 16:24 as one who denies self, picks up their cross, and follows Christ. He tells the story of a young man who thought a girlfriend he didn't like was his 'cross to carry' to clarify that the real cross is the daily choice of obedience, not giving God only part of your life.
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5God does not practice cancel culture; He calls the very people the world would write off.
Pastor Brent points to David's adultery and murder and to Paul's past as a violent persecutor of the church (Saul) to show that neither was chosen for good behavior but because God is a good God. He argues if anyone should have been canceled it was Paul, yet God chose him to write two-thirds of the New Testament.
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6God's plan is to bring everything together under Christ's authority when He returns.
Working through Ephesians 1:9-10, Pastor Brent describes a coming theocracy where every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord, regardless of politics, race, or status, and all brokenness will be undone according to God's plan.
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7Real hope and power for 2025 are found only in Jesus, sealed by the Holy Spirit who guarantees our inheritance.
He contrasts the world's search for hope in things, circumstances, and public figures with the believer's hope anchored in Jesus, who never changes. He points to the same resurrection power that raised Christ and seated Him at God's right hand as available to believers now, urging people to grow in their relationship with the Holy Spirit rather than just chase New Year's goals.

Application

Let today be the day you surrender all to Him.

Give Jesus total access, not partial access
Stop giving God only some parts of your life this year; pick up the cross of obedience daily and surrender every area to Him instead of picking and choosing when to follow.
Lean into the Holy Spirit like never before
In 2025, intentionally deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit who lives in you to lead, guide, comfort, and correct you.
Put growing closer to Jesus above every other goal
Whatever is on your vision board or resolution list for 2025, make sure growing in knowledge of God is on it, or the rest is ultimately wasted.
Anchor your hope in Jesus alone
Stop looking for hope in people, circumstances, or public figures, and instead root your hope in Jesus, who never changes and never fails.

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“I've kind of landed the plane that I think the big idea in Ephesians chapter one is simply this, God has a plan, and that plan includes you”
From the transcript
“Ephesians chapter one, beginning at verse number one, it says this. This letter is from Paul chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus”
From the transcript
“What does it mean to be a faithful follower of Christ? To be a faithful follower of Christ goes back to Matthew sixteen twenty four. It's where I believe the passage is. It means, I pick up my cross, I deny myself, and I follow him”
From the transcript
“So now what does Paul go on to say? Paul goes on to say this in verse number three. He says, All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ”
From the transcript
“here's what Paul goes on to say next in verses four and five. He says, Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes”
From the transcript
“I love verses five and six, and here's the reason why I love verses five and six, because within these two verses, while it is without question, there's beauty found in the fact that he chose us”
From the transcript
“in our hardest times, we can look at Psalms 23 and say, The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. And he makes me to lie down in green pastures”
From the transcript
“look at what Paul says next. He says, as a result of this in verse number six, so we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear son”
From the transcript
“Verse seven, he is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sin”
From the transcript
“Verse number nine, God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan”
From the transcript
“come, will see Isaiah nine fulfilled, and the government will rest upon his shoulders. And he shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, and he will sit on his throne”
From the transcript
“look at what Paul goes on to say. He says this in verse number 12, God's purpose was that we Jews, who were the first to trust in Christ, would bring praise and glory to God”
From the transcript
“Verse 14, The Spirit is God's guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised, and that He has purchased us to be His own people”
From the transcript
“Verse number 15, ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you”
From the transcript
“I pray for you constantly. Verse 17, asking God, the glorious father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God”
From the transcript
“here's how Paul lands it in verse 19. He says, I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him”
From the transcript
“Paul goes on to say this in verse 21, Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else, not only in this world, but also in the world to come”
From the transcript
“Verse number 22, God has put all things under the authority of Christ, the one who died for you, the one who loves you, the one who sacrificially gave his life for you and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church”

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Day 1

The very first word of Paul's letter to the Ephesians carries more weight than it might seem at first glance. He addresses his readers as 'saints' — people who are holy and faithful in Christ Jesus. That word 'holy' doesn't primarily mean morally perfect. Pastor Brent unpacked it this way: to be holy is to be set apart for a specific person and a specific purpose. You are set apart for God Himself, and you are set apart for His glory. That reframes everything. You didn't earn that status. You didn't qualify for it after a track record of good decisions. Paul calls these believers saints before he's said a single word about what they've done. Their identity comes first. Their calling flows from that. This is worth sitting with at the start of a new year. Before you make your lists, set your goals, or assess where you fell short last year, Scripture names you. You are a saint — not because of your goodness, but because of whose you are. That isn't a hall pass for complacency. It's actually the most demanding thing imaginable, because it means your life now has a direction: toward God, for His purposes. Let that settle in today. Not as pressure, but as foundation. Who you are in Christ is already decided. The question is whether you're living like it.

For reflection

When you think about your identity, what tends to define you first — your performance, your roles, or who God says you are? What would it look like to let His definition come first today?

Pray

Pray for a fresh, settled confidence in who God says you are — not based on yesterday's wins or failures, but on His word over you.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Ephesians 1 opens with a sweeping declaration — that before creation began, God was already at work choosing, adopting, and blessing His people. Let's dig into what that means and what it asks of us.

Discussion questions

1
In Ephesians 1:4-5, Paul says God chose us and adopted us into His family before creation — not because of anything good in us, but because of His own goodness and grace. What does it tell us about God's character that His choosing started with Him and not with us?
2
The message pointed to Ephesians 1:1, where Paul describes believers as 'holy' — meaning set apart for a specific person and a specific purpose. How does understanding holiness that way change how we might think about what it means to belong to God?
3
Ephesians 1:3 says believers have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because they are 'in Christ.' What do you think it looks like, practically, for a community of people to actually live out of that kind of abundance rather than operating as if they're on their own?
4
Ephesians 1:13-14 describes the Holy Spirit as God's guarantee of the promised inheritance — and Pastor Brent called the Spirit our 'secret weapon for daily life.' What stands out to you about the Spirit being described in those terms, and what might it look like for people to lean into that more intentionally?
5
Pastor Brent drew on Matthew 16:24 and pointed to picking up the cross of obedience as what it means to be a faithful follower — giving Jesus total access to every area of life, not just parts of it. What do you think makes that kind of wholehearted response feel so difficult, and what from Ephesians 1 speaks to that difficulty?
6
Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:17 is that believers would grow in the knowledge of God. Pastor Brent said going into a new year without drawing closer to Jesus would be a wasted year. As a group, what are some ways we could help each other actually make that a reality — not just a good intention?

Pray together

Gratitude for being chosen, adopted, and sealed by the Spirit — and openness to giving Jesus fuller access to every part of life

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Ephesians | Week 1 | Full Service

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

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Playlist For | Week 2

The Road To Easter | Week 1 | Full Service

Distorted | Week 5 | Full Service

Armor of God | Week 2 | Message

Christmas at Rock Point 2024 Sermon

Ephesians | Week 1 | Full Service

The big idea

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

GOD MAN KING | Week 1 | Sermon

Playlist For | Week 2

The Road To Easter | Week 1 | Full Service

Distorted | Week 5 | Full Service

Armor of God | Week 2 | Message

Christmas at Rock Point 2024 Sermon