Why do we keep sinning? We have come to Christ. We have trusted in Christ? Why do we keep finding ourselves ensnared by sin and living ineffective and unproductive lives? In this message, we learn what sin does to our life and how God instructs us to break free from its control.

Ephesians 4:17-24 -- How Do I Stop Sinning? - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 4:17-24 -- How Do I Stop Sinning? - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 4:17-24 -- How Do I Stop Sinning? - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 4:17-24 -- How Do I Stop Sinning? - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Sin, Sanctification, Purity, Holiness

Life is busy. The kids take our time, work demands more hours. When we come to church, it feels so good to sit, relax and take it all in. The problem is that our resting may be stifling our love for Jesus and our brothers and sister through Jesus. Find out why everyone should insist that they serve in their church.

Ephesians 4:7-16 -- When Everybody Does Their Part - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 4:7-16 -- When Everybody Does Their Part - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 4:7-16 -- When Everybody Does Their Part - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 4:7-16 -- When Everybody Does Their Part - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Leadership, Serving, Spiritual Gifts, Church

For many of us, character isn't that important. We want the cheapest product on the shelf. It doesn't matter to us if a company used child labor to keep their costs down. Nobody cares if a company pollutes the atmosphere, as long as their product is cheap. While we don't care about character, God does. In this message, we find out how Jesus changes our character by changing the way we treat others.

Ephesians 4:1-6 -- From Grace to Gratitude to Glory - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 4:1-6 -- From Grace to Gratitude to Glory - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 4:1-6 -- From Grace to Gratitude to Glory - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 4:1-6 -- From Grace to Gratitude to Glory - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Gratitude, God's glory, Life

When you think of spiritual maturity, what comes to mind? For most of us spiritual maturity means Bible knowledge. You know the spiritually mature people because they win the Bible trivia games. In reality, many Bible trivia champions are spiritual toddlers. There is something missing from their life. What is it? Join us to discover what you may be missing.

Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Rethinking Spiritual Maturity - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Rethinking Spiritual Maturity - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Rethinking Spiritual Maturity - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 3:14-21 -- Rethinking Spiritual Maturity - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Spiritual Maturity

We are entering a busy season at CrossWinds. We have a new name, a new web site, and a new campus is about to launch. Leaders are moving from Spirit Lake to Spencer helping to get the campus off the ground. This gives us expected holes on our ministry teams. It is a time where everyone needs to work extra hard and long hours. Is it worth it? In Ephesians 3, we find out.

Ephesians 3:1-13 -- Ministry is Worth the Sacrifice - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 3:1-13 -- Ministry is Worth the Sacrifice - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 3:1-13 -- Ministry is Worth the Sacrifice - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 3:1-13 -- Ministry is Worth the Sacrifice - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Ministry, Church Leadership, Sacrifice, Church

After the holiday, you find fitness advertisements reminding you to get in shape. They always feature someone who tried the advertised weight loss plan and they feature a before and after photo. In this passage, Paul gives us a before and after photo of what we were like with and without Jesus.

Ephesians 2:11-22 -- Jesus Gave Me a Family - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 2:11-22 -- Jesus Gave Me a Family - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 2:11-22 -- Jesus Gave Me a Family - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 2:11-22 -- Jesus Gave Me a Family - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Family, Forgiveness, Church Conflict

My daughter loves gymnastics. One of her favorite moves is the splits. It hurts to see her legs stretched in opposite directions. In Ephesians 2, Paul forces us into the spiritual splits by stretching our mind to understand the darkness of our sin and the magnificence of our blessing through Christ. Stretching is good for us, but it can hurt. In the same way, the spiritual splits are tough on us while they are good for us.

Ephesians 2:1-10 -- But God... - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 2:1-10 -- But God... - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 2:1-10 -- But God... - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 2:1-10 -- But God... - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Sovereignty

We all have special people in our life, people we care about with all of our heart. They are our children, our spouse and our life-long friends. How should you pray for them? Is the success of their business their schooling and marriage the most important thing to pray for? In these opening verses of Ephesians, Paul prays for some of his life-long friends. From his prayer, how to pray for those we love.

Ephesians 1:15-23 -- How Should I Pray For People I Love? - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 1:15-23 -- How Should I Pray For People I Love? - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 1:15-23 -- How Should I Pray For People I Love? - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 1:15-23 -- How Should I Pray For People I Love? - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Prayer, Friendships, Love

It is easy to see what is wrong in life. The family overslept so the kids are late for school. The car wouldn't start so the budget faces an unexpected repair. While it is easy to see what is wrong, in the introduction to Ephesians, Paul helps us see what is right and how blessed we are by God through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:1-14 -- I Am Blessed! - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians 1:1-14 -- I Am Blessed! - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians 1:1-14 -- I Am Blessed! - Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians 1:1-14 -- I Am Blessed! - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF

Tags: Predestination, Election, Free Will, Sovereignty

America is drifting from its Christian heritage. We are rapidly approaching a post-Christian era in America. Is there any hope for our country? if there is hope, where is ti found? Before we study the book of Ephesians, we take the time to learn about the city of Ephesus and how the church came to the city. The story we find is the encouragement we need in our post-Christian era.

Ephesians - Introduction and Overview - Quicktime and iPhone Audio - M4A
Ephesians - Introduction and Overview - Manuscript - PDF
Ephesians - Introduction and Overview- Sermon Handout - PDF
Ephesians - Introduction and Overview - Life Group Work Sheet - PDF