Main Text: Ephesians 1:11-23 (Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Luke 6:20-31)
This Sunday, we celebrate All the Saints. These saints in many and various ways lived out their faith with power and purpose. Now it is time for us to step up and step out. We have received the same gift of God as our inheritance. Daniel envisions that inheritance as the Kingdom of God which is ours as a gift that can’t be taken away. We know that is true because nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ, not even death itself. This inheritance is grounded in hope in the promise of God for the future. This hope and promise, however, is meant to be powerful in the present. We are called to put this power to work in our lives, families, church, community and world. We are called to step out, having received this inheritance, and empower the world through the presence of God dwelling in us. The gift of the beatitudes (blessings and curses) shows the very clear distinction between the power of the world and the power promised through Christ. Which power will you step out with? Which power will you put to work in your life?