Keep Moving: Discovering Your Next Step of Faith

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Chiseled by Grace: Becoming God’s Masterpiece

A block of marble holds hidden beauty, just as God sees potential beneath our rough edges. Michelangelo’s years of chiseling the Pieta mirror God’s patient work in us. His tools include both joy and hardship, shaping us into vessels of purpose. Every strike of the hammer removes what doesn’t reflect Christ. Resistance slows the process, but surrender lets grace carve us into clarity. You are not a half-finished project—you’re a poem in progress. [33:21]

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Reflection: What rough edge is God chiseling in you this season? How might surrendering to His tools deepen your trust in His artistry?

Day 2: From Death to Life: The ‘But God’ Moment

Two words split eternity: “But God.” They mark the pivot from rebellion to redemption, despair to deliverance. Like the king who wrapped himself around his condemned daughter, Jesus absorbed our punishment. Grace interrupts death’s sentence, not because we earned it, but because Love wrote a better story. Your past doesn’t define you—resurrection power does. Walk as someone brought back to life. [37:02]

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.” (Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT)

Reflection: Where do you need to replace “I was” with “But God”? How would living as a resurrection person change your choices today?

Day 3: Faith in Motion: Steps That Prove Belief

Real faith walks. James called out hollow religion—even demons “believe.” True trust in Jesus overflows into action: serving, forgiving, giving. Like an orange tree can’t hide its fruit, grace-rooted lives can’t conceal compassion. Your next step isn’t about earning love; it’s revealing the Love already at work within you. Stagnant faith frustrates. Active faith fascinates. [45:36]

“Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ But I say, ‘How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.’ […] Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” (James 2:18-20, NLT)

Reflection: What dormant area of your faith needs to “get up and walk”? How could one practical act of love this week prove your belief?

Day 4: Trusting the Unseen: Abraham’s Journey of Obedience

Faith means holding a map with no destinations. Abraham packed his life without knowing the route, trusting the Guide more than the plan. Security—in money, control, or comfort—chains us to the familiar. God invites you to drop those weights and step into the unknown. The road won’t make sense until you’re walking it. Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s moving despite it. [50:16]

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8, NLT)

Reflection: What false security is God asking you to release? What first step into the unknown is He whispering for you to take?

Day 5: The Next Step: Where Marble Meets Obedience

Masterpieces aren’t made in leaps—they’re shaped step by step. Your next move might seem small: a prayer, a confession, a “yes” to serving. But each obedient chisel-strike reveals more of Christ in you. You don’t need the full blueprint. You need courage to trust the Sculptor with today’s task. What’s your “marble moment”—the one action God is waiting for you to take? [55:22]

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Reflection: What single step is God highlighting for you right now? How will taking it today align you deeper with His masterpiece plan?

Sermon Summary

The church’s identity is not standing still after somebody says yes to Jesus. The call is to “keep moving,” because nobody is finished, and God is still working in, through, and on every life. Ephesians 2 says believers are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus to do the good things God planned long ago. The word masterpiece, poema, carries the picture of a great work of art, something God sees before anybody else can see it.

The image of Michelangelo shaping marble shows how God forms a life over time. God removes what does not belong, and that process can hurt. Pain does not mean God caused every hard thing, but God can use every painful circumstance to teach, strengthen, and move a heart away from self-dependence and toward trust. Free will means a life cannot stay like a block of marble. Faith responds, obeys, and takes the next step.

Ephesians 2 begins with the bad news that sin leaves people dead and separated from God, unable to save themselves. But God, rich in mercy and love, gives life through Christ. Grace saves through faith alone, not performance, effort, or trying hard enough to earn God’s approval. Jesus stepped into the place sinners deserved, took the cross, and declared, “It is finished.” Salvation is a gift, and death has become life for those united with Christ.

Grace, however, does not leave a person where it found them. Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone. James says genuine faith moves into action, because an orange tree eventually produces oranges. Changed words, relationships, priorities, generosity, compassion, repentance, and service do not purchase salvation. They reveal that Jesus is changing somebody from the inside out.

Faith also cannot always play it safe. Abraham obeyed and went without knowing where he was going, because faith trusts God before the whole picture becomes clear. Security can become control, comfort, approval, career, relationships, money, or confidence in personal ability. God does not demand a ten-year plan. God asks for the next step: salvation, baptism, time in God’s Word, worship, community, serving, generosity, forgiveness, confession, or simply trusting what comes next. God is not finished, so the call remains simple: keep moving.

Key Takeaways

1. God is still shaping masterpieces [33:21] God sees more than the rough edges, the failures, and the unfinished places. The shaping can feel like a hammer and chisel, but God removes what keeps a life from becoming what He intended. The pain of formation is not proof of abandonment. The masterpiece emerges slowly because God is not careless with a soul. [33:21]
2. Grace saves, then grace transforms [43:34] Grace is not a reward for finally becoming good enough. Jesus has already paid what sin required, and faith receives that gift. Yet grace does not make peace with a life that refuses to move. The same love that forgives begins to change words, desires, priorities, and relationships. [43:34]
3. Faith requires movement, not guarantees [49:16] Faith does not wait until every answer is available and every risk disappears. Abraham obeyed before he knew the destination, because God’s direction mattered more than personal control. Security can become an idol when comfort, approval, or self-reliance keeps a person from obeying. The next step often begins where certainty ends. [49:16]
4. God saves people for good works [54:15] Salvation rescues a person from sin, but it also sends that person into a purpose God prepared long ago. Serving, generosity, confession, and compassion are not side projects for especially committed Christians. God has prepared works that fit the gifts and calling of each life. A faithful next step may become the way somebody else sees Jesus.

## [54:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:53] - The Identity: Keep Moving
[30:21] - God’s Masterpiece in Ephesians 2
[31:49] - Michelangelo and the Shaping Process
[36:07] - Dead in Sin, But God
[39:07] - Saved by Grace Through Faith
[43:34] - Grace Does Not Leave Us There
[45:36] - Faith and Good Deeds
[48:30] - Every Person Has a Next Step
[49:16] - Abraham and Moving by Faith
[52:15] - What Is Your Next Step?
[54:38] - Repentance, Purpose, and Obedience
[56:40] - Three Questions for the Journey
[59:26] - Invitation to Surrender to Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” [30:45]

Ephesians 2:8-9
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast

Sermon Clips

37s

#GraceTransforms

“We've gotta be careful. Grace saves us, but grace doesn't leave where it found us. Grace saves us, but it doesn't leave us where it found us. Paul says, again, let me remind you what he says. We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. In other word, God saves us, and then he changes us. God gives us a new life, and then he gives us a new direction.”

62s

#LetGoAndTrust

“But here's a phrase I want you to remember. You cannot step toward your destiny or where God's calling you while constantly clinging to security in your life. That's what we wanna do in life. Now when I talk about security, I'm not just talking about money because a lot of times that's what we initially think about. Well, security if I have money, I have security. Security can be control, comfort, people's approval, your career, relationship. Security can be your even your own ability. Right? I can get this done on my own. Sometimes we know exactly what God is asking us to do, but we're holding so tightly to what makes us feel safe that we can't take that next step. Sometimes your greatest obstacle isn't that you don't know your next step, it's that you're afraid of what you will have to to have to release to take it. That's what you're afraid of. That's the fear. But at some point, you've got to move. You've gotta trust. You've gotta obey.”

37s

#TrustGod

“Jesus wants you free of that. Here's what I want you to understand. God isn't God isn't asking you to try to figure out the next ten years. He's not asking you to see the whole picture. He's asking you this morning, will you take the next step? You don't need to know everything. You don't need to understand understand everything. You don't need to have it all figured out. We need to trust him and move because here's the beautiful thing. When we move, God will be there, and he will meet us and walk with us in that step.”

38s

#FaithInAction

“Faith is trusting God when you can't see the whole picture. Now here's the problem. Make sure you get this. You can't have faith and and always play it safe. I'm just gonna tiptoe around in my life, you know, for now that I know Jesus and I'll play it safe. No. Faith requires movement. Faith says, god, I don't know exactly how I'm gonna this is gonna work out, but I trust you. Faith, god, I don't know what's on the other side of this decision, but I'm gonna I'm gonna take that next step. I don't have all the answers.”

40s

#FollowJesus

“God forgives us, and then he invites us to follow him. Look at the countless stories in the New Testament, the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and read about Jesus. He he he gives people grace, but then he invites them to follow him. That's why I love this statement. Matter of fact, write it down. Faith alone saves us, but the faith that saves us is never alone. It's not alone. You see, when we experience the transformation of god's love and being forgiven, catch this, that love begins to transform you and I.”

49s

#SavedByGrace

“Hear that this morning? Because so many times you're gonna hear maybe a different story. Maybe even a church is gonna preach something different, but that's not what scripture tells us. We just read it. We're saved by grace through faith, not because of our performance, not because you're good enough, because you're really not. Not because you've earned it. It is by faith. Some people, again, will spend their whole lives trying to earn it, and they do that. But Christianity isn't work hard enough, and and then maybe God will love me. The gospel is God already loves you, and he has made a way to have a relationship with him through Jesus. Grace is a gift.”

45s

#ButGod

“But then the, I think, maybe the two most beautiful words ever in God's word, his love letter in scripture. Two words, but God. Anybody thankful for those words right there? But God. I mean, you were dead in your sin, but God. We were lost, but God. We were broken, but God. We were we were separated, but God. And God somehow, and I love to hear the story, somehow stepped into your story, and Jesus came, he rose or died, he rose again, and through faith in Jesus Christ, we move, you move from death to life. We sing songs about it all the time.”

39s

#GodsMasterpiece

“Paul says you are God's masterpiece. Even when the enemy and the culture tells you differently, you are his masterpiece. And I I know some of you may be sitting here thinking or watching online thinking, Shane, have you seen me? Masterpiece would be a pretty strong word. But that's what exact exactly what Paul is saying here. God see sees something in you that that most of the time we don't even see in ourself. He's not finished. I don't care what age you are here today. He's not finished. He's still shaping you. He's still forming you.”

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