September 23, 2020
EVER WONDER WHAT GOD IS UP TO WITH YOU? We cannot earn salvation, but having received it by God’s grace through faith, we become God’s “workmanship” (Greek: “poiema”). We become God’s poem, His masterpiece. We are a new creation, therefore we begin to display the new nature in our daily walk, doing good works. Yet
July 12, 2020 | Ephesians 3:14-21 |
The definition of marriage and family are being deconstructed and redefined. For those who care about God’s plan for the family, these are troubling statistics and trends. If you’re married with kids, you’re probably worried about your kids’ future. If you’re divorced and a single parent, you don’t want your family to be another statistic. If you’re single, especially if you’re a single woman, and you want to get married, you’re starting to panic that it won’t ever happen because of the decline of available, marriageable men. How can these statistics and trends be reversed? One heart and one family at a time.
In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prayed that believers would experience God’s blessing on the family. We can experience God’s blessing on our families.
July 5, 2020 | Ephesians 2:4-10 |
Have you noticed how grace-less our culture has become? The so-called “social graces” that used to guide our social interactions, like polite speech, good manners, etiquette, deportment, appropriate dress, have faded into a rude, rough and selfish disregard of others. Add to our declining social graces the political turmoil, the pandemic, the racial unrest, and other problems continuously broadcast to us 24/7 and you have the makings of the graceless and divided country we see today.
How can we change? How can we understand how much “grace matters” to God and how much it matters to how we should live as believers? First, we must understand that in the Bible, grace takes on an even deeper spiritual meaning than just good manners. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he reminded them how much God’s grace mattered to their salvation. We can understand how much God’s grace matters to our salvation.
September 27, 2019
ARE YOU DEPENDING ON THE SPIRIT TO LIVE? Two commands are given here, with the first being illustrative to help understand and emphasize the second. They are: 1) Don’t allow your mind and senses to be dulled and dissipated under the influence of alcohol. 2) Instead, be continuously filled with the Spirit, so that your
September 26, 2019
DO YOUR WORDS EDIFY OTHERS? In a generation of course communication we are to sound a different tone. Jesus taught that our words are an expression of our heart condition, saying, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Do you speak for the edification of the hearer or to benefit
September 24, 2019
WHAT MIGHT GOD DO THROUGH ONE WHO GIVES HIM ALL THE GLORY? The apostle Paul closed his prayer at the end of chapter three with a beautiful benediction. He reminds us that all the glory (credit, thanks, honor, worship) belong to our omnipotent God. When we are able to rightly give God all the glory,
September 22, 2019
THE INCREDIBLE GREATNESS OF GOD’S POWER FOR BELIEVERS Paul prayed that the believers in Ephesus would understand the incredible greatness of God’s power. Why? That they might live by faith in His power rather than their own. Do you want to see the wonder-working power of Christ in our world today? Then put away human
August 25, 2019 | Ephesians 4:11-16 |
Who do you have to depend on when trouble comes your way? Do you have a faith family to do life with? One that not only supports you, but actually builds you up and helps you to grow?
The truth is we need one another in order to grow up spiritually. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught that the Lord had given the church everything needed to grow up together as the body of Christ. We too have been given everything we need to grow up together as the body of Christ.
August 11, 2019 | Ephesians 6:1-4 |
Parents today are worried. They’re worried about their child’s health: obesity, drug abuse, bullying, internet safety, stress, teen pregnancy, depression, and teen suicide. They’re worried about their education: public, private or home school? College? So, a lot of parenting today is worry-driven, or fear driven. Parents today feel overwhelmed and underprepared. Either because they came from a dysfunctional family themselves or because they have no foundational biblical understanding, they feel lost in their role. So, many are just winging it.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he told them how to bring their children up in the Lord. We can follow God’s Word in bringing up our children in the Lord.
August 4, 2019 | Ephesians 5:22-33 |
Who we put in charge of building our “house” can determine its success or failure. Today, we want to discuss how making God the Builder means following God’s design for our marriage. Are there areas in your marriage that need a tune-up? Or maybe even a restart? The truth is we all need help with our marriage. And the best help is found in the Lord. For God has a design for marriage.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he gave instructions on how to follow God’s design for being the family of God. Among these, are his instructions on how to follow God’s design for marriage.