July 23, 2017
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Ephesians 4:15-24
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communication, family, unity
“Oneness” as it relates to the family refers to the state of being in complete unity with one another and with the Lord. Why don’t we see the oneness that God intended at creation and that Christ came to give with our salvation? Why are so many families and marriages fractured and broken? One of the main problems is poor communication.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught them to seek oneness in Christ as the goal of their family communication. We can make oneness in Christ the goal of our family’s communication.
July 16, 2017
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Ephesians 3:14-21
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Christian parenting, family
You matter to God and your family matters to God. After all, the family was God’s idea. Yet, today families have strayed from God’s design and intent. 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.
September 28, 2016
The apostle Paul warned the believers in Ephesus not to go out into the world unprotected from spiritual warfare. He told them to be prepared for trouble by putting on the “whole armor of God.” There are six components to this armor, five defensive and one offensive:
1) Belt of Truth
2) Breastplate of Righteousness
3) Gospel of Peace shoes
4) Shield of Faith
5) Helmet of Salvation
6) Sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God. Our only offensive weapon.
Have you armored up today?
September 25, 2016
Both the goal and the means of our speech are described. The goal is maturity in Christ. The means is twofold: “truth” and “love.” The mission of the Church is to make disciples who are being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The members of the Church are to speak the unvarnished, absolute truth to one another, so that they don’t fall prey to false doctrine and worldly deception. Yet, this truth should not be delivered in a harsh, judgmental way, but in a graceful and loving way. Our speech should have the goal of “building up” the hearer (Eph. 4:29). Some consider themselves truth-tellers and others are people-pleasers, but the Word calls for us to avoid both extremes. Instead, speak the truth in love.
September 22, 2016
God’s motive for adoption is here explained. It was “in love” that God chose us before we knew Him. It was God’s love that moved Him to save us and to give us the rights of sonship through adoption (John 1:12). While the doctrines of regeneration and justification describe our salvation from sin and death (Romans 8:2), the doctrine of adoption describes our new relationship as a beloved child of God.
July 24, 2016
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Ephesians 6:1-4
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parenting
What is your parenting approach? Where did you learn how to be a mom or dad? Was it from your parents? From friends or a book? Or are you just winging it? The apostle Paul told the Ephesians how to raise up their children according to God’s plan. As Christians, we can follow God’s Word in the training of our children and raise them up to maturity according to God’s intent.
January 24, 2016
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Ephesians 5:22 - 6:4
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beginnings, family
The apostle Paul told the Ephesians that it was God’s plan to bring everything into submission under Christ, so that everything in heaven and earth are united in Him (Eph. 1:10). It is in Christ that all things are made new! He then laid out the implications of how this new life in Christ would impact every facet of our lives, including the roles of the Christian family. We can experience this this new life in our families by being united in Christ and submitting to God’s plan for the family.
September 27, 2015
Not living under the influence of alcohol, but under the Spirit’s control. 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 by getting drunk. 2) Instead, be continuously filled with the Spirit, so that your mind and body are always being submitted to the Spirit’s influence. This “filling” is not a once in a lifetime command or need, but a continuous, moment by moment one. Not because the Spirit leaves us, for He never leaves those He has sealed. But because we must continually drink from the Spirit as from a fountain that lives within us. Remember that Christ told the woman at the well that those who asked from Him would receive “living water” that would become in them a “fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). The secret of living the abundant life is continuously living according to the Spirit’s filling, rather than by our own strength.
September 26, 2015
Everything has a “seal” or a child-proof cap on it these days. Designed to insure that the right person opens it and that the wrong person can’t, these seals offer quality assurance to the purchaser. The Bible says that when we are saved that God seals us with His Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us assurance of our salvation through Christ. Yet, when we sin, especially when we sin against fellow believers, it “grieves” the Spirit. It grieves God when we have unreconciled relationships. Having reconciled us to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, and having sealed us with His Spirit, God has given us this ministry of reconciliation. We are to love God and others. This “grief” that we feel when we are not right with someone is further evidence of the Spirit’s seal. If you feel the Spirit’s grief today, move quickly to be reconciled and to feel His joy and peace again.
September 25, 2015
Some call the pastor the minister, but this is not biblical. The members are supposed to be the ministers. The pastor is to be an equipper. When Christ established the Church, he gave the gift of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the purpose of “equipping the saints.” When the members of the modern church realize that they are the ministers, we will see a return to the world-changing effectiveness of the 1st century church.