Ephesians: Walk Worthily (Part 2)
Part 2 of our Ephesians series.
Week 1: Annoying People, Blowing It, & a Life Worth Living Ephesians 4:1-6
When we ask the Apostle Paul to help us find a life worth living, he starts by pointing us towards all the people we find annoying. You know. "Those people." The ones who seem to ruin everything, make your life difficult, and hold you back. The Apostle seems to think that "those people" are not a barrier to the life you are called to live, but they are the surest way to the life that is truly life.
Week 2: Spiritual Gifts, Misquoting the Psalms, & Becoming Fully You. Ephesians 4:7-16
What unites us in Christ doesn’t destroy your individuality or personhood. Each one of us is uniquely gifted by Christ. In this message, we'll discuss how knowing and embracing our different spiritual gifts is essential to becoming who we are called to be.
Week 3: Saints Who Still Feel Like Sinners. Ephesians 4:17-24
How can I truly believe in Jesus... and still live like I don't really believe in Him? How can I know that He calls me a saint... and still feel like such a sinner? If you've ever asked these questions, you're in good company. This message is for you. Before the Apostle Paul instructs us on how to live as a saint (a beloved child of God), he pauses to make sure that we appreciate the magnitude of change needed. This isn't a matter of changing some bad habits or learning a few new things. Jesus is doing something much more radical: You are becoming a new human.
Week 4: Old Lies, Rancid Words, & Simmering Anger. Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Why you do what you do matters. The life promised by Jesus isn't just a matter of obeying some rules. It's becoming a whole new person. It's the start of new desires and... repulsions. This week, the Apostle Paul guides us through five practical (& pressing) issues in order to help us see how the love of God transforms our motivations and our lives.
Week 5: Filled With The Spirit or Just Drunk? Ephesians 5:3-20
In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul tells us that God's will for your life is this: "Don't get drunk." But that's only half the story. Understanding why Paul might be so concerned about our behavior... and why he would compare getting drunk with being filled with the Spirit, that's what makes this passage beautiful. Paul isn't just giving you some new rules to follow. He's giving you a new vision for your new life with God.
Week 6: How Jesus Changes Your Marriage. Ephesians 5:21-33
In marriage, women & men behave, think, feel, are… different. We shouldn't overstate this, or attempt to overly define roles based on these differences. But differences there are. How we relate to one another in these differences can be a matter of great pleasure or horrific pain. In our message today, we'll explore how Jesus's changes marriage and redeems it... so that you can more fully reflect God's love to God and to one another.
Week 7: Children, Parents, & Jesus. Ephesians 6:1-4
The parent-child relationship is central to life. It forms you from birth. And, if you happen to have kids, you form them in ways that you cannot imagine. (Maybe you dare not imagine.) In this message, we talk about how Jesus redeems these most basic, most human of relationships that we might experience "the life that is truly life."
Week 8: Slavery & the Church. Ephesians 6:5-9
Why doesn't the Apostle Paul openly denounce the institution of slavery? Only when we've grappled with this question of justice can we begin to appreciate why Paul seems to think that spiritual slavery is an even more pressing issue.
Week 9: How to Stand Against the Devil's Schemes Ephesians 6:10-20
What happens when a modern, iPhone-using, Starbucks-drinking, Netflix-watching, well-educated American picks up the Bible & finds that the Apostle Paul believes this world is controlled by the Devil? Do you laugh, do you hide in fear, or do you start to pray? That's the question we'll consider as we close out this study of Paul's letter to the ancient Ephesians.