Ephesians 4:1-16: Maturing in the Faith

If you've been following along with us through Ephesians, let me say "thank you".

This week, we are really excited to venture further this incredible book. Earlier you heard Paky refer the the first half of Ephesians as the "Doctrine" and the second half as the "Duty"...well, here we are at Chapter 4, and Paul starts shifting from who we are in Christ and into what we are supposed to do with it.

For starters, Paul writes we should be growing and maturing in Christ. and then goes on to say that this maturity will guard us and unify us. What a beautiful vision of the Church.

Listen in as Paky, Jesse & I explore these verses and walk through our Scripture Outlines. It's a short passage so if you haven't done a Scripture Outline with us yet...today is a great opportunity. Please join us as we go through our Content, Aim, Divisions and discuss how we are able to apply these verses to our daily lives.

Ephesians 3: God's Mystery Revealed

Here we are at the third Chapter of Ephesians and so far Paul has been talking about who we are as individuals and as a group of believers in Jesus. Paul has recalled the power, the gifts, the promises and the community that we claim as being believers.

Now in this third Chapter, Paul starts to transition into how this all relates to God's ultimate purpose and how we fit into that. He concludes by sharing a prayer that we all come to fully absorb the deep truth he has been sharing up to this point.

Listen in with Paky, Jesse & Richard as they dig in further to this beautiful passage...

Review: Called & Accountable

Hey everyone, Richard here! I wanted to share with everyone a Devotional that I recently finished with a Lunch Group that I meet with each week. Called & Accountable: Discovering Your Place in God's Eternal Purpose is the study that this 52-week devotional is based upon.

I was first introduced to the name Blackaby about 6 years ago when a small group I was part of worked through the highly acclaimed Experiencing God Bible Study. It remains to this day, the most challenging study I've been through and I can honestly say that my walk with Christ truly matured upon completing it. I highly encourage any believer, new or old, to rise to the challenge presented by the Experiencing God study. If you are one of the lucky ones to have first hand knowledge of this study, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

But back to Called & Accountable, which Henry co-authored with his brother Norman. This devotional is a year long journey with the Blackaby brothers designed to push the reader towards examining your walk with Christ and are you maturing and growing as we are...well...called and accountable according to the Living Word of God. 😉

Each week begins with a passage of Scripture that sets the tone for the following short devotional. Then ends with some practical questions and a prayer to recite throughout that week as you meditate upon the theme discussed. The chapters build upon what you've read to date, but can surely stand on their own just as well. As you go through the year, you'll come across some familiar verses and ideas, but also be challenged with introspective and convicting study questions.

If you like a spiritual challenge and are looking for something to keep your daily thoughts anchored on Jesus, but don't want to commit to a lengthy book, please take my recommendation for Called & Accountable. Each week takes about 10-15 minutes to read through, while the acompanying prayer and passage  are short enough to memorize and carry with you as you go about your week. I hope you find it as engaging and accessible as my lunch group did.

The book is available on Amazon.com and make sure you look for the 52-week devotional not the book itself. We had more than one of our group make that mistake. Not knocking the complete study book, but it won't serve as well as a weekly devotional. If you've been through this devotional, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.


"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"
                                                                         - Psalm 119:105

Ephesians 2:11-22: All in the Family

As we move into the second half of Ephesians 2, Paul begins to describe the work of Christ as bringing all believers into the same family. Jews and Gentiles are now one group and should love each other as brothers and sisters.

Often this section of Scripture is over-shadowed by the theological pillars erected in the first half of this chapter. But don't miss out on the important implications of what Paul is writing here. As believers, we are all building blocks of His holy temple. We stand stronger together and have power in the unity!

Take a listen as we explore this beautiful passage further after the jump...

Ephesians 2:1-10

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed last week as we started into the wonderful book of Ephesians. Such an amazing section of the Bible. This week, we move on to the first half of chapter 2. There's just so much in these 10 verses that we wanted to break chapter 2 into two weeks. 

If I'm honest, we actually recorded a podcast trying to pack the whole chapter into one session and thought better of it and have gone back and re-recorded just examining the first 10 verses. I think you will enjoy the discussion as get into one of the most looked at parts of the New Testament.

The Alps of the New Testament: Ephesians

This week we start a 9 week look at Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This is a really popular book that many readers view in two parts. Paul uses the first 3 chapters to paint a powerful and amazing picture of who we are in Christ as believers. The last 3 chapters are an action plan about how we are to take that power into the world and what is the true nature of scope of the obstacles we face.

There is a LOT of important theology and some scripture that details some of the basic tenets of the Christian faith. The power of Christ that resides in each of us, Faith-based Salvation, Spiritual Warfare, The Armor of God...and so much more! Get ready for a great study...

Take a listen as we examine the first chapter.




To see each of our show notes click the links below...