Ephesians 1:3-14 After his greeting of grace and Peace, Paul bursts out in an opening prayer: 3 Praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with all that's spiritually good in the heavenly world, 4 just as he chose us to be in him* before the beginning of this world so that in love we could be holy and without fault before him. 5 He decided in advance to adopt … [Read more...]

Having given an overview of the letter to the Ephesians let's now take a deeper look. Paul’s Authority and Blessing  In these first 2 verses, Paul establishes his authority and gives his blessing. 1 This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to God's will, to the Christians* in Ephesus and those who trust in Christ Jesus. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and … [Read more...]

My Ephesians Study Overview: Grace, Blood, Exodus, Deliverance and New Humans An Ephesians study overview. With notes from: N.T. Write an online Course on Ephesians Dr Tim Mackie of The Bible Project Online Class on Ephesians and Dr Michel Heiser, The Unseen Realm. A Letter To All, Even You is Plural Although acknowledged in our Bibles as being written to the … [Read more...]

Nor“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”1. What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? Evangelical Missionaries Working Themselves To Death? Does being an Evangelical Missionary or for that matter a Christian, mean that I have to work myself to death? Being … [Read more...]

O" Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." 1  The strangeness of a message of Good News that is Catching Flies with Vinegar. A Pastor Gathered All The Children A Pastor gathered all the children around him to give a brief lesson before dismissing them for the children's church. He started by saying, "I'm going to … [Read more...]

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you; Leave your gift before the altar, and go and first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift 1. So goes one of the most commonly quoted passages used for Holy Communion (Eucharist) and forbearance. Through all the teachings, parables and prayers of Jesus, the … [Read more...]

Some say that we should break down the denominational barriers to show our unity. I say that I am happy to have as many denominations as people want. Including those who are of the denomination of no denomination. That is, those who are theologically opposed to being members of a church. That is what true community is. I have one proviso though. I am opposed to those who do not build the … [Read more...]

How do you go about forgiving when you are angry at those who hurt you? What do you do to make the anger subside? How do you curb the resentment? What do you do to make the pain go away? I've had many conversations about this. Both with God and others. One of the issues that I had to deal with was my Charismatic church experience. As many of you may know, in Charismatic circles, it is … [Read more...]

I have a problem, theologically, with delving into the past of my life and seeking forgiveness. When I was a younger Christian, in fact when I was younger period, I had a lot to do with Para church organizations. It was a big thing back then, to set aside time to deliberately search through one's memories to see what things you had done wrong. Then, set about sending letters or making contact … [Read more...]