Praise God for Our Salvation, Part 2: Praise to the Son.

In Christ, we are chosen by God and predestined to adoption as sons and daughters. These spiritual blessings are from the Father (Eph. 1:3-6).

Ephesians 1:7-12 explains the role of the Son of God in our salvation and how the church can praise God for His glorious grace.

Praise God for Our Salvation, Part 1: Praise to the Father

Today’s theme mimics a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 20:1-16 about a landowner going out and hiring workers. Although some workers started early in the day and others much later, the landowners gives all the workers the same wage, exactly what he promised to give them. The workers who started early in the day complained, but Jesus said "am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you angry because I'm generous?"

We'll see in Ephesians 1:1-6 that some get more than they deserve, but no one gets less than they deserve. Ephesians 1:3 tells believers that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. The blessings we receive are sourced in Heaven. This means the purpose of these blessings is from God, originate in Heaven, and are given to us.

In this first chapter of his letter, Paul praises the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today we will talk about the Father.

Introducing the Book of Ephesians.

The church in Ephesus wasn’t having issues or spiritual concerns that Paul needed to address. Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to a church that is similar to ours. Today we'll do an overview of the book and see its theme of how the Church declares the glory of God.

The Heavenly Father and the Prodigal Son

“Dear Heavenly Father” is how we open many prayers, but why do we say that? Why do we call God our Father? Do we understand the implications of that phrase? The parable in Luke 15:11-32 describes a father who illustrates several characteristics of our Heavenly Father.

The Progress of the Church and our Personal Responsibility.

Why does the church do what it does? Why do we gather? Why don't we do certain things? We must answer not in terms of resources or building but instead of the mission. We will look at the progress of the church and see the direct connection we have today with the first church commissioned by Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ Demand for His Disciples (John 21:18-25)

John ends his gospel by describing the way that Peter will die. His Master uses dialogue to address this topic. There is a problem with Peter that must be addressed, a problem that we all have as believers. Comparing ourselves is a serious problem revealed by Peter’s question, “Lord, what about him?” When we compare ourselves, we take our focus off of who Jesus is.

Love for Christ is Usefulness.

We learn in John 21:15-19 that love for Christ is usefulness. Christ calls Peter to be useful and to give his life.

The Resurrection Appearance Teaches that Christ Is Our Provider.

John 21 records Jesus’s love and care for Peter. Believers often identify with Peter’s frailty of faith. In His appearance to Peter on the shores of Galilee, Jesus teaches Peter that He is the Provider even when a believer fails Him.

Lessons from the Resurrection Appearances, Part 2: The Resurrection Transforms Grief to Purpose.

Little is known about Mary Magdalene whose name bears her origin, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. John depicts Mary as a woman of strength, faith, and unwavering devotion.

The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus.

The resurrection is a necessary belief of the Christian faith. Everything crumbles if the resurrection is not true. There would be no hope. Because of the resurrection, the church rearranged its worship schedule to the first day of the week to weekly remember and encourage one another that Jesus is alive.

“It is Finished” – What Jesus Christ Achieves in His Death

From the outside looking in, Christianity can seem like a weird and even morbid religion. We are fixated on the death of a person who lived thousands of years ago and talk about it in a positive way. In fact, Jesus' death is the worst thing that ever happened and the best thing that has ever happened.

The reason it’s such a big deal can be summed up by what Jesus himself said just before He died (John 19:30): “It is finished.” In the original Greek, this phrase is just one word. Today, that’s all we’re going to look at, what Jesus meant when He said this.

The Death of the King

Each time we read in the gospels, we should be asking ourselves the question, “what does this passage say about Jesus?” Not every passage in the Bible directly relates to Jesus, but the gospel accounts are directly related to Jesus. Though John does not give as much attention to Jesus being king compared to Matthew, he takes time in John 18-19 to lay out the kingship of Jesus.

Four Responses to Truth in the Death of Christ.

Belief is point of the Gospel of John, as the author says in John 20:31. But a belief is only as valuable as the thing that is believed in. What John wants his readers to believe – what WE are to believe – must be true. John doesn't want his writer to believe in just anything; “these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in His name.” You cannot arrive at that outcome without the truth, and when you read John’s Gospel, you will be confronted with the concept of truth. It permeates the Gospel from beginning to end.

This week we will look at the death of Christ through the lens of truth, and we’ll look at 4 different responses to truth.

Just over a week ago we celebrated “Good Friday.” Since when does the brutal murder of a 33-year-old Jewish man constitute anything “good”? The betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was not a good thing. It’s the worst crime ever committed in human history. All of us are guilty of that crime, because our sin put Him on the cross. Yet the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was necessary to who Jesus is and what He came to do.

The Critical Transforming Nature of the Resurrection

All Scripture is founded on the truth and reality of the resurrection. God through the Word of God by the Spirit of God desires each of us to be transformed by the truth of the resurrection.

The Joy of Discipleship in Unity.

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer, which He prays after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come. Jesus prays this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him.

The Joy of Following Jesus

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer, which He prays after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come.

Jesus prays this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him. We are reminded by Jesus that no matter the fearful circumstance, we can always turn to the Father in prayer.

How Jesus Describes A True Disciple

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer, which He prays after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come. Jesus prays this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him.

Prayer Points to the Purposes of the God.

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer. Jesus is the perfect priest. Jesus prays this right after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come. Jesus is praying this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him.

Each believer desperately needs this prayer which has been recorded for our instruction and growth. We need to know and understand the heart of Jesus, properly responding when our hearts are troubled and turning first to Jesus who knows us best.