Tag: Local Church

Ephesians 1 (Part II)

View from Arcadiane to The Great Theatre, Ephesus

Yesterday I gave the context of the opening chapter of Ephesians.

The Apostle Paul is writing what he probably believes will be his last communication to the church in Ephesus, a church where he had spent nearly three years and for which he had risked his life.

He has much to tell them in this letter, but there are two things he must communicate to them first, two things that are foundational to the success of the church.

The first thing is to make sure the Christians in Ephesus understand their identity.

Paul tells them that as Christians they are: Continue reading “Ephesians 1 (Part II)”

Ephesians 1 (Part I)

View from Arcadiane to The Great Theatre, Ephesus

I’ve been studying Ephesians 1 lately because I’ll be teaching on it at my church next Sunday.

In preparation for that, I thought I’d write a little here about what I’m finding.

I’m a context guy. I want to know what is going around outside the text before I try to understand what it means, and I am approaching Paul’s letter to the Ephesians the same way.

Understanding the context starts with understanding the author and his audience.

First there is Paul. It’s somewhere between 61 and 63 A.D., and he’s in jail in Rome. He’s there because he appealed to Nero Caesar  (Acts 25:11), and the Lord has promised him he will have the opportunity to preach to Nero (Acts 27:23-24). Continue reading “Ephesians 1 (Part I)”

3 Reasons Not To Leave A Church

If you are a Christian long enough you will inevitably make a decision about whether to join a church and whether to leave one.

These will be two of the most important decisions you will ever make.

It’s surprising then to see some of the reasons people leave churches and how flippantly they make these decisions.

There are 3 reasons you should almost never leave a church.
Continue reading “3 Reasons Not To Leave A Church”