Ephesians

After last week in Ephesians – reflecting Christ in our daily relationships at home and work – it can be a shock to find Paul suddenly finishes with… fighting demons! But Christ’s victory over spiritual rulers and authorities, who seek to divide us from God and from each other, has been a theme throughout the letter. This final week in Ephesians, we’ll see why we need to take hold of that victory Christ has already won, and how we actually do that in practice.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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This week Paul addresses some of our relationships: wife and husband, child and parent, worker and boss. What Paul says is controversial, especially in modern Australian culture. But we’ll see it was no less controversial in Paul’s own day. He’s not advocating any particular cultural norms, he’s challenging all of them, because he’s showing us the radical difference it makes to be *in Christ*.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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One of the hardest parts of the Christian life is living in two worlds at the same time: we’re a part of the church, a community saved by the light of Christ. But as Christians, we’re called to shine the light of Christ into the world. And in that, there are two dangers we can fall into: we can either try and protect ourselves behind walls so as to stay pure and not to be of the world, or we can become all things to all people so as to be in the world, and not really look any different. But Ephesians 5 helps us find this balance and live wisely in two worlds.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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In this passage we see Paul talk about how, we as Christians, have been changed. We are now new creations in Christ. As a result we are called to no longer live like the world. We are to take off the old and put on the new and seek to walk in love, as imitators of God and dearly loved children of God.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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In the first half of Ephesians 4 Paul wants to show us that as the very body of Jesus we as the church are essential to his plans in our world. He’ll show us this through the big idea of UNITY.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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Last week we saw how God is in the business of bringing together people from all different backgrounds. This week, Paul shows us how this gathering of people is best experienced in the church. In fact, the church is God’s great plan for displaying his wisdom in the world as together we navigate love & suffering.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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In the second half of Ephesians, the apostle calls the church to remember. He wants to make sure we do not forget where we have come from, and by God’s grace, what we have become. Remembering who we are in Christ will impact how we relate to God and other people. It will do something about the prejudices we hold so tightly to, and it has the power to knock down and build up.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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So far in Ephesians, Paul’s trying to help us feel more deeply just how richly blessed we are in Christ. But it can be hard to appreciate until we realise the alternative. That’s what Paul helps us see this week.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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When we ask people to pray for us or when we pray for others, we often pray for practical things like a better job, good exam results, a good night’s sleep, etc. These are all good things to pray for. We should cast all our cares upon God. But when the apostle Paul prays for the church in Ephesus, he prays for something that we don’t often pray for. He prays that they might know God better. He prays for other things that we very rarely ask for prayer for. Yet these very things may be the very glue that holds our faith and our lives together.

Welcome to Village Church. We’re a community that’s all about loving Jesus and loving one another. To find out more, head to vc.org.au, we’d love to hear from you.

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