January 1, 2024
Overcoming Our Problem
The Ephesians faced a serious problem in their lives . . .
Articles for tag: Ephesians 2
May 20, 2019
Lesson for May 26, 2019: Alive in Him (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Give thanks for God’s great love, rich in mercy making us alive with Christ. ______ By Mark Scott Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are known as “the prison epistles” because they were written from prison (either Caesarea or Rome, Acts 24-26 or 28). Ephesians is known as “the queen
June 28, 2018
Red and Yellow, Black and White
Relentless Church Answers the Call to Create a Multiethnic Congregation in North Carolina By Justin Horey David Jones is white. He grew up in the South, went to Bible college in the South, and married his high school sweetheart. Rafael Gonzalez is of Puerto Rican heritage. He grew up in the Northeast, excelled in high school football and basketball, and came to faith in Christ at age 28. Joy Bey is African-American. She grew up in South Central Los Angeles, was saved in a Pentecostal church, and served in overseas missions before spending five years on staff at a
March 6, 2017
Lesson for March 12, 2017: Great Love (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the March 5, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott The Bible is not flat. While all Bible verses are inspired by God, not all verses are created equal. Some verses point more strongly than others toward the big story. God has his own way of highlighting the big things of the book. What is it that makes a Bible passage stand out so? Is
June 16, 2016
Movie Nights
By Glen Elliott The church has struggled to find ways not to settle with the comfort of sameness. Significant portions of the New Testament letters deal with racial division (see Ephesians 2 and James 2 as examples) and the unity that is to be a hallmark of God”s people. That”s why Paul reminds us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Paul says those who have been baptized and put on Christ are one in Christ regardless of ethnicity, economic status,
June 9, 2016
We CAN Bridge the Racial Divide
By Travis and Dena Hurley Society”s efforts to build racial unity are not succeeding. Only the gospel offers the possibility for easing racial tensions and bringing together those who have long stayed apart with suspicion toward each other. The church can make the difference””if we will. When the American Crime Story miniseries revisited the O.J. Simpson trial this spring, it reminded us of the “not guilty” verdict in 1995. At the time, the evidence of Simpson”s guilt seemed overwhelming. We were baffled by what appeared to be scenes of celebration among the black community. Was there no respect for the
November 30, 2013
Life After Trayvon: What Should Jesus” People Do?
By Ben Cachiaras Before the George Zimmerman trial verdict was announced, we all knew that regardless of the outcome, many people would be upset, angry, and hurt. When a Florida jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in July, both sides considered it a travesty””either because the system let a presumed guilty man go free, or because a presumed innocent man had to suffer such degradation. The fallout has been significant, the reaction ranging from violent to despairing. The death of a 17-year-old African-American boy in a hoodie with a
December 3, 2012
Lesson for December 9, 2012: One in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2, 3)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul tackles one of the great challenges facing believers in the first century: uniting all Christians in one body, following the one head, Jesus Christ. That challenge remains today! Two groups of people were living side by side in Ephesus””Jews and Gentiles. Each group had contempt for the other. Jewish Christians had been reluctant to admit Gentiles into the church, unless they first became Jews (Acts 15:1; Galatians 2:11-21).
March 22, 2009
The Point of Christianity
 By Douglas Foster If you were to ask a non-Christian, “What is the point of Christianity?” what do you think he or she would say? Based on many people”s experience with professed Christians, he might say the point of Christianity is to make people as miserable and uptight as possible. Or that it is to shape people into vigilantes who get great satisfaction from attacking and destroying those with whom they differ””in the name of Christ and sound doctrine. Unfortunately there is ample evidence to back up these impressions. But what would you, a Christian and a reader of
October 30, 2005
The Church Is Intentionally One (Part 2 or 3)
Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address calls Christians to unity rooted in God’s reconciling work in Christ. Drawing from Paul’s teaching, Clint Gill urges the church to reject human divisions and live as “one new humanity.”
