What should we take from Paul's positivity in prison? How do we connect our circumstances to our story and — through the eyes of faith — see that we're a part of God's great story? In our sixth episode Talking Through Ephesians, we celebrate the mystery now revealed in Christ, as Paul proclaims access to God for all the nations. Finding Jesus in this week's text, we imagine swimming in riches like Scrooge McDuck and enjoy our "freedom of speech" before God. And as fantasy football draft parties happen across the country, we're going in a different direction in this week's A-Team, drafting Gentiles Paul impacted in his ministry. Go to biblegeeks.fm/ephesians and check out all the videos, guides, and episodes as we talk through Ephesians!

The Big Idea: Paul's suffering and imprisonment paled compared to the privilege of preaching God's eternal plan to the Gentiles.

This Week's Challenge: Ask a believing friend to join you in talking to a stranger about the Lord.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 6 (PDF)
• "Hidey-Hole" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
• Finding Jesus: Ephesians 3:1-13 (VERSE)
• Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

What threatens church unity today? What do East Berlin and airline amenities have to do with the temple veil? And how does life in God’s presence change us? This week in session 5 of Talking Through Ephesians we explore the last half of chapter two. We walk through the story of the temple, from the garden to the tabernacle; and from Solomon to the church and the New Jerusalem. We find Jesus in the doorway, the corner, the mortar, and everywhere else in the house, and discuss what it means that “he himself is our peace.” Along the way we learn about God’s nearness and holiness, and the privilege of access to the most guarded, sacred room that exists. Find the videos, guides, and episodes at biblegeeks.fm/ephesians.

The Big Idea: People who once couldn't enter the temple have now become God's holy house.

This Week's Challenge: Reconcile with any brother or sister you don't have peace with.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 5 (PDF)
• "Second-Class Citizens" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
• Finding Jesus: Ephesians 2:11-22 (VERSE)
• Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

How are we created FOR good works but not saved as a result of works (Eph. 2:9-10)? And how are people like zombies wandering around malls? This week we talk through Ephesians 2:1-10, finding good reason for humility and joy in God’s love and grace! We imagine the view, looking out from an open tomb and celebrate the truth that we now sit with Christ in the heavenly places. And we begin the discussion of our “walk” — a conversation that we’ll consider through the remainder of the book. It’s session 4 of Talking Through Ephesians — go to biblegeeks.fm/ephesians to find the videos, guides, and more!

The Big Idea: Without God's love and grace, we'd still stumble through our days, dead in our sins.

This Week's Challenge: Write out all the verses with the word "walk" in Ephesians.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 4 (PDF)
• "The Walking Dead" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
• Finding Jesus: Ephesians 2:1-10 (VERSE)
• Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

This week we unfog the privacy glass to see with hope and power. We’re Talking Through Ephesians with a conversation about the last half of chapter one, a prayer to let the light in. We define Heavy Words like enlightened, inheritance, and the heavenly places, learning why Christians aren’t rogue individuals and what kind of treasure awaits us. In our Reach Out question, we explore why informed hope is so important in a dire, dysfunctional world. And we find out where Jesus’ feet stand, what he fills, and what it all has to do with us. Go to biblegeeks.fm/ephesians for the guides, videos, and more!

The Big Idea: Through faith, the eyes of your heart can perceive the hope awaiting you and God's power toward you.

This Week’s Challenge: Let someone know how often you pray for them.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 3 (PDF)
• "Zooming Out" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
- Finding Jesus: Ephesians 1:15-23 (VERSE)
- Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

When do you struggle to remember God’s rich blessings? Do you understand predestination, the Holy Spirit’s work, and what it means to be “in Christ”? Here in session two of Talking Through Ephesians, we discuss the spiritual blessings Paul praises God for in chapter one. After Finding Jesus described as “the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6), we explore what it means “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10). We also talk about finding a place to belong at God’s family table, how that table IS and ISN’T exclusive, and how Jesus’ victory is like David slaying Goliath. Go to biblegeeks.fm/ephesians to find the study guide, video, and all the other info for this study.

The Big Idea: Jesus brings us together into a new spiritual family who lives to honor God for his incredible salvation.

This Week's Challenge: Ask a friend what spiritual blessings they're most grateful for.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 2 (PDF)
• "Gatorade Shower" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
• Finding Jesus: Ephesians 1:3-14 (VERSE)
• Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

How would your life change if you could — like Elisha’s servant — see into the unseen realm? And what does Ephesians tell us about the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? This week we launch our new guided study, Talking Through Ephesians, with an introduction to this “mind-blowing” letter. Somehow, we also talk about Steve Jobs and Jesse Owens, about what it really takes to make a scratch apple pie, and the idea of being watched by loved ones in heaven. Finding Jesus in Ephesians, we discuss why Paul emphasizes the title Christ and what it means to see Jesus as the church’s husband. Then, Flying Through Ephesians, we go from the debate over the recipients, to insights from each section, to the main theme of the book. We’re super excited to get ok into this book and invite you to find a friend or group to talk through the book with as well! Go to biblegeeks.fm/ephesians each week to find the videos and guides.

The Big Idea: Your choices are central to God's eternal purpose for everything.

This Week's Challenge: Invite someone to talk through Ephesians with you over the next few months.

Show Notes

• Talking Through Ephesians Study Guide - Session 1 (PDF)
• "Zooming Out" (CONVERSATION STARTER)
• Finding Jesus: Ephesians 1-6 (VERSE)
• Talking Through Ephesians Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show

How can Peter say, both “look at us” and “stop staring at us” in the same story (Acts 3)? And for that matter, how does Jesus tell us to both, “let people see your good works” and NOT to do them “to be seen” in the same sermon (Matt. 5-7)? How do we practically pivot to Jesus from ourselves? We get into a lot of challenging questions this week in a Do You Understand segment drawn from the lame man’s healing at the temple gate. It takes us from the purpose of miracles to setting our spiritual GPS to the right destination. We hope you find it encouraging and helpful!

Show Notes

• “Stop Staring” (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• Like the Teacher: Acts 3:4-6 (VERSE)

Support the Show

It’s Acapeldridge week at the Bible Geeks! We’re excited to welcome our dear friend, Michael Eldridge, to this conversation all about spiritual songs and how they impact us. If you’re not familiar with Michael’s singing and hymn writing (@acapeldridge on YouTube) you’re missing out on some beautiful and edifying music. So we enlisted his help building an A-Team of beloved hymns. And along the way we talk about our secret un-favorite songs of the church and some stories about how spiritual music weaves into every part of our lives.

The Big Idea: Spiritual songs are life-bringing treasures worth spending time with each day.

This Week's Challenge: Sing!

Show Notes

• Like the Teacher: Hebrews 2:11-12 (VERSE)
• Acapeldridge (WEBSITE)
• Acapeldridge on YouTube (YOUTUBE)
• Timeless Psalter (WEBSITE)
• “It Is Well With My Soul” (HYMN)
• “El Elyon” (HYMN)
• “In Christ Alone” (HYMN)
• “Abide With Me” (HYMN)
• “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” (HYMN)
• “On Zion’s Glorious Summit” (HYMN)
• “My Soul Waits” - “Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today” (HYMN)
• “My Soul Waits” - “Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today” (HYMN)
• “The New Song” (HYMN)
• “Soldiers of Christ Arise” (HYMN)

Support the Show

What traditions help you build connection with others? What did people mean when they said Jesus was a “friend of sinners”? It’s our second week in a row of the Bible Geeks AV Club, as we work our way into episode two of The Chosen. We kick things off with a conversation about which of these Sabbath meals we would probably find ourselves in, then we dive into a Like the Teacher discussion based on Matthew 11:19. At the heart of this episode is the statement of Mary, “I was one way, and now I am completely different.” Any disciple of Christ could surely say the same, and we explore the way the Lord touches each of these lives differently in a segment we call Deep Thoughts. You can find The Chosen on most streaming services or for free on The Chosen app (see link in the notes below). Looking ahead, don’t miss next week’s conversation about great hymns with special guest, Michael Eldridge, of Acapeldridge.

The Big Idea: No one is forgotten by Jesus, the friend of outcasts and savior of sinners.

This Week's Challenge: Connect with someone over a meal.

Show Notes

• The Chosen (WEBSITE)
• Like the Teacher: Matthew 11:19 (VERSE)
• Watch the Chosen (WEBSITE)
• Where to Stream the Chosen (WEBSITE)
• The Chosen - S1E2 - “Shabbat” (WIKI)

Support the Show

The next two weeks, we’re kicking off the Bible Geeks A.V. Club — our chance to watch films and shows and talk about them — with a conversation about the first two episodes of The Chosen. If (somehow) you haven’t heard of it, The Chosen is a historical drama about Jesus’ life that has caught people’s attention in a big way, with reportedly over 100 million viewers generating lots of conversations about — our favorite subject — Jesus. So this week we go Finding Jesus in a passage quoted throughout this episode, Isaiah 43:1. And after recapping the story, we share a few of our Favorite Things and discuss the place of media like this in our modern religious landscape. If you haven’t watched the show, you can check it out on the free The Chosen app, or almost any major streaming platform (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock).

The Big Idea: When Jesus becomes part of our story, he changes us.

This Week's Challenge: Find a way to start a conversation about Jesus.

Show Notes

• The Chosen (WEBSITE)
• Finding Jesus: Isaiah 43:1 (VERSE)
• Watch the Chosen (WEBSITE)
• Where to Stream the Chosen (WEBSITE)
• The Chosen - S1E1 - “I Have Called You By Name” (WIKI)
• The Chosen - S1E2 - “Shabbat” (WIKI)

Support the Show