If you could jump in a time machine and see yourself in the future, what would you be like? We get a glimpse of this in the Epilogue to the story of the Ephesian church. Thirty years after Paul wrote the beautiful letter to the church in Ephesus (a letter we call the book of Ephesians), we see another letter to the same church. This letter comes from Jesus himself.  How did the church respond after receiving Paul's letter and his final word, “Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 6:24)? We will see the answer in the last book of the Bible. In Revelation 2:1-7, Jesus speaks to the church, and it isn't very pretty. He has some hard words for them. And these hard words remind us and warn us as we think about who we ourselves could become in thirty years.

In the example of both Tychicus and Paul, we’re going to see 10 characteristics of Christian friendship.

Sometimes things we can’t see are very real and very dangerous. The Bible talks about this. The Bible explains that things that are invisible are very real. Invisible creatures are fighting against us and trying to hurt us. We are not alone. We are at war. But we don’t have to be afraid because God has given us a way to be prepared.

You have a job. God has placed you in a specific place, doing a specific thing. Whether you're a manager or an owner, an entrepreneur or a stay-at-home mom, whether you’re in retail or in marketing, whether you work from the kitchen table, outside in the sun, in a cubicle, a classroom, or a corner office, whether you’re a student, in training, or the resident expert, the Bible and the gospel have a lot to say to help you thrive where God has placed you.

The gospel changes everything. Marriage mirrors the messiah’s mission to bring people to God and bring people together through the gospel.

God the Father fills the church with God the Son by God the Spirit. Rather than being filled up with the excess, wastefulness of the world, we are called to pursue being filled full with Christ, by the Spirit. The way we do this is by speaking truth to each other, worshipping the Lord wholeheartedly, thanking God the Father in the name of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Two important words in Ephesians 5:1-17 help us understand the way God wants us to live in light of the gospel.

Three big questions confront us continually: Who am I? What should I do? What should I believe? The Bible offers compelling answers to these questions.

Trusting God when life is unexpected.

Therefore, he says in 4:25, in light of all that God has done for you and in light of the fact that you’re a part of God’s new family, whether you’re black or white or brown, rich or poor, male or female, old or young, liberal or conservative, don’t live like a dysfunctional family. We’re going to see five ways to be a healthy family rather than a dysfunctional family here in Ephesians 4:25-32.