This week we study what I feel to be the most offensive passage of the New Testament in our culture today in 2018. People will mock and laugh at this passage, if not act offended by these verses. It will be considered “out of touch” in this day and age. How do I know that? Listen to this message and you will agree! You know people who would react in such a way to this passage.

An analogy that the Apostle Paul uses to describe what happens when a person comes to Christ has something to do with what we “wear”.  Becoming a Christian simply stated is to “Put off the old life; and to put on the new.”  What do you suppose needs to be “put off out of your life”?  We talk about that this week.

This week is actually a continuation of the message from two weeks ago regarding unity in the church. We are to be united not simply because it’s nice, it’s absolutely necessary to the function of the church. We are united to serve the head of the church, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God!

From time to time someone will refer to an event as the “event of the decade” or even the “event of the century”. The only event that could be referred to as the “event of all history” would have to be the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Nothing else comes close. We use Matthew’s account in chapters 27 and 28 to discover this truth. All of history looked either forward or looks backward to this event! Everything was and is impacted by what happened that day!

Have you ever felt unity in your family? Have you ever felt unity at work or school? Have you ever felt unity at a church, the Body of Christ? Many people might pause before giving an answer. We talk about unity and division in the church by looking at what the Apostle Paul said to a church in a place called Ephesus. What he said may be new to you! It just may be new to most churches!

When a speaker tells a story, most people can connect with someone or something in the story. Not always, but a good deal of the time that is true. Jesus knew that when He told the parables. When you read the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, you will relate to one of the three main characters, depending upon what’s going on in your life at the time. Some relate to the prodigal son; others relate to the wounded father. Most people relate to the “older brother”.

Have you ever heard a word defined in a way you hadn’t heard before? That may happen for you on CrossHope as we look at two Biblical words: peace and hostility. You may be surprised at the definitions we give those words this week; yet they are accurate in the context of this passage from Ephesians 2. You may never look at these two words the same again!

I meet people all the time who think being a Christian is a matter of “comparative difference”. What does that mean? It means that they believe Christianity takes a nice person, and makes them nicer, more honest, and better behaved as a person. Nothing could be more misleading and further from the truth. Christianity is a matter of life and death!

It’s not often that people tell me after hearing a message, “I’ve never ever heard what you said about the subject of prayer, which you said today.” That’s what happened when I gave this message from Ephesians 1. This passage spoke to people in a profound way about the praying in their lives that happens or doesn’t happen. There must be a reason for that, listen and decide for yourself.

We begin a new series this week from the letter written to the church at a place called Ephesus. It’s a letter about what we call the church or the body of Christ. This week we introduce the book by talking about four descriptive words about those who have come to Christ. They truly are life-changing, particularly when you discover that they are describing you!