The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and we are invited to belong to it. The power of Christ’s resurrection is good news to the fearful; to the hurting; to the lost. It is good news that God has begun his new world and has poured out a fresh gift of transforming grace upon all his creation. Jesus the King is alive and rules over all! “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!”

What does it mean to be God\'s handiwork, called to walk in the works He has created? How can we be faithful to that call? What kind of work does He have for us? Who is doing the real work anyway?

Paul has just spent the first twenty-three verses of his letter to the Ephesians blessing God for blessing His people in Christ Jesus. What glorious news! But now as we turn to chapter two, it seems as if the good news suddenly turns bad: \"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked...\" Talk about a drastic change of events! What does he mean that we were dead in our sins? That doesn’t sound like good news. But in order to really grasp how good God’s saving grace is for us in Christ, we need to understand what we’ve been saved from. And getting a grasp on our sinful state before Christ compels us to stand in awe, wonder and gratitude before the God who rescued us and “made us alive with Christ”–by grace we have been saved!

Discipleship. The Matrix. And the Horse Whisperer.

Episode 15 of CommuteCast with Chris and Wade is here, folks.

As we wrap up the first chapter in Paul\'s letter to Ephesus, we are reminded that the fullness of God\'s glory is displayed in Christ, both as we look back at his death and resurrection, and as we look forward to his coming again to restore us into the presence of God for eternity!

Part 2 of How to Train Up Our Kids. Wade and Chris discuss education, culture, and technology.

Wade and Chris talk kids, covenant, and Mavuno.

Paul’s prayer is for God to give the saints the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so we could know Him better and live out what we were created to be. The power of the gospel is seen in the Father, Son and Spirit, setting us free to live for His purposes. Paul prays for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened (God is Gracious); to the hope He has called us to (God is Good); to the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God is Glorious); to the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe (God is Great). All of these promises are seen and displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

After blessing God for all the ways God has blessed his people, Paul turns to joyful prayer. In prayer, Paul asks that the Father of glory would give his chosen people five gifts: wisdom and revelation, an enlightened heart, hope, the riches of God’s glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. We dig deep in the first of these gifts and find that we, too, are to be recipients of these great gifts of grace. These blessings lead us to praise God through prayer.

Wade and Chris finish their top 12 list for preaching, have an epic fist bump, and introduce a new intro for the CommuteCast.