In our first live-streaming service since the new reality of life in the age of coronavirus, Pastor Kris has an incredibly timely message about what it means to really "Be the Church" (hint: It has less and less to do with coming to a church service)

Did you know almost half of Ephesians is actually prayer? Prayer requests, prayers of gratitude, intense spiritual warfare type prayer. Paul is stuck in a Roman prison - a death sentence to many - and here he is praying not for himself, but for his church in Ephesus. See what we can learn and apply to our OWN prayer life in this section of his letter.

Today's podcast is a bit of a weird one. Unfortunately, we were not able to record the March 1st Sunday Service due to a technical issue. In light of wanting to keep this series intact, for those who are tracking with it, this was recorded into a phone and is a simple recap of what was shared on Sunday.

Paul, the writer of Ephesians is legitimately suffering. He says as much. Many of the people he is writing to are suffering. How can he still be confident in the midst of it? In fact, the challenge for us today is this; How can we actually USE our suffering for ours and other peoples good AND for God's glory?

For those who are suffering today, may you find some measure of hope & healing through this.

The long standing feud between the Jews and the Gentiles, or for that matter between Catholic and Protestants, blacks and whites, different tribes, preferences and cultures is resolved "IN CHRIST" (there's that phrase again). Jesus tears down the "dividing walls of hostility" and brings both sides near to Him. So now we're not just reconciled to each other we can be reconciled to God IN CHRIST. Amazing!

How would it change your life if you truly understood how God sees you? He sees you as his WORKMANSHIP... His MASTERPIECE ... His WORK OF ART. Not just to admire from a distance but created for a purpose... for good works.

Brought to you today from our special guest and longtime member, Elizabeth Stanley

We begin chapter 1 of Ephesians as Paul seeks to establish our IDENTITY and our IDENTITY really comes down to these two words (which you'll keep coming across in your study of Ephesians)... "In Christ"... "in Him"... 'in Jesus"... "in the Beloved". That is us. Right away in this first chapter we are called SAINTS, we are called BLESSED, we are called ADOPTED... all of these identity words are summed up in the outrageous truth that the God of the Universe has CHOSEN US.

I AM... CHOSEN!

Who do you think you are? How would you describe yourself? How do you perceive yourself? Sometimes we let others answer that for us. How would you answer the question “I am _______”? God has a lot to say about who you are and he uses Paul in a letter written from prison to be a manifesto on the believer's new reconciled identity in Christ. A chapter by chapter study in the book of Ephesians.

Most of what you normally do isn't a result of conscious choices but of daily HABITS. That's why if you want to change where you're going in life, you have to change your HABITS. In the Christian world we might call them our "disciplines".

Your words have POWER!

Power to give life or power to take life. Power to "pierce" or power to "heal". Take an audit of your own words. How do you talk to others? How do you talk to YOURSELF? A small change in this area of your life could make a HUGE difference.

Too often, we make major resolutions but end up getting frustrated when we can’t keep them. Change isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible, either. Your future self is a result of the decisions you make each day. See how a few small habits and disciplines can change how you see yourself today and can transform you into the person you want to be tomorrow.