After his first greeting in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul opens with praise for God, summarizing a wide variety of theological truths in the course of one sweeping sentence. From this section of his epistle, we are reminded of God's glory, sovereignty, grace and gift of salvation.

In the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes an address to the church which reminds us of who Paul is in Christ, and who his readers are as believers. As we begin our study of the book of Ephesians, we are reminded of the relationship between Paul and his readers, and we take an introductory look at the ideas Paul communicates in his letter. Like Paul, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ, and we are reminded that our conduct should match the weight of our calling.

On Easter morning, we remember that Jesus rose from the grave and has conquered sin and death. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we read in 1 Peter 1:3-5 that we have an inheritance kept for us in heaven which does not spoil or fade. That promise is a source of hope, because we are looking forward to that inheritance. And at the same time, we also have life abundantly in Christ today, because, through faith in God, we are shielded by God's power. (1 Peter 1:5)

Who we are should affect what we do, and how we do it. In 1 Peter 2, we are commanded to fear God, to love others, and honor "the emperor." Although our government looks different now, we are called to respect those who are in authority, and to respect those around us. In today's message, Pastor Phil explores the idea that, as Christians, there are things which we must do (those commands described in 1 Peter 2:13-17), and things which we may do.

Who we are should affect what we do. In 1 Peter 2, we read that, as believers, we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession." That "once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." As those who have been shown mercy, we should live to glorify God in all that we do. And this includes how we engage with society--our neighbors and our government.

Don Parsons examines the book of Hebrews to speak about faith which moves us to action--and he shares with North Park how believers from Ukraine have been used by God to preach the gospel, even as refugees. We are encouraged to fix our eyes on Jesus, setting the right priorities, depending completely on God, and having bold faith and perseverance.

In John 15, Jesus tells His disciples to abide in Him. This instruction comes with the promises that if we abide in Christ, then like a branch on a vine, we will bear much fruit, and we will be pruned so that we can bear even more. As we conclude our sermon series on the Lord's prayer, we are encouraged to use the Lord's prayer not as a ritual, but as a means of spending time with God.

When Jesus' disciples asked Him how they should pray, He taught them with a model prayer. In this prayer, Jesus said that we should pray, "and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13) In today's message, Pastor Phil teaches about the kinds of temptations we will often face and how to resist in the time of temptation. And when we recognize that we have failed and given into temptation, we have confidence in Jesus Christ that we can come immediately before the throne of grace and ask forgiveness.

Jesus instructed us to pray our heavenly Father would forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. In today's message, Pastor John explores 5 major questions about forgiveness. We forgive because we have been forgiven.

When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He began with the words, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name." From this beginning, we can learn about our relationship with God. In today's message, Pastor John teaches that these words remind us how we are part of God's family, that we are invited to an intimate relationship with God, that our God is sovereign King, and that remembering Who God is changes our priorities in prayer.