In the last week of His life, Jesus intentionally focused on showing us how our earthly routines were upside down from His. Over the next four weeks, we're going to look at how Jesus upends our status quo while establishing Himself as the new entrance into life with God.

In the last week of His life, Jesus intentionally focused on showing us how our earthly routines were upside down from His. Over the next four weeks, we're going to look at how Jesus upends our status quo while establishing Himself as the new entrance into life with God.

In the last week of His life, Jesus intentionally focused on showing us how our earthly routines were upside down from His. Over the next four weeks, we're going to look at how Jesus upends our status quo while establishing Himself as the new entrance into life with God.

In the last week of His life, Jesus intentionally focused on showing us how our earthly routines were upside down from His. Over the next four weeks, we're going to look at how Jesus upends our status quo while establishing Himself as the new entrance into life with God.

The basis of our strength is in Christ, not what we’ve done or do but what God has already done and continues to do for us. Not recognizing or acknowledging our weakness has a ripple effect in our family, friends and community. When we allow the enemy to win this battle, we let everyone down. However, as Jesus’ followers, there is no opting out of the battle. We can fight the battle in God’s strength [Ephesians 6:10], but the question then becomes, "How do we fight this battle?"

We are now studying the fifth chapter of Ephesians. In the first two chapters, we learned we’re now relocated in Christ; we were “dead” until God’s grace, not our own goodness or efforts, brought us to life. In chapter three, we discovered how great God’s love is for us. Last week we discovered we are God’s “logo” or His brand; everything we do for God should be done with God, by God’s Spirit, because of God’s Son. This week we will look at our spiritual walk.

At Prairie Lakes Church, we’re all from different places, and where we’re from shapes who we are - how we talk, dress, vote and what we value.

But, no matter where we grew up, as followers of Jesus, all of us are “in Christ,” literally located in Him. We ought to live in such close proximity to Jesus that our relationship with Him shapes our lives, more than our childhood address or current community.

For six weeks, we’ll be immersed in Ephesians, a book dominated by the idea of being in Christ. We’ll look at how living alongside Jesus shapes who we are and how people in Jesus’ neighborhood live.

This week in Ephesians 3, Paul tells us God is able to do immeasurably more than our own strength, imagination or our abilities to ask Him. God has included us into His family and has provided all we need in Christ Jesus.

As we continue our study of Ephesians in chapter 2, we learn how God rescues us from certain spiritual death by His grace. We can take the step of faith that Christ will bring us safely into His presence (v. 6). After that, God’ grace will do what we cannot do ourselves by leading us into His eternal life (v. 8-9).

Pastor John kicked off our study of Ephesians by pointing out how much where we’re from can shape who we are. Our physical address isn’t the only home that can have an impact on the way we live. Our “spiritual address”—what we believe, our character, our ethics, our disappointments and triumphs, our spiritual life—also defines where we’re from and shapes who we are. As we read Ephesians, Paul’s letter to a church he notes as being a people who are “the faithful in Christ Jesus,” we see how we can claim to be from His neighborhood and how that can shape who we are.