Sojourn PDX

Ephesians 3:1-13. This is the sixth installment of our journey through the book of Ephesians, in which Matt speaks about a transitional pause in Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. While the first part of this letter was spent describing the new identity Christ's work on Earth gives his followers, the last part focuses on how that new identity should immediately impact a follower's daily life. In order for that logical bride to be crossed, then, Paul must talk briefly on what exactly gives him the authority to say what he is saying, what his claims about Christ actually are, and how it is that those reading can know with certainty that his claims are true. It is only in fully believing Paul's words that anyone can then move forward into what this new identity should look like. 

Ephesians 2:11-22. This is the fifth installment of our journey through the book of Ephesians, in which Matt speaks on Paul’s instructions to the church of Ephesus concerning race. Nothing was more brutal at that time, or even today, than the racism and hatred towards “outsiders”, and nothing is more opposite from the inclusive love of God either. Enjoy this powerful reminder of how Jesus’ death and resurrection impacted how we relate to people different from us!

Ephesians 2:1-10. In our fourth installment of exploring the letter to the Ephesians, we hear from Paul our terminal diagnosis: we are utterly dead. This grave news was only just final when Paul follows it with the brilliant hope of new life breathed back into our aimless corpses.

Ephesians 1:15-23. In our third week exploring the letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells the church in Ephesus what he prays for when he thinks of them. It’s such a powerful prayer that even Paul had trouble summarizing it, so he wrote one sentence that spans the whole passage! It’s best in that case to simply repeat it: “…that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…”

Ephesians 1:3-14. Our second week exploring Paul’s letter to the Ephesians brought us to what Paul believed his readers needed to understand first before moving on to the rest of the letter. For Paul, our story actually starts with God choosing us, making us his own, and giving us a permanent place in his divine family.

Ephesians 1:1-2. By way of introduction to Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus, we take a look at the first two verses, and at the overall message of the letter. It’s not much writing, but knowing where and when this letter was written, and by whom it was written as well, is crucial in seeing how God spoke to his people then and who he’s making his people into today. God is uniting all things to himself, things from times long past, and things we do in our everyday lives. Join us as we embark on this journey of learning what it means to be United in Christ.