Ephesians 1:3-14

Ruby and diamond rings are half as important as the praise they bring! A Christmas present of a ruby and diamond ring that is adjustable is a present that evokes praise just like the way God has blessed us should pour forth our praise!

"Dear Father, King of an eternal kingdom, You have made known to us the secret of your will, the purpose which you set forth in Christ as a plan for....."

Where do you fit into God's plan? Tom Norvell writes about God's plan for us from Ephesians 1 and reminds us that we are chosen and God has something special for us to do!

"Dear Beloved, Today you will read two powerful passages of praise. The first one is from Paul's letter to the Colossians. The second is from Paul's....."

"Dear Disciple, One day you will hear the angels sing in celebration around the throne of God (Revelation 5:11-13). However, I wish you could hear..."

"Dear Father, King of an eternal kingdom, In love you destined us to be your sons through Jesus Christ, exactly as you wanted to do. My heart..."

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united...."

"So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our...."

"So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our...."

Hey, don't forget the greatest source of information on our mission, the Bible! Phil Ware continues the series of articles on discerning your mission for churches to work through as they are in a season of looking for a preaching minister or pastor and Phil emphasizes both the universal mission passages and the specific mission passa

"You were marked in [Christ] with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's..."

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus..."

"He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached...."

"Dear Father, King of an eternal kingdom, Thank you for giving me the greatest motivation in life. You have called me into your kingdom, the greatest...."

"It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free — signed, sealed, and..."

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 1:4-5 -- For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus , ccordance with his pleasure and w

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 1:4-5 -- For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and w

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 1:9-10 --He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in hea

Somethings are just more difficult than others, until we have what others have to endure. Lisa Mikitarian reflects on the passing of her husband's kidney stone and is caught up in the pain of two more passings.

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united..."

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

"In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him....."

"The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we..."

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,....."

"Our belief in God's wisdom supposes and necessitates that he has a settled purpose and plan in the work of salvation. What would creation have been..."

"Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart is experienced by that man who has learned to feed on Jesus, and on Jesus....."

"All the goodness of the past, the present, and the future, Christ bestows upon his people. In the mysterious ages of the past the Lord Jesus was his....."

"What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term "acceptance" in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we..."

"When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has..."

"Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word "forgiveness," when it sounds in a guilty sinner's ear, like the silver notes of jubilee...."

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 1:14 -- You were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of his glory.

Inspirational illustration of Ephesians 1:7 -- In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

"Dear Child of God, The right time came for My birth into the world — God in human flesh entering the world to be raised as a child of human..."

Is this any way to propose marriage? When a proposal goes bad because of a plane crash, does the groom still get his request answered?

What kind of church do you want to be part of? Phil Ware writes about interim ministry and his partners, and how we can be a 'Yes" church.

Waiting to be chosen can be agonizing It can be nerve-wracking to wait to see if we will be chosen for a job or to participate in a group. But God made His choice a long time ago.

Because God has so graciously loved us, we can live as Jesus' agents of love and kindness in our broken world. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to recognize God's great love for us as something more like, feel, think, or say, it is always demonstrated.

"Dear Precious Follower, I know that waiting is hard for you. Regardless of your reason for having to wait, I know that waiting is hard. However,..."

"Dear Beloved, In today's reading, you will find Paul arriving in Ephesus. Ephesus was a remarkable and important city in Paul's world. But the people..."

Our hope, our answer, and God's unveiling of his greatest mysteries are found in Jesus, the Messiah, Son of God, the Christ who is our Savior and Lord! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online worship through words and music using YouTube videos to help us understand and connect emotionally with God's mystery to bring things together in Christ.

We all want to be part of real community. It is possible to have a real connection in a community who will love and support each other.

How are you a part of God's family? We are both born and adopted into God's family!

How do we keep our concerns for the future and our hardships from the last two years of Covid 19 from stealing the joy of our Thanksgiving? Phil Ware reminds us to keep thanksgiving a part of our daily lives even though we face challenging times, difficult circumstances, and discouraging realities.

"Dear Beloved, I want you to notice especially the words highlighted in bold in the verses below. The apostle Paul is praying for the Ephesian..."

If we are not careful, the challenges of the moment can wilt the joy right out of our Thanksgiving. Phil Ware reminds us that no matter how difficult our circumstances, because of Jesus we have reason to give thanks!

When our hearts look beyond our walls, our nations, our skin tones, and our languages, we can hear our Savior welcome all of us as his family. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to challenge us to love one another and put other's need above our own.

Did God place an anticipatory hint in Jewish expectation in the Talmud that Jesus fulfilled at his birth and will complete with his return in glory? Lee Wilson offers us a unique and Jewish insight into the coming of Jesus and his return anticipated in the Talmud.

How many do you have? We have been blessed with so many wonderful things by God.

Rather than taking God's lavish grace for granted, we choose to offer ourselves to God and walk away from sin. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of all that we have received from God through grace and how we must say no to sin because we have been so blessed!

How do we keep the concerns from stealing our thanksgiving? Phil Ware talks about how to keep thanksgiving a part of our daily lives even though we face challenging times.

Some of us have had good fathers. Others have had absent fathers or bad fathers. In Christ, however, we have been adopted into God's family, and we all have a loving, powerful, tender, and attentive Abba Father! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to help us honor and praise our Father in heaven on this Father's Day.

Everyone in God's family is flawed just as we are, which makes loving each other hard at times. However, our love generously shared with each other is proof we are God's children in whom the Holy Spirit lives. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to challenge us to love one another and put other's need above our own.

God bless us all as we seek to let the grace of Jesus shine through us and touch those around us. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware share a DIY worship plan with a message, songs, and other resources in YouTuube video format and including a communion devotional by Rubel Shelly.

Isn't it fun to be rejected? We mustn't let rejection destroy us, but instead understand it is to be expected if we are truly Christians.

"Dear Disciple, One of the most remarkable gifts you have as the Father's child is the gift of your intercessory prayer for others. When the apostle....."