Ephesians on Listening To God

liturgy

Lord God, you call us but we do not always hear

Author

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 1:9, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:4, Luke 9:26, Matthew 9:26, Mark 8:38

Leader: Lord God, you call us but we do not always hear. Sometimes your word comes to us in unexpected ways. Sometimes we mistake your voice for something else. Sometimes we just don’t want to listen....

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Heavenly Father, we come before you as

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:105, John 10:27, Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 8:26-27, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Heavenly Father, we come before you as beggars in need of your voice. As we lift up our thoughts, songs, and prayers, we lean in to hear how you would speak back to us. We yearn to hear the voice of J...

liturgy

Since we have a great high priest who can sympathize

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 28:13, Titus 3:5, Acts 3:19, Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 51:17, Romans 3:23-24

Leader: Since we have a great high priest who can sympathize with our weakness, let us boldly approach the throne of grace, confident that there we will receive God’s mercy and grace in our time of ne...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide Ephesians 3:14-21

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14:, Ephesians 2:19-22, John 6:1-21, Colossians 1:16, Luke 11:2, Psalm 95:6, Galatians 5:

Questions for Consideration What does a prayer reveal about a person? What do you most often pray for/about and what might that reveal about you? A Beautiful and Compelling Gospel Prayer The...

lectionary

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 3:14-21, Colossians 1:16, Luke 11:2, Psalm 95:6, Galatians 5:null, Ephesians 2:19-22

Preaching commentary Questions for Consideration What does a prayer reveal about a person? What do you most often pray for/about and what might that reveal about you? A Beautiful and Compel...

blog

Faithfulness, Not Size: The Real Measures of Ministry Success

Author

Dan Baumgartner

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Acts 20:28, 2 Timothy 4:2

Success is a Long Obedience, Not a Quick Climb Let me start with this: I am predisposed to believing that the ideal church size is relatively small. Eugene Peterson has often been quoted as saying h...

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True Christianity is a Fight

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Joshua 1:8, 2 Chronicles 34:29-33, Matthew 4:1-11, Ephesians 6:10-17, Psalm 119:11

Now I have to ask you: If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did not presume to face the forces of evil in the world without a profound knowledge of the Bible in mind and heart, how could we try to face li...

lectionary

11th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:4-10, Isaiah 6:null, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 4:10-12, Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:15, Ephesians 4:12

Preaching Commentary Calling People often give me weird looks when I talk about being “called” by God. A pastor can be “called” to devote their working time to shepherding a church. A parent can be...

liturgy

You have called us to step outside

Author

Casey Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 5:27-32, Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-35, Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 4:15, Luke 6:35, 1 Peter 2:12

Heavenly Father, you have called us to step outside the church and into your world to carry out your kingdom work. We are to love our neighbors, serve those who may call us enemies, and pray for those...

lectionary

11th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:24-35, John 6:23, 2 Samuel 11:26-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:1-12, Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, Psalm 78:23-29, Ephesians 4:1-16

Ancient Lens What's the historical context? The Lakeside Community On the Sea of Galilee, it is not unusual to see from one shore to the other. It is essentially a lake, and as is often the ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, John 6:24-35

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

John 6:24-35, John 6:23, 2 Samuel 11:26-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:1-12, Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, Psalm 78:23-29, Ephesians 4:1-16

Ancient Lens What's the historical context? The Lakeside Community On the Sea of Galilee, it is not unusual to see from one shore to the other. It is essentially a lake, and as is often the ...

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Faith and Feelings Can Go Together

Author

Casey K. Tygrett

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 42:5, Romans 12:15, Ephesians 4:26, Lamentations 3:19-23, James 4:8-9

Too often we are given a choice—emotions or faith and belief. Yet as Dan Allender and Tremper Longman observe, Emotion links our internal and external worlds. To be aware of what we feel can open ...

liturgy

Blessing Ministry Event or Initiative

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:35-40, John 6:1-14, Zechariah 4:6, Judges 6:11-16, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4, Proverbs 16:3, Nehemiah 2:17-20, Philippians 4:19, Acts 18:1-4, Ephesians 2:14, John 4:4-26

This blessing includes prayers for the initiative/event itself, the volunteers for the event, the leaders organizing the event, the resources to be distributed at the event, and any community partners...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 24:1-12

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 24:1-12, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 16:21-22, 1 Corinthians 15:17, Ephesians 3:20-21

The resurrection was inconceivable for the first disciples, as impossible for them to believe, as it is for many of us today. Granted, their reasons would have been different from ours. The Greeks did...

lectionary

Easter: Resurrection of the Lord

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 24:1-12, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 16:21-22, 1 Corinthians 15:17, Ephesians 3:20-21

Preaching Commentary The resurrection was inconceivable for the first disciples, as impossible for them to believe, as it is for many of us today. Granted, their reasons would have been different f...

illustration

From Dropout to Disciple-Maker

Author

Bobby Harrington

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:1-10, Psalm 40:2-3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Luke 15:20, John 1:5

I (Josh) know a young man named Mark who was on the brink of self-destruction. He partied away his first semester of junior college and was later kicked out of school. He was devastated by his loss an...

liturgy

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-17, John 1:1-14, Genesis 1:3-4, John 8:12-20, James 1:1-18, Ephesians 5:8-9, 1 John 1:5-10

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are an...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Jeremiah 1:4-10

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 1:4-10, Isaiah 6:null, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 4:10-12, Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:15, Ephesians 4:12

Calling People often give me weird looks when I talk about being “called” by God. A pastor can be “called” to devote their working time to shepherding a church. A parent can be “called” to invest in ...

liturgy

Lord of Hope and God of all that’s new—Father

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:12, Colossians 3:14, 1 Peter 3:8, Ephesians 4:2-3, Psalm 136:1

Lord of Hope and God of all that’s new—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We’re filled with wonder, gratitude, and joy inspired by the gifts of new life You freely give us. There’s the joy and wonder of eve...

illustration

Fearing to Want

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:18-21, Proverbs 20:1, 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, Colossians 3:5, James 1:12-15, Matthew 6:19-24, Ecclesiastes 6:9

In her thought-provoking book, Teach us to Want , Jen Pollock Michel describes the tension in listening to our deepest desires: some of them these desires are integral to our identity, but they a...

liturgy

God who is near at hand

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:8, Philippians 4:5, Ephesians 3:16-17, Romans 12:1, Isaiah 55:6, Romans 5:5

God who is near at hand, Draw us humbly into your present with the expectation you will listen and we will be heard. By the power of your Holy Spirit, soften our hearts, reminding us that we are your...

liturgy

Following God's Call with Grace

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:18-20, Luke 10:25-37 , John 21:15-19 , Micah 6:8, 1 John 4:7-8 , Isaiah 6:8, Ephesians 4:31-32

Gracious God, we desire to follow when you call. We long to live according to the ways of Jesus, yet we find ourselves stumbling. Forgive us for the times we have ignored your call to follow you in th...

lectionary

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 10:40-42, John 20:21, Acts 1:18, 2 Peter 2:13, Luke 17:10, John 3:18, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 5:20, James 5:14, Colossians 3:17, Acts 3:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Acts 20:35

preaching commentary The Transitive Property of Welcoming In elementary school math you learn various basic principles of working with numbers…the commutative property, the associative property, th...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Ephesians 4:29, Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:38-42, Ephesians 5:15-17, Haggai 1:5-9, 1 Corinthians 10:31

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we become so consumed with the details of life that we do not see the opportunities that you have placed before us. Open our eyes to your call to extend love, by commu...

lectionary

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Christian Calendar

Scripture

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, Ephesians 4:14, Mark 10:14, 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 6:14, 2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 23:12, Proverbs 3:5, Acts 26:24

Preaching Commentary The Missing “Advent” Text A lectionary preacher moving from the fifth to the sixth Sunday after Pentecost in Year A will notice that a familiar chunk is missing, sent back in t...

lectionary

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

John 1:29-42, Revelation 17:14, Isaiah 52:13-15, Isaiah 53:, Ephesians 6:12

Preaching Commentary Summary of the Text Our lectionary text can be fairly easily broken into two major sections, with verses 29-34 concerned with John the Baptist testifying to Jesus’ ministry and...

lectionary

15th Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-7, Mark 15:37-38, Ephesians 4:12

Preaching Commentary Parakalō There are a lot of interesting words in this passage, including the second one. In the NIV, it says, “I urge...” In English, “urge” has some range. If I “urge you to r...

liturgy

Living in God's True Love

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 15:11-32, Romans 5:8 , 1 John 4:10, Titus 3:4-5 , Psalm 103:10-12, Isaiah 49:15-16

Gracious Father, too often we base our worth on our performance. We believe if we do well, your love grows, and if we falter, your love lessens. Our God, how far this is from the truth. We confess our...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 4:12-23

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:12-23, Romans 5:12-21, Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 42:1-4, Hebrews 12:2, Genesis 1:3, Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 8:3, Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8

Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. I can’t imagine a 40 d...

liturgy

Prayers for Lenten Season

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Isaiah 58:6-12, Romans 3:23-26, Ephesians 2:8-10, Psalm 139:23-24

Pastor: O Lord, in these Lenten days set our minds on Your things rather than the things of man, that we may listen for Your call and walk in Your ways. Lord, in Your mercy, People: hear o...

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