Spiritual warfare is not won by desire, resolve or willpower. Our strength to win spiritual battles comes from God alone. Ephesians 6 lays this out for us and gives us weapons and defenses to stand in this battle. Have you been STUMBLING lately? You might be under attack! You can turn right now and ask for help from the only One who does not lose. 

Ephesians 6 opens the subject of slavery. Does the Bible condone slavery? As we study this chapter we see that Paul is planting the seeds of the gospel on the inside so that the walls of this institution can’t contain it and they burst with the downfall of slavery. The Bible does NOT condone slavery. The gospel guts it from the inside out so it can’t live.  

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It's hard. God has given us a special responsibility to teach our kids to know & love Christ. We only have a limited time to teach our kids so we need to WHAT and HOW God would have us raise them. 

Modeling our lives after the teachings of the Bible can make us look radically different from the culture we live in. This is especially true when it comes to marriage. The marriages within the church should look different from the rest of Northern Virginia. When we fear Jesus, we will joyfully embrace our countercultural roles that God has set up for husbands and wives.

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit's filling only for big moments in life and deep emotional experiences? As we continue studying Ephesians we see that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit today and every day for every circumstance.

Do you love the light? In Ephesians 5, Paul challenges Christians to "walk in the light." This truly is a challenge because we live in a world that loves the darkness. Sexual immorality is an especially dangerous trap for the Christian and Paul offers warning and encouragement as we continue to walk in the light. 

When a church experiences growth it is easy to associate the church's growth with your own spiritual growth. Are you growing? Ephesians 4 gives us a few steps that we can take to ensure we are continuously growing disciples of Jesus Christ.

Do you want to be a part of a growing church? God has given us unique gifts to use to serve his church. When each part of the body is working properly it builds up the body of Christ and our church will grow.

Paul is not interested in the Ephesians merely learning some interesting information. He is expecting them to make some changes in the way they live. As we enter into the second half of this letter we find that it is full of practical application. Because who you are, changes how you live, and how you live matters. 

A lot has happened in the Ephesian church. Lives have been changed and the church is growing. The Apostle Paul knows this dramatic change is not their own doing. And if they are going to keep it up they need to be strengthed by God. As we continue in Ephesians 3 we see Paul's prayer for the church is God's desire for us today.