Sometimes we read the words of God and forget how counter-cultural and shocking they were at the time they were written—and how shocking they still are today. In the opening Ephesians, we read that *God chose us* before the foundation of the world and *adopted us into his own family.* He is birth...

Sin drives us to fight, resent, and live in conflict with those who are different than us (and even with those who are very similar). In Ephesus there were racial and ethnic divisions between Jews and Gentiles that seemed insurmountable. Jesus came to unite people into one beautiful family, and h...

Imagine a local church filled with Christians who are examples of peace. The members model peace in their relationships with the other members of their uniquely diverse congregation. But they don’t stop there. These people seek peace with those outside their church. They strive for justice. They ...

The gospel changes individual lives, but it also transforms families, communities, nations, and the world. It saves the lost and makes radically diverse people friends and family members. The gospel is *massive* in scope. This is why the best investment of our lives is to become servants of the g...

God’s family has guidelines, rules, and commands that shape the behavior of its household members, such as • Be gentle and humble • Love each other with patience, etc. We would all be much better off if we followed these commands in our families, our community, in the workplace—and certainly in t...

In our battle against our spiritual enemy, forgetting to equip ourselves with the armor God has provided can be deadly. He calls us as members of his family and fighting force to stand strong, resist the spiritual enemies who seek our destruction, and fight back in his power against the forces of...