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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023026S
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:20 And this week we are starting a brand new quarter. 00:23 We are looking at the book of Ephesians, 00:25 Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. 00:28 Why does he write the letter? 00:30 What are some of the major themes? 00:31 What's the significance of the book of Ephesians? 00:34 We're going to be looking at all of that and more 00:37 over the course of the next 14 weeks. 00:40 But before we dive into this week's lesson 00:42 and a brand new quarter, let's begin with prayer. 00:45 Father, we wanna thank You for being with us, 00:48 for promising to guide us through our study 00:51 of the book of Ephesians. 00:52 We ask that You would open our hearts and our minds 00:55 and our understanding to the message that You gave to Paul 00:59 to give to the church in Ephesus, 01:01 and through that church, to us as well. 01:03 We ask that You'll bless our time together, 01:06 bless our understanding, 01:07 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 01:11 Well, the author of this quarter's study 01:13 is Dr. John McVay, 01:15 he is the president of Walla Walla University. 01:17 He's also the former dean of the seminary 01:20 at Andrews University. 01:22 He holds a doctorate in New Testament studies 01:25 and we're delighted to have Dr. John McVay 01:28 with us this quarter. 01:29 John, welcome. We're glad that you're here. 01:31 >>I'm delighted to be here, Eric. 01:32 >>Now, this is a really exciting book, 01:34 the book of Ephesians. 01:35 It's right in the heart of the New Testament. 01:38 Of course, Paul is the author of the book. 01:41 Give us a little bit of background 01:43 into how this quarter's lesson came to be. 01:46 Why are we studying the book of Ephesians? 01:49 A little bit of an overview and maybe a little backstory 01:51 in how this study guide came into being. 01:55 How long had you been working on it? 01:57 Things along those lines. >>Sure. 01:59 Well, in a way, this study guide goes back to about 1987 02:06 when I was sitting in an office with my major professor 02:10 trying to decide what I was gonna write my dissertation, 02:12 my doctoral dissertation about, 02:14 and at the time, he was writing a commentary on Ephesians. 02:17 And I was particularly interested 02:18 in the theology of the church, 02:20 and the two came together in that moment, 02:22 and my destiny with Ephesians was set. 02:25 >>Fantastic, so back in the 1980s? 02:27 >>Yes, back in the 1980s. 02:29 >>Some people who are watching this 02:31 may not even have been born 02:33 in the 1980s. >>That's of course correct. 02:35 Someone who's known me for a long time was saying, 02:37 "Hey, I think you started working on this 02:39 back in the mid to late '80s." 02:42 And I said, "Well, yes. 02:43 "But the most important date 02:44 "isn't when I started working on Ephesians. 02:46 "The most important date 02:48 is when Ephesians started working on me." 02:49 >>That's right. Absolutely. 02:51 So, why Ephesians? 02:52 What is the significance of it? 02:54 What are some things-- 02:55 we're gonna take a 14-week 02:56 journey together-- >>Sure. 02:58 >>...through the book of Ephesians. 02:59 What are some things 03:00 that we're going to be learning along the way? 03:02 Why do we wanna make this journey? 03:04 There's some good reasons. What are they? 03:07 >>There's a lot of good reasons. 03:08 Someone has written that pound-for-pound, 03:10 Ephesians may be the most influential document 03:13 in human history. 03:15 So that kind of wakes us up a little bit, doesn't it? 03:17 If you ever read through those statements of faith 03:20 on Christian denominations and groups-- 03:24 you know, at the end of a statement 03:25 they often give biblical references, 03:27 and it's an interesting project 03:28 to see how often Ephesians is cited there. 03:31 It really is important 03:32 as a foundation of Christian doctrine. 03:35 Paul, here in this letter, 03:37 not so different from Romans, steps aside it seems, 03:42 from some of the local interest stuff 03:46 like you see in 1 and 2 Corinthians 03:48 and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. 03:50 And he's really talking about Christian faith 03:53 very broadly in a way that echoes down through the ages. 03:57 And it's easy for us to identify with it 03:59 and draw it into our own lives right now. 04:02 >>So, a lot that we can apply, 04:04 it's not just theological uselessness 04:09 as someone might say some things are, 04:11 which I don't think anything really is, 04:12 but these are very practical, 04:14 very applicable things 04:16 that we can use in our lives right now. 04:19 >>Paul has a lot of grand, 04:22 high-flying language here 04:24 in the epistle to the Ephesians. 04:26 And as in most of his letters, 04:28 the first half focuses on that doctrinal-- 04:31 it sings with Christ and God 04:34 and what God has done in Christ 04:36 through the church to redeem humankind. 04:39 And so, there's lots of that. 04:41 But then in the second half, 04:43 there's a turn in focus 04:45 and he turns toward, so what? 04:48 What does this mean? 04:50 So he gets down to the nitty gritty of it 04:51 and begins to apply that 04:53 to the lives of Christian disciples. 04:55 So both are there, 04:56 the high ringing, high sounding theological statements, 05:00 but also the nitty gritty of how this walks and talks 05:03 in terms of Christian discipleship. 05:05 >>Very good. 05:07 So lesson number one, "Paul and the Ephesians." 05:10 Why Ephesus? 05:12 What's the significance of the city of Ephesus? 05:15 Ephesus, of course, 05:16 the letter to the Ephesians 05:18 is the people who are in Ephesus. 05:20 Why Ephesus? What's the significance of that city? 05:23 >>Well, that's a very good question 05:24 and Paul nowhere gives us a direct answer to that, 05:28 but we can infer, I think, 05:30 a fairly accurate answer from his mission strategy 05:34 that we see, particularly in the book of Acts, don't we? 05:37 He doesn't tend to go to tiny little out of the way places. 05:42 He is wanting to capture the world for Jesus, 05:47 and so, he tends to operate 05:48 on what one of my friends has called the "hub principle." 05:51 And Ephesus, then, is one of these hubs. 05:55 He's clearly dedicated to it. 05:57 He stops there at the end of the second missionary journey, 06:00 promises to return. 06:02 At the start of the third missionary journey, 06:04 he begins his way moving across 1800 miles 06:07 to get to Ephesus. 06:08 He clearly wants to get to this place. 06:12 It's the capital of arguably the richest province 06:16 in the Roman Empire, the province of Asia. 06:19 It's a transportation hub. 06:22 It's an important center. 06:24 He wants to found and establish Christian faith there 06:28 so that it spreads far and wide. 06:30 I'm, again, intuiting from mission strategy 06:33 and his approach here. 06:34 This place is important to him. 06:36 He wants to found Christianity firmly here 06:39 so that it can spread. 06:41 >>So not an insignificant city, 06:42 in fact, what, 06:44 third, fourth largest in the Roman Empire, 06:45 somewhere in that neighborhood. 06:47 >>It's a little hard, of course, 06:48 to judge cities of ancient times in their size, 06:51 but Ephesus was probably 200 to 250,000, 06:55 not just in the city itself, but in the surrounding area. 06:59 That's a lot of people in its time. 07:02 Now, in our day, 200-250,000 is not a large city, 07:07 but in that time, it came in just behind Rome itself, 07:11 Alexandria, maybe Corinth. 07:13 Third or fourth largest city in the Roman Empire. 07:16 So it's a big, strategic, 07:18 rich, sophisticated place, 07:22 and Paul dares to step into its streets 07:25 and lay claim to the place for Jesus. 07:27 >>And it's not an easy task. 07:29 I mean, you make reference to a few stories 07:32 in the book of Acts that give us an idea, 07:35 a little bit of the backstory 07:37 of what's happening in the book of Ephesians, 07:40 some experiences, as it were, that he references. 07:43 Give us a little bit more in that backstory. 07:45 >>Well, the backstory for Ephesians 07:47 is really in Acts, chapters 18 and 19, 07:49 and there are some great stories here, 07:52 just as stories. 07:53 So, you have seven itinerant 07:57 Jewish exorcists. 08:01 Judaism had quite a reputation in the time, 08:03 and of course, Ephesus is a place where magic 08:07 and the worship of 08:09 scores of deities proved important. 08:13 And these exorcists have obviously made 08:17 a good business out of practicing exorcism, 08:23 using a kind of abracadabra approach, 08:24 naming sort of every deity from A to Z. 08:27 They hear about Jesus, they hear about Paul, 08:30 and so they mingle their names amidst their abracadabra 08:35 and they try to practice 08:38 this newly formulated mumbo jumbo 08:41 on a demon possessed person. 08:44 >>It doesn't go very well. 08:46 >>Does not go well, it does not go well at all. 08:49 The man rises up, overpowers them, 08:52 and they flee, kind of half naked, 08:54 into the streets of Ephesus. 08:56 Now that's a crazy story, 08:59 but the wonderful thing about it is 09:01 it works out grandly for the reputation of Jesus, 09:05 Paul, and the gospel, 09:08 and as a result, scripture says, 09:10 you know, the whole region gets to know about Jesus, 09:14 begins to think about Him. 09:16 >>And that's not the only story. 09:17 There's another story in the book of Acts, 09:19 also about a silversmith. 09:22 Give us a little 09:23 story of Demetrius. >>Yes, there's a riot. 09:25 I mean, this is fascinating. 09:27 And what these stories together tell us 09:29 is that Paul's missionary work in the city 09:34 makes a dramatic difference 09:36 and shakes the very political and economic foundations 09:40 of the third or fourth largest city in the Roman Empire. 09:44 That's really quite fascinating. 09:47 But yeah, Paul is, according to the story, 09:51 and according to Demetrius, the silversmith himself, 09:54 kind of turning the world upside down with this idea 09:57 that these gods are not gods. 10:00 So, Paul is preaching 10:03 about Christ. 10:05 Paul is preaching about God. 10:07 Paul is preaching about the creator God, 10:09 and in service of that, he's going after idolatry. 10:13 He's saying, "These are not really gods." 10:16 And that actually maybe didn't bother Demetrius that much 10:20 until it started hitting his pocketbook. 10:23 And when those trinkets 10:25 that went along with the cult of Artemis, 10:28 the greatest goddess worshiped in Ephesus, 10:32 and you know, those little silver shrines 10:34 and all the rest of it, 10:36 when sales plummeted, that's when he got excited. 10:39 >>And it caused no small uproar. 10:41 >>He convenes a meeting, he lays out the problem, 10:48 and folks get excited and they scream and holler, 10:50 the name for Artemis, 10:53 "Artemis of the Ephesians, 10:55 Artemis of the Ephesians," for a couple of hours, right? 10:58 And it's a major ruckus, it becomes a riot. 11:03 Paul is not immediately around, 11:05 but they're looking for scapegoats for all of this. 11:07 And the town clerk steps in and says, 11:09 "Hey, you know, we've got a problem here," 11:12 and calms the crowd down. 11:15 But this is a story that tells us 11:18 that Paul had done real gospel work. 11:22 He'd been there three years and he had been preaching 11:25 and speaking for two of those years in a classroom setting. 11:29 Sounds kind of boring, right? 11:32 The evangelistic meeting that he's holding 11:34 in a specific hall that we're told about there in Ephesus. 11:38 But it's effective, it makes a difference. 11:40 >>So Paul is making inroads, most clearly. 11:44 So the book of Ephesians, 11:46 that's what we are taking a look at this quarter. 11:49 You will want to pick up the companion book 11:52 to this quarter's study guide. 11:54 It is entitled "Ephesians" by of course, John McVay. 11:57 Now, John, give us a little insight 12:00 into why the companion book is important. 12:03 What would someone get from this companion book 12:06 that isn't in the study guide itself? 12:09 What's the meat in here? 12:11 >>Well, in the companion book, 12:13 I try to take the book of Ephesians, 12:17 deal with it section by section, 12:20 and have a chance to tell a few stories, 12:23 to share some of the scholarship around the letter, 12:27 but do that in a candy-coated fashion 12:29 that makes it really accessible. 12:31 And we have a chance to really explore 12:34 why this is such a dynamic, powerful, and important letter 12:38 and I especially have the chance to spend time 12:40 on what difference does it make in our lives today? 12:44 So, I like to think of it 12:45 as a kind of narrative story commentary 12:48 on the epistle to the Ephesians. 12:50 I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 12:53 >>So you wanna pick up the companion book 12:55 to this quarter's study guide. 12:56 It is called "Ephesians" and you can find it 12:59 at itiswritten.shop. 13:01 Again, that's at itiswritten.shop. 13:04 Just look for the companion book 13:06 to this quarter's study guide. 13:08 It is called "Ephesians." 13:10 And we are going to continue looking at week number one, 13:14 "Paul and the Ephesians," as we dive 13:18 into this brand new quarter on the book of Ephesians. 13:22 And we look forward to seeing you again in just a moment 13:25 as we come back and continue our study. 13:27 (upbeat music) 13:32 >>You know that at It Is Written 13:34 we are serious about the study of the Word of God, 13:37 and we encourage you to be serious about God's Word also. 13:41 Well, I wanna share with you another way 13:43 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God, 13:46 and here it is, 13:48 itiswritten.study. 13:51 Go online to itiswritten.study 13:54 and you can access the It Is Written Bible Study Guides, 13:58 25 in-depth Bible studies 14:01 that will walk you through the Bible. 14:03 It's gonna be good for you and it's the sort of thing 14:06 that you will want to tell somebody else about 14:10 so that they can dig deeper into the Word of God 14:13 and come to know the things of the Bible intimately. 14:16 As you get into the It Is Written online Bible study guides, 14:20 you'll understand the prophecies of the Bible, 14:22 the plan of salvation, and more. 14:24 So don't forget itiswritten.study, 14:27 itiswritten.study. 14:31 (upbeat music) 14:36 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:37 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:39 We are continuing our study of the book of Ephesians. 14:44 And John, let me jump back in by asking this question. 14:47 What's the purpose of Ephesians? Why do we have the book? 14:52 What's it there for? 14:54 >>Well, Eric, usually when we write something, 14:56 at least something important and intentional, 14:58 there's some reason why we've taken the time to write it. 15:01 And it's an interesting question to say, 15:03 "Okay, so assuming that to be the case, 15:06 why does Paul spill so much ink and passion in this letter? 15:10 "Why does he go to the trouble, 15:12 "particularly in ancient context 15:14 "where writing a letter was not nearly 15:15 as simple as typing out an email is today." 15:18 So, why? 15:19 You know, I think 15:20 probably the best indication we have of that 15:24 comes in chapter three near the center of the letter 15:30 where Paul is going to offer a prayer report 15:33 and talk about why he's praying for them. 15:36 And there's a little line here 15:39 that I think is helpful for us. 15:42 Verse 13. 15:44 "So I ask you not to lose heart 15:48 over what I am suffering for you." 15:51 And I think that may get us pretty close 15:53 to the intention of the letter. 15:57 So, Paul ministers in Ephesus, 16:00 he wins converts to Christ, 16:02 that was six or seven years ago, 16:05 but six or seven years have intervened. 16:08 Christianity has taken a little bit of a dive 16:11 in terms of its reputation. 16:13 It was kind of cachet, it was the thing back in Paul's day, 16:17 it was winning friends and influencing people. 16:20 But now, it's gotten a bit lost 16:23 amongst all the faiths. 16:25 To be a Christian no longer holds 16:27 the, you know, the honor and the aura 16:31 that it once did when Paul was around. 16:33 And Paul, the great champion of Christian faith, 16:37 is himself in prison. 16:40 And Paul's worried that they're losing 16:44 a sense of the significance 16:46 of what it means to be a Christian. 16:48 And they're discouraged by his presence and mission. 16:51 So, he's writing a letter to steel their nerves 16:55 and to raise their horizon of what it means 16:58 to be part of God's great actions in the world, 17:00 what it means to be part of the church. 17:02 >>So it's gonna be a letter of encouragement 17:05 among other things, 17:06 of propping them up and giving them hope, as it were. 17:11 >>He's gonna sketch out the big stuff 17:13 God is involved in the world 17:15 and wants them to see their lives 17:18 as part of God's grand plan. 17:20 >>So let's spend a few minutes 17:22 and look at the theological message of Ephesians. 17:25 What's some of the theological meat that we find in there? 17:30 >>You know, I always like it 17:31 when I'm reading a book or something, 17:32 when the author takes time to say, 17:34 "This is what this book is about." 17:36 And really, Paul does that here. 17:40 Ephesians 1, verses 9 and 10. 17:43 And by the way, Eric, 17:46 Ephesians is known for something 17:47 that someone has labeled "tapeworm sentences." 17:51 They just kind of go on and on and on and on. 17:53 So a lot of times when we read passages in Ephesians, 17:56 we kind of have to break 17:57 into one of those tapeworm sentences, 18:00 and that's the case here in verses 9 and 10. 18:04 Paul writes, "Making known to us the mystery of His will, 18:09 according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ." 18:13 So Paul's setting us up here to hear, 18:16 well, what's the big plan? 18:17 What's God's purpose? 18:19 What's He about in the cosmos? 18:21 "As a plan for the fullness of time." 18:24 So He sets forth a plan in Christ. 18:26 It's a plan for the fullness of time. 18:28 And here's the punchline, here's what He's about. 18:31 "To unite all things in Him." 18:35 To unite everything in Jesus. 18:38 "Things in heaven and things on earth." 18:42 So God's grand purpose in the world 18:45 is to wrap up everything, unite everything in Jesus. 18:50 That's the great theme of the letter, you see? 18:53 >>There's not a much bigger theme out there to try to tackle 18:56 that I can think of. 18:58 I mean, that's an enormous theme. 19:00 >>It's cosmic scale, 19:01 it's huge. 19:03 This is not some tiny version of unity, 19:06 this is unity writ large, 19:08 this is big stuff. 19:11 And he's taking their lives of these disciples, 19:14 threatening--who are becoming discouraged, 19:16 worried about, is this really for me? 19:19 Perhaps being drawn back into the worship 19:22 of one or more of those deities 19:25 of which there were so many on offer in Ephesus. 19:28 And he's saying to them, 19:30 "You wanna be part of the grandest thing in the universe, 19:34 "you need to be a Christian. 19:35 You need to be a member of God's church." 19:38 >>And this book, it's not a huge book, 19:41 I mean, it's not a Psalms or something like that. 19:45 It's a relatively small book, all things considered, 19:48 and yet Paul packs into it 19:52 this grand theme 19:54 and desires that we should understand it. 19:58 >>Yes, the letter was designed, as we learned at the end, 20:01 it was designed apparently to be read 20:03 in those house churches in Ephesus. 20:06 We should probably think of the movement as having grown 20:10 and now there are a number of house churches 20:13 scattered throughout the greater Ephesus area, 20:15 and this letter is designed to be read 20:18 in those house churches from start to finish. 20:21 It's a kind of sermon, if you will. 20:23 And we assume that Tychicus, 20:27 who is mentioned at the end, 20:28 chapter six, verse 21, 20:30 is probably the one who carries the letter 20:32 and reads it to these congregations. 20:35 So no, it's not very long 20:36 because it's meant to be read in a single sitting. 20:40 Yeah, and he's unpacking this grand theme 20:43 of what God is doing, 20:44 uniting everything in Christ. 20:47 >>So, you've touched on this grand theme, 20:49 in fact, you've unpacked it nicely, 20:52 but let's dig a little more into Christ. 20:54 How does He figure into this? 20:56 What's His role? 20:58 I think we've got-- 20:59 >>Sure. >>...a general idea, 21:00 but let's pull that apart a little more. 21:01 >>Well, Christ is the focus of God's plan 21:03 as we learn in chapter one, verses nine and 10, 21:06 Paul's thesis statement for the letter. 21:09 It's all about Jesus, isn't it? 21:12 But then as we move through, 21:14 this is truly a Christ-saturated letter. 21:19 More than 30 times, 21:21 Paul uses phrases like "in Christ," 21:25 "by Christ," "in Him," "in the Beloved." 21:30 And so, he's training us to understand 21:33 that Christian faith and discipleship 21:36 is all wrapped up in Jesus. 21:38 It's all about Jesus, 21:40 and we see that in every segment, 21:43 in every section of the epistle to the Ephesians. 21:47 Christ is present. 21:48 Christ is at the heart of what God is doing in the world. 21:52 >>So, we're gonna see Christ 21:53 as we journey through the book of Ephesians. 21:57 But as you've mentioned before, it's not just Christ, 22:00 we also see that Christ has His church here, 22:03 that occupies a significant part of Paul's heart 22:08 and his desires to see the church thrive. 22:10 How do we see the significance of the church 22:12 in the book of Ephesians? 22:14 >>Well, Paul spends a great deal of time 22:16 on the theme of the church here. 22:17 The church is important to Paul, in Ephesians, 22:21 in a way that's probably not true of any other document. 22:24 It's Christ-saturated and it's church oriented. 22:28 So again, Paul's interested in resurrecting the faith 22:33 and the engagement and investment of these Christians, 22:36 believers in Ephesus. 22:38 And so he wants to highlight the significance of the church, 22:42 this enterprise in which they're engaged and involved. 22:45 So, he has four large metaphors or images 22:50 that he uses in Ephesians to talk about the church. 22:53 So back in chapter one--chapter four, 22:56 he uses that metaphor that he has used 22:59 in his earlier letters, 23:00 the church as the body of Christ, eh? 23:03 So that's an important one. 23:06 Chapter two, particularly the end of chapter two, 23:09 the church as building/temple. 23:12 The temple of the Living God, 23:13 a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. 23:16 And the third one would be a bride, 23:20 the church as bride, 23:21 the bride of Christ, the bride/wife of Christ. 23:25 Chapter five, particularly the verses 25 through 27. 23:28 What does that mean? That beautiful intimate portrait? 23:32 And finally, we come to the end of the letter, 23:34 chapter six, verses 10 through 20, 23:36 that famous armament passage, 23:37 "Put on the full armor of God." 23:39 And here the church is displayed 23:42 as the militia of Christ, 23:44 the army of God. 23:46 So he uses these really well-developed images, 23:49 he develops these and identifies elements of them. 23:56 He uses these to talk about how important it is 23:58 to be part of the church, to be a Christian. 24:00 He's trying to resurrect their faith, reengage, 24:03 reignite their Christian faith. 24:06 >>So the significance of Christ, 24:08 the significance of the church, 24:10 and the various metaphors that Paul uses 24:12 to help us understand the purpose 24:14 and the significance of the church. 24:15 You know, there are some Christians today 24:17 who kind of wanna live 24:18 a autonomous relationship with Christ, 24:22 but apart from a church or an organization. 24:24 Paul doesn't seem to echo 24:25 that theme very much here, does he? 24:28 >>No, he's not real big 24:31 on individualistic Christianity here. 24:34 He's big on being part of the body of Christ, 24:37 part of the temple, 24:39 being part of the bride, being part of the army, 24:42 and that's important to him. 24:44 >>If somebody were watching this program right now, 24:47 whose faith has become kind of mundane, 24:52 they're going through the motions, 24:54 they've been a Christian for a while, 24:56 but it's not-- 24:59 it doesn't involve every element of their being, 25:02 every aspect of their life, 25:03 it's just kind of routine, become routine. 25:07 What would you tell that person 25:09 as we're beginning this journey 25:11 through the book of Ephesians, 25:13 to give them encouragement and hope 25:15 that there's something more to a walk with Christ 25:20 than perhaps what they've been experiencing 25:22 for a little while? 25:24 >>Well, Eric, I'd probably use 25:26 the language of Ephesians itself and say 25:30 God is about something grand in the cosmos. 25:34 God is about heading up everything in Jesus. 25:38 If you want to be part 25:39 of the grandest plan in the universe, 25:44 you need to be part of God's plan for the cosmos. 25:47 You need to be tight with Jesus. 25:50 You need to know who Jesus is. 25:52 You need to be in Christ. 25:54 Christ needs to be dwelling in you, 25:57 as the letter talks about. 25:59 You need to be one with Jesus. 26:01 And you're gonna do that, that's gonna work best for you 26:05 if you are part of the grand project 26:09 that God is working on through Christ 26:12 and the Spirit in the world, and that is the church. 26:15 And the church is the center and the focus of God's plan. 26:20 It's an illustration of what he wishes to do 26:24 in the cosmos as a whole. 26:26 You want to be a part of this. 26:28 If you wish to live a life of significance, 26:31 you want to be a part of what God is doing, through Christ, 26:35 in His church, as we look toward the end of all things, 26:39 when everything will become united in Jesus. 26:43 >>John, thank you very much for that, 26:45 for giving us some encouragement, some hope, 26:46 and an idea of where we are going. 26:49 So, today begins a 14 week journey, 26:55 a 14 week odyssey, 26:57 a huge journey from one end 27:01 of the book of Ephesians to the other. 27:04 And really ultimately, in 14 weeks, 27:06 we're going to get the high points, 27:09 but there is so much more. 27:10 Why is Jesus so important? 27:13 What did Paul understand about Him 27:15 and what does he also understand about your needs? 27:19 About my needs? 27:20 Well, over the course of the next 14 weeks, 27:22 we are going to be delving into that 27:25 and we invite you to be a part of that journey as well. 27:29 We're looking at the book of Ephesians, 27:32 Paul's letter to the church of Ephesus 27:34 and we look forward to having you join us 27:37 on this journey as well. 27:38 God bless you, have a wonderful day, 27:40 and we look forward to seeing you again next week 27:42 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It is Written. 27:45 (upbeat music) 28:25 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-06-21