As we have walked through the first few verses of Ephesians 1, we see the phrase "In Christ (Him)" repeated. Paul is painting an elaborate and beautiful picture of the what is offered to those who live in relational connection to Jesus. We often times lump all the unique and wonderful blessings of God into the salvation experience. Do they all begin at salvation? Yes, I believe they largely do; however, each facet of what we acquire and lay hold of at salvation is an ongoing adventure and experience with God. We can too easily gloss over the promises of God in Jesus and forget that each one of them is an overwhelming expression of the love and nature of God......forever.

*A bit of context. The prop that I used in this episode to help people visualize my topic is a suitcase that has 'Predestination' written on the front along with Eph 2:10 as well as "God's Will". Inside are promises, not only from these verses, but also from Rom 8:29-30.

The life we have in Christ is one of mystery, adventure and abundance. In this episode we look at what is predestination. What has God predestined for those who are IN Christ? Does He ultimately decide who is saved and who isn't? How can we know or understand what God has for each one of us?

I again take a humble approach to a very controversial topic. I am not saying that I know more than the millions of other Christians before me who debated this topic for centuries. However, I do feel that the Lord has pressed it upon me to share what I do believe.

This week we discussed Ephesians 1:4 where it talks about God choosing us IN Christ. What does it mean that he chose us before the foundation of the world? Do we really have free will? As I share my beliefs and how I interpret these verses, I am well aware that many people smarter and more learned than me have argued these points for centuries. I am humbly sharing my beliefs. This is a pretty large and sweeping topic, so I hope you will be able to understand and follow what I am saying.

Buckle up and come along for the ride!

In this episode we delve into what it means to be "blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." As we go through Ephesians 1 we are focusing on the "in Christ" statements that are speaking of the abiding life of the Christian. This week is Ephesians 1:3. The enemy has done a good job at creating confusion and hesitation when it comes to living in abundance and the blessings of the Lord. Yet God clearly intends for us to live in the blessings He has given us.....maybe we just don't understand what the blessings are intended for.......

This is a brief explanation of the power and purpose of being grateful. We are implementing a time of gratitude/appreciation before our regular service in order to incorporate a spirit of gratitude into our community and lives. I hope this challenges you and opens up your eyes to the power of gratittude!

We continued unpacking what it means to "abide in Christ". The life of God flowing through man is what the world is starved for, the enemy fears and the delight of God. If we want live from the life and grace of God, it requires that we keep the Gospel ever in our view. This "fuel" source for our lives is what the engineer of creation has designed our lives to run off of. It's not about arriving spiritually, it is about an ongoing relationship and connection with Jesus that produces the poem of our life God always intended us to live.

Last week we talked about the eternal divine life that has been extended to us through Christ. If you missed out on the Easter Service, I would encourage you to go back and listen to have a better understanding of the background of this sermon. Our text is John 15 where Jesus is talking about being the vine and we are the branches. Why does Jesus emphasize abiding and remaining attached to Him when the modern Christianity often times majors on all the things we should/shouldn't do. Can we truly live by the life of Christ through a deep heart connection to Him?

Come and experience the story of the eternal Life of God.