Ephesians Archives - Desert Warrior Ministries

God’s Gift to Men (Eph. 4:1-16)

April 17, 2022

Someone once said, your gifts are not your own. You have your gifts not so much for your own sake as for the sake of others. You are like an apple tree that produces fruit not for its own consumption but for the consumption of others.

Your gifts are given so you can bless others by ministering to them. If you have the gift of teaching, you have it so that others in the body will be taught. If you have the gift of hospitality, it is because others need the gracious welcome they received from you. If even one gifted person fails to function, the body of Christ is deprived of a ministry it needs to function well.

Rules for Grateful Living – Part 2 (Eph. 5:1-21)

Long weekends are interesting things. It used to be that we would have two or three long weekends a year. Now, of course, you have your basic feast days like Christmas and Easter and if they fell close enough to a weekend you could pretty well count on getting a long weekend out of it. And of course, you always had Canada Day and Labor Day weekend.

But now it seems that every single month has to have one. Of course, nobody is arguing but it does make you wonder how you’re supposed to keep track of what you’re supposed to be celebrating.

Rules for Grateful Living – Part 1 (Eph. 4:17-32)

Is that the kind of lifestyle we want our kids to imitate? Remember the old saying, “more is caught by our kids than taught.” Even as good church-going people we ought to be careful that our own lives are rooted and established in Christ. The greatest gift you can give your child is to deepen your own relationship with God. They will catch godly living from you much better that way.

A Godly Father – Part 2 (Eph. 6: 1-4)

Has it ever occurred to you that it is a tremendous thing to have the obedience of another person?

As adults, we discuss and persuade and argue in order to get someone to do something we think is important. We come to one another on more or less equal footing usually. Unless you have authority over someone, unless you can command someone else’s obedience, at work with a subordinate, at home with children.

With authority comes responsibility, responsibility to get the job done, responsibility to bring up your children in the instruction and training of the Lord.

Staying Close – Part 2 (Eph. 6:10-20)

For all of us who suffer from spiritual depression or deadness, who fall to the same old temptations time and again, for those who have decisions to make or who simply desire something more, to have a deeper relationship with their God, God’s word of encouragement comes to us from our text “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Stay close to the source of strength.

Staying Close – Part 1 (Eph. 6:10-12)

There are so many people in our churches today that are uncertain about their faith, that find no vitality and life in their relationship with God, that have very little meaning in their life beyond the desire to make something of themselves in their jobs or their families. It is no accident that many in the church have fallen away. It is no accident that many find Church boring. It is no surprise to those who see life with the eyeglasses of scripture, that many Christians place enormous value on a normal middle-class lifestyle. There is a devilish mind behind much that happens in our age. And we are naive indeed to think that it is not so.

Heart Talks with God (Eph. 6:18)

God could be our best soul friend, but we hurt him when we forget him and when we do things wrong on purpose. We need to apologize and say we’re sorry and because Jesus took our punishment when he died on the cross, we can have God as our soul friend again. We don’t have to be afraid or feel guilty anymore. God loves us and he wants to have heart-to-heart talks with us.

But we still can’t see or hear God. What do we do about that? Well, actually, we will get to see God again one day just like Adam and Eve did. But until then, God does something very special to help us have heart-to-heart talks with him. He gives us his spirit.

A Life Worthy of the Calling (Eph. 4:1-6)

This is not a unity that is scared of speaking out but a unity that knows what it believes and where its loyalties lie and so knows when to be firm and when to be flexible.

So, there you have it. The formula for unity in the church. Humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love. Not always so easy to do. In Colossians, he adds compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and thankfulness. These are the fruit of a spirit-filled life.

A Godly Father – Part 1 (Eph. 6:1-4)

It might be helpful to think of your kids as your disciples and your goal is to help them develop Christ-like characters.

In your training and instruction, do you know what you are aiming for? Even if you can’t put it in words, do you have a sense of what contributes to and hinders the development of your kids? This is not just any instruction and training, this is “of the Lord.”

Desert Warrior Ministries

Category: Ephesians