A Beautiful Mystery

Ephesians 3

Sermon Notes:

1) The Puzzle Now Solved | 1-6

2) The Proclaimer Now Equipped | 7-13

3) The Prayer: Deeper Knowledge | 14-19

4) The Praise: Greater Glory | 20-21

Reflection questions:

1) What mystery is Paul talking about in vv. 1-13? Is it still a mystery, or has it been revealed?

2) Read the following passages, in order (as best we can tell) of when Paul wrote them: 1 Cor. 15:8-10; Ephesians 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:15. What does this tell you about Paul’s growing self-awareness? Did his growing self-awareness give him more or less assurance of God’s salvation? (See also, 2 Tim. 4:6-8, likely Paul’s final letter.)

3) Read vv. 14-21. How would your life look differently if you were more rooted and grounded in love (v17)?

But God...

Ephesians 2

Sermon Notes:

1) Our Grave Condition without Christ | 1-3, 11-12

2) Our Glorious Change in Christ | 4-10, 13

3) Our Great Privilege in Christ | 11-22

Reflection Questions:

1. Are vv.1-3 negative? Are they trying to make us feel bad about ourselves, or are they trying to show us the greatness of God’s love and grace and mercy (cf v.4ff)? Compare v1 to Ezek 37:1-14. What does want God want Ezekiel to “know”?

2. Is there one sense where mankind is passive when it comes to salvation? (And if so, who or what is active in salvation?) Does God expect mankind to stay passive after salvation? See v.10, especially.

3. While Ephesians 3:11-19 is talking primarily about unity in Christ for Jews and Gentiles, is that same unity amidst diversity true today for Christians with different backgrounds, different nationalities or ethnicities, and/or differences of other kinds?

Before the Foundation of the World

Ephesians 1

Sermon Notes:

1) The Greetings that the Apostle gives us from Christ, 1-2

  • Saints

  • Grace and Peace

2) The Blessings that we have in Christ, 3-14

  • Chosen, 4

  • Children, 4-5

  • Redeemed, 7

  • Rich, 11

  • Secure, 13

3) The Desire to Clearly See the Deep, Deep Love of Christ, 15-23

  • Our Hope

  • Our Inheritance

  • Christ’s Might

  • Christ’s Height

  • Christ’s Headship

Reflection Questions:

1. Why does the New Testament call Christians “saints”? Are we holy/saints if we do enough good things? Or are we holy because of someone else’s work and sacrifice? See 2 Cor 5:21 and Hebrews 10:11-14.

2. Based on Ephesians 1, what does it mean to be “in Christ”? See some other passages where Paul uses similar language: 2 Cor 5:21 (yes, again); Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-4

3. Ephesians 1:15-23, is Paul praying for the Ephesians (and other readers, including us) to know something they’ve/we’ve never heard about it, or to know certain truths more deeply and clearly?

East of Eden

Genesis 4

Sermon Notes:

1) Sin Wins | 1-7

2) Blood Cries Out | 8-11

3) Curse Carries On | 11-14

4) Vengeance Saves | 15-17

5) Culture Advances | 16-24

6) Remnant Calls | 25-26

Reflections questions:

1. Does it ever feel like sin or sinners are winning in this life? See Psalm 73; how did Asaph wrestle with that same feeling?

2. Does it ever feel like sin is winning in your life? Read Romans 7:1-8:1 (just like last week), but also read James 1:14-15. How does sin gain the victory over us? What are some of the preliminary steps? Does God provide a way out? Also see 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

3. Why doesn’t God wipe out all sinners the minute they sin? Is this a sign of His weakness, slowness, or some kind of idle threat? Or is it good news? See 2 Peter 3:8-10 and Romans 2:3-5.

The First Gospel

Genesis 3:8-24

Sermon Notes:

1) The Presence that Exposes | 8-13

2) The Promise that Sustains | 14-15

3) The Punishment that Reminds | 14-19

4) The Propitiation that Covers | 20-21

5) The Protector that Foreshadows | 22-24

Reflection questions:

1. Do God’s attributes (His presence/omnipresence, omniscience, holiness and more) cause you to run from Him, or to invite Him in? Compare Genesis 3:1-13 to Isaiah 6, Luke 5 (especially v8), and Psalm 139. What does David see in Psalm 139 that causes Him to invite God in (vv23-24)?

2. How is Genesis 3:15 a promise to God’s people and not simply bad news for Satan? Trace the promise through the following passages: Galatians 3:13, 16; 4:4; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12 and 20.

3. How do the continuing effects of sin, the fall, and the curse remind us of our need of (and provision of!) a Savior? See Romans 7:1-8:1.

4. How does God offer us a better covering than the one we can make for ourselves? See Genesis 3:7-8, 21; also see Isaiah 61:10; 64:6; Revelation 19:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:6-9.

Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-12

Sermon Notes:

1) Naked Aggression | 1-5

2) Naked Ambition | 5-6

3) Naked and Afraid | 7-12

Reflection questions:

1. How does Eve mishandle/misremember/misstate the Word of God when talking with the serpent? (Compare Genesis 2:16-17 to 3:1-3.) How might an accurate remembering of the Word of God have helped her? See Psalm 119 (Especially vv. 9, 105) and Revelation 22:18-19.

2. Read I John 2:15-17. How do you see Eve being tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life in Genesis 3:6? Now read Matthew 4:1- 11. How is Jesus tempted by the same temptations (and by the same tempter)? How does Jesus defeat those temptations?

3. How does Adam respond (v.12) when God directly confronts him about his sin in v.11? Does his reaction show us anything about our own natural tendency to run from God when confronted with our sin? How does confidence of God’s love counteract this natural/SINFUL tendency to run? See Psalm 139; compare vv.1-7 to vv.23-24.

You Can't Get to Heaven on Roller Skates

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon Notes:

1. Dwelling in the Gospel | vv. 6-15

a. The Emptiness of Creaturely Artifices

b. The Fullness of Christ's Work

2. Deliverance from Mere Shadows | vv. 16-23

Reflection Questions:

1. Paul says that we have been rooted, built up, and established in the faith in Jesus (v. 7) These verbs describe what God has done for us, and how he works in us. The last verb in that verse is our response: abounding in thanksgiving. How can habitual thanksgiving help to dwell in the gospel, and live in accordance with the gospel, instead of drifting towards empty philosophies and burdensome traditions?

2. As Paul begins to tell the Colossians how they ought to live, he again reminds them of what Jesus has done for them (vv. 9-15). Look back at Colossians 1:1- 2:5. How many times has Paul reminded the Colossians of what Jesus has done? How many ways has he shown them the gospel? Why do you think Paul emphasized what Jesus has done in this way before telling the Colossians how they ought to live?

3. The burdens and shame that come from self-made religion and asceticism (v 23.) seem at first to be helpful tenants of religion, but they cannot change the heart. What is a struggle in your life that you have tried to conquer with rules and practices? How might resting in your union with Jesus in his death and resurrection lead to real heart change?

At Last!

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon Notes:

1) Mankind’s Paradise | 4-14

2) Mankind’s Purpose | 15-17

3) Man’s Partner | 18-25

Reflection questions:

1) How do you see hints of God’s goodness in creation in Genesis 2:4-14? What does mankind need that he doesn’t have in the home that God created? How will God one day restore all that we need in our future home?

2) Was man’s obedience to God (see God’s purpose for and command to man in Gen 2:15-17) an act of worship? How should our whole lives be lived in worship to God even now, on this side of the Fall? See Romans 12:1-2.

3) How can the first marriage (and the institution of marriage) inform our conduct today in our own marriage relationships? What does verse 23 (as well as v18, 20, 24-25) teach us about how we are each made for the other? (Also compare them to Ephesians 5:21-33.) How is it instructive even for those who are currently single? (Compare Genesis 2:18a to Hebrews 10:24-25 as one example.)

Male and Female He Created Them

Genesis 1:26-28

Sermon Notes:

1) Created by God | 26

2) Created male and female | 27

3) Created for glory and honor | 28

4) Re-Created in Christ | See: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 7; Philippians 1:6; 3:20- 21; I John 3:2-3; 1 Cor. 15:49

Reflection Questions:

1. Are all mankind made in God’s image? What is one implication of being made in God’s image? See Genesis 1:26-28.

2. Has our sin marred the image of God in man? Has it been completely destroyed; is it irrecoverable? Can the image of God be redeemed in Christ? See Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 8:29; Col 3:9-10; Eph 4:24; 2 Cor 3:17-18; Col 1:15- 20; I John 3:2-3 and 1 Cor 15:49.

3. In heaven, will God only redeem our souls (the spiritual, immaterial part of us), or will He also redeem our bodies? See Philippians 3:20-21; I John 3:2-3.