Ancient Ephesus was one of the greatest urban centers in the Roman world. It was host to the Temple of Artemis, considered one of the great wonders of the ancient world. It was diverse, cosmopolitan, and home to a variety of religions. And what some saw as challenges, Paul saw as opportunities, for the church in Ephesus became one of the great sending churches in the ancient world.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, though written in ancient times, paints a powerful picture for us today about what it means to live the life of a disciple. In its pages, we encounter a relevant and transformative faith that invites us to live in light of eternity in the here and now in ways that encourage and bring hope.

Week 1: #Blessed? (June 25th, 2023)

In the first week of our new series, we are asking the question, “What does it actually mean to be “blessed?” Typically when we think of blessings, we think of material wealth, physical comfort, health, and happiness. But Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians by showing what it truly means to be blessed.

Week 2: Are You Alive? (July 2nd, 2023)

What does it mean to truly be alive? Our world would tell us that truly being alive means drinking deep of all the pleasures that life has to offer. But Paul reminds us that such promises can never deliver. Apart from God, we’re all dead. And honestly, deep down, we know it. Try as we might to satisfy ourselves on the things of this world, they all fade, and the final destination is the same for each of us. But there is Good News!  

Week 3: A New Family (July 9th, 2023)

We live in a world marked by division, with communities and nations torn apart along racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, and political lines. Paul summarizes this current status quo with the simple word “hostility.” It is when we, as sinful human beings, see our fellow image-bearers as the threatening “other”. So what is God’s solution? 

Week 4: A Mysterious Privilege (July 16th, 2023)

In last week’s message, we learned about what it means to be the church. This week we learn what it means to be a Christian.  In the book of Ephesians, Paul notes how God’s plan for him - and, by extension, us - is to make known among the nations the manifold wisdom of God. We are called to be people who unveil the mystery of God to the world by pointing them to the freedom that comes from having a new relationship with Christ. Paul highlights how this unveiling comes through our stories and our sufferings rather than in spite of them. To be a Christian is to be a person who serves the mission of this Good News by sharing it with others.  

Week 5: The One Thing Worth Praying For (July 23rd, 2023)

What do you typically pray for? The answer to this question tends to be different for each person. But what we find in Ephesians 3:14-21 is the one thing truly worth praying for, because it is the one thing that matters more than anything else: that we might “have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” 

Sadly, we too often look for love in all the wrong places and the result is that these disordered loves disorder lives. But here, Paul says that the love we are looking for has already been given, and he wants us to understand how that one truth has the power to change everything about who we are and how we live.

Week 6: Grow Up! (July 30th, 2023)

After spending nearly three chapters unpacking the incredible promises, gifts, and power of God’s grace, Paul now pivots in the second half of Ephesians to talk about what it means to truly live in light of all of this. And the first thing that he says is that we all need to grow up…together.  Join us as we continue our journey through the book of  Ephesians in our series Life in Light of Eternity.

Week 7: From the Inside Out… (August 6th, 2023)

The late Dr. Tim Keller was known for saying, “What the heart most wants, the mind finds reasonable, the will finds doable, and the emotions find desirable.” In short, what goes on in our hearts works its way outward to shape the entirety of our lives. Which is why what Paul writes in Ephesians 4 is so important.  

Week 8: …And From the Outside In (August 13th, 2023)

Last week in our series Life in Light of Eternity we explored what it means to live from the inside out.  But this week we learn it’s not only working from the inside out, but - paradoxically - also working from the outside in. This means having an example of someone to follow so that, as we put this example into practice, we become more like the one we follow. In Ephesians 5 Paul tells us to follow God’s example by loving the way Jesus has loved us. The more we practice being like Jesus, the more we become more like Jesus.  

Week 9: Upside Down Relationships (August 20th, 2023)

In the ancient world, life was centered around the household and three key relationships: husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves. In each there was often a power dynamic at play, with the first person in each relationship wielding the power. But Paul says, among Christians, these relationships are entirely transformed. They are each to be characterized by mutual submission to one another. In this way we point one another to Jesus. And in the same we are called to live out this calling in our own marriages, families, and work places. In doing so we demonstrate to the world how Christ has the power to redeem, renew, and restore even our most intimate relationships. 

Week 10: A Call to Arms (August 27th, 2023)

As the final week of our series, Life in Light of Eternity, we take a closer look at the final movement of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  It is here that Paul reminds the Ephesians that they not only have new relationships with others, but also a new relationship with the spiritual world. As a result, there is a battle that is still to be fought against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

But how can we hope to overcome these spiritual forces of evil?  

Trinity Church Locations and Worship Times

Trinity Galewood - 1701 N. Narragansett Ave, Chicago, IL 60639 [directions]

Worship Times: Sunday - 10:30 am  

Trinity Green Trails - 2701 Maple Ave., Lisle, IL 60532 [directions]

Worship Times: Sunday: 9:00 and 11:00 am 

Trinity Kimberly Way - 1101 Kimberly Way, Lisle, IL 60532 [directions]

Worship Times: Sunday: 8:30 and 10:00 am

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