Jesus My Superhero

Revealing The Real Superhero, One Bible Story At A Time

Monday Devotional: Ephesians 1

Monday Devotional Ephesians 1
Last week we looked at Ephesians from a 30,000 foot level. As we read through this letter we see that Paul writes with two specific categories in mind. Paul starts Ephesians by laying out Doctrine, specifically the doctrine of salvation. He continues by unpacking duties, namely the duties of Christians within the context of home and church life. This week, we start to really jump into the content of this letter. Something that we should really consider as we study the scriptures is the use of repetition. Watch this weeks video as we unpack an important phrase utilized in Ephesians 1 and why it is important.

 

Next week:

1. Continue to pray before and after each time you read
2. Read Ephesians 2
Monday Devotional Ephesians 1

Joel

Joel loves theology and believes that the way we understand theology plays directly into how we live our lives as parents, husbands, wives, and ministry leaders. Joel has served as a youth pastor, worship pastor, and associate teaching pastor. Joel holds a B.A in Biblical Studies, an M.S in Organizational Psychology, and is currently finishing his Mdiv. Joel also works for Faithlife (makers of Logos Bible Software) and travels the world speaking at Christian conferences. Needless to say, Joel’s contribution to the blog will be theology focused!

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Monday Devotional: Ephesians Intro

Monday Devotional: Intro To Ephesians
Alas! You complain that your soul is out of tune. Then ask the Master to tune the heart-strings. – “Charles Spurgeon”
If we were honest many of us can relate to what Spurgeon refers to. We find ourselves in the rhythm of life and and when we lay down to rest, come to the realization that something is out of tune. One of the most important disciplines in Christian living is a pursuit of God’s Word. Spurgeon goes on to state that the revealed Word of God awakened him. What an important reminder for all of us. That the Word of God is both sufficient and sustaining, has the ability to retune our hearts and awaken us to the beauty of Christ.
Sometimes, we just need a kickstart and some structure. We would love to invite you to join our Monday Devotional series. Each Monday we will go through a book of the Bible and dig into the depth of God’s Word. To start, we will jump into Ephesians. In order to help us apply this and take it a bit further, you can sign up to recieve free weekly devotionals that go along with each video devotional. You can use this as a family devotional to go through with your kids. You can get started by doing the following:

1. Watch the video below, and make sure to share this post with any friends and family that you want to study Ephesians with

2. Sign up to recieve the free Ephesians devotional study guide

Next week:

Get ready for next week by doing the following:

1. Read Ephesians in one sitting at least 2x. Take notes and unpack the larger story and the main themes that stick out to you

2. Pray before and after you read. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s Word and cause your affections for Jesus to be stirred up as you study His Word.

Joel

Joel loves theology and believes that the way we understand theology plays directly into how we live our lives as parents, husbands, wives, and ministry leaders. Joel has served as a youth pastor, worship pastor, and associate teaching pastor. Joel holds a B.A in Biblical Studies, an M.S in Organizational Psychology, and is currently finishing his Mdiv. Joel also works for Faithlife (makers of Logos Bible Software) and travels the world speaking at Christian conferences. Needless to say, Joel’s contribution to the blog will be theology focused!

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Reading The Bible With the Hero in Mind

Reading The Bible With The Hero In Mind

I love sitting on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and diving into a brand new book. It’s not long before my mind is captured by the key elements of the story line including the hero, villain, and almost always an insurmountable problem that must be solved. When it comes to reading the Bible we find ourselves in a somewhat similar position. As we read through the stories of Moses, Ruth, Joseph, David, Esther, and even Samson, we find ourselves captured by the bravery and might of these incredible men and women of God. This is where things can get very dangerous because it can be incredibly easy to stop with the conclusion that we need to be more like them! The danger is that as we read the Bible, we are not meant to read it as if these figures are the hero. Rather, we are meant to see them as a reflection of the greatest hero, Jesus.

How Should We Read The Bible?

It’s easy for us to go through the motions when reading the Bible. One of the most important things we need to keep in mind as we study the scriptures is that Jesus is the point of the story. Every book, chapter, sentence, and word of the Bible leads us to the glorious arrival of Christ, his victory over sin and death, and his promise to return. So when we read the Bible and the various men and women throughout the pages of scripture, we always need to ask the question, “How does this point me to Jesus”? As we ask this question we will find that our understanding of the scriptures begins to come alive and relate to us in a powerful way.

Seeking Christ in Every Scripture Trains Our Mind

The practice of seeing and unpacking how Christ is being exalted and referred to in the scriptures trains our mind to see Christ as both sufficient and satisfying. While there are great principles to learn from figures such as Joseph, we also need to realize that they have their own epic failures. For instance, for all the good that Joseph did for the people of Israel, It’s interesting to see Joseph neglect grace to the Egyptians in the midst of the famine, and rather enslaves them to Pharaoh in order to pay off their debt for the grain that they need to survive. Needless to say, it’s not hard to imagine why the Egyptians grew to hate the Israelites and in turn enslaved them. Jesus on the other hand extends ultimate grace asking God the Father to forgive the people for they do not know what they do as he is hanging and dying on the cross. While Joseph enslaves a group of people that are not his own, Christ forgives and redeems all people. Jesus, is simply better. This training of our mind causes us to see Christ clearly in all of scripture and in turn helps us to grow in our affections for Jesus and be continually drawn into His goodness.

Steps To Seeing Christ In Every Bible Story

Sometimes It can be hard to change something that we have been doing for a long time. Some of us have been reading the Bible the same way for as long as we can remember. The following are some steps you can take to intentionally read the Bible and focus on Christ.

  1. Read the entire story in one sitting

  2. Re-read the story and write down the major points, issues, and questions that you may have

  3. Pray – Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the depth of Christ’s Word to you and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ

  4. Identify areas in the story where there is success and failures

  5. Ask the following question – How Is Jesus better?

  6. Pray – Thank Jesus for his love, sacrifice, and his goodness

 

 

Joel

Joel loves theology and believes that the way we understand theology plays directly into how we live our lives as parents, husbands, wives, and ministry leaders. Joel has served as a youth pastor, worship pastor, and associate teaching pastor. Joel holds a B.A in Biblical Studies, an M.S in Organizational Psychology, and is currently finishing his Mdiv. Joel also works for Faithlife (makers of Logos Bible Software) and travels the world speaking at Christian conferences. Needless to say, Joel’s contribution to the blog will be theology focused!

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