The Ephesians sermon series has officially wrapped! Honestly, I’m sad to see it go, as I’ve been looking forward to preaching this series for so long. But it’s been a great 17 weeks and I’m incredibly grateful that I get to be the pastor of a church and preach the Bible every week. I love my “job”!
For a somewhat unconventional look back on the series, here are the top five most popular YouTube clips that our Media & Communications team posted during Ephesians, starting with number five:
5. “What does it mean for a husband to love and lead like Jesus?”
From part 14, “I Am Loved.”
[Husbands,] the best thing is to love your wife as Christ loved the church—to be a good gardener and to pull up whatever weeds come, to nourish, to cultivate, to cherish your wife, and if God should grace you, the children that God gives you. And then, increasingly over time, your home will become more and more like a fruitful garden where you’re glad to be because there’s life and health and joy. But it means that the work never ends, just like a gardener’s work never ends.
4. “What does it mean for a wife to submit and respect like Jesus?”
From part 14, “I Am Loved.”
In the Garden of Gethsemane before he is to be crucified, the Lord Jesus has this anguish-filled prayer to the Father: “If it be possible to remove this cup, this cup of suffering, then do so, but not my will, your will be done. Your will be done.” Ladies, to respect and submit is to be like Jesus.
3. “Understanding your identity crisis”
From part 1, “I Am _______?”
- You live in fear that your identity idolatry will fail you or be taken from you.
- Your identity idolatry crumbles under the weight of being in God’s place in your life.
- As your identity idolatry begins to crumble you become panicked.
- It’s not “if” your identity idolatry fails—it’s when.
2. “The most important thing Pastor Mark will ever tell you about prayer”
From part 9, “I Am Heard.”
God is your Father. If you understand that God is your Father, prayer makes a lot of sense and prayer becomes very easy. If you don’t understand that God is your Father, prayer becomes complicated and difficult.
1. “Don’t follow your heart”
From part 11, “I Am New.”
[Scripture] says everybody’s corrupt. Some people just don’t make the news. Your way of life is corrupt apart from a new life in Christ. . . .
We live in a culture that has insane statements like, “Follow your heart.” See, the Bible would say it this way: “Follow your deceitful desires.” It sounds different, doesn’t it? But if your heart has deceitful desires, and you follow your heart, you’re following deceitful desires.
Thank you to everyone who gave their time to listen to any part of the Ephesians series. It is a great honor.
Subscribe to the Mars Hill Church YouTube channel. For churches, small groups, or anyone interested in revisiting the Ephesians series, all of the audio and video files will live on at marshill.com/ephesians.
