The House You're Building

    Dear Blog Readers,    Thank you for sticking with me through a long series in John.  I hope as you prayed, read, meditated, and reflected on that great gospel God has opened your eyes to know Jesus and to believe in Him.    I’m starting a new series on the book of Ephesians as I’ve just finished teaching it to my small group.  This first post will be an introduction to the book and give you some insight into some of the themes that will emerge as I break down the book section by section.     Ephesus: A Cultural Center First let’s get some information about Ephesus itself.  Ephesus was a port city, contained a vast retail market and was strategically positioned by major land routes.  It was a hub of culture for those in the region boasting the temple of Artemis as well as a sports stadium and buildings to display artistic works. It was one of the top 5 cities in the Roman Empire, much like an ancient...

      Orient  John 21:1-25 The final chapter of John, the book concludes with an appearance of Jesus to Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and Joh, and two other unnamed disciples.  The men were fishing and Jesus calls them to shore for a meal.  In this chapter, a well-known dialog between Jesus and Peter occurs where Peter reaffirms his loyalty to Jesus which serves as a parallel to his trice denial.  The book then ends differently than the synoptic gospels, without the resurrection story but a brief conclusion by the disciple John.     Introduction I’m a fan of reality shows.  I think it all started in the early 2000’s with American Idol.  I love seeing non-celebrity reactions to extreme situations.  One I’ve watched for many years is the show Survivor.  A classic scene in most seasons finds the tribe members sitting around a fire eating fish as it is commonly one of the natural food ...