The Survival Guide: How to follow Jesus in the city
This Sunday we will be starting a brand new teaching series called "The Survival Guide: How to Follow Jesus in the City." Both our experience and the Scriptures clearly reflect that following Jesus in the city is hard. But Christianity actually began as an urban religion that thrived in many of the least likely cities of the world. Ephesus was such a city, and Paul (the author of this letter to the Ephesians) knew firsthand the many challenges that faced the followers of Jesus he cared for so deeply. Consequently, he primarily wrote this letter not so much to write a theological treatise, but instead to provide a "survival guide" for a church on the front lines of God's mission. We'll spend the Fall studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians, knowing that it is also a letter to us who follow Jesus in the city of Denver, and desire to pursue the truth, goodness, and joy God wants for our lives through the Gospel.
Below is a schedule for this series so that you can study alongside us:
Part 1: What God's Done
September 8 - 1:1-2 - He gives you a guide
September 15 - 1:3-14 - He chose you to be loved
September 22 - 1:15-23 - He provides wisdom
September 29 - 2:1-10 - He wins your salvation
October 6 - 2:11-22 - He creates unity
October 13 - 3:1-13 - He reveals the truth
October 20 - 3:14-21 - He empowers the church
Part 2: What We Do
October 27 - 4:1-16 - We walk worthy
November 3 - 4:17-32 - We live consistently
November 10 - 5:1-14 - We pursue purity
November 17 - 5:15-21 - We're filled correctly
November 24 - 5:22-33 - We marry differently
December 1 - 6:1-9 - We parent graciously
December 8 - 6:10-24 - We fight Satan victoriously
In addition to what we're learning on Sundays, we'd love to encourage you to "go deeper" throughout the week by reading an additional book alongside the series with other friends in the church. Typically we recommend a book by another Christian author, but for this series we're encouraging you to go deep into the Bible itself. We want to encourage you to study Ephesians on your own so you can grow in your ability to feed yourself from the Scriptures. To help you in this, you can purchase a copy of the ESV Study Bible, provided in the back for $15. This is a resource written by many of the world's leading scholars who have a deep love for Jesus, and provides a collection of notes, resources, and details that will aid in you studying the text for yourself.
