God Knows Your Birthday! | Ephesians 1:1-14

Takeaway Verse: Ephesians 1:5

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians from prison in Rome. It’s more formal than his other letters from jail.

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Transcription:

Welcome to The Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica Parkerson. This is the place where we meet up to read half a chapter of God’s word together, and remember how loved we are. Jesus extends an amazing invitation to us in the Bible. He says, come to me and I WILL give you rest. This is us RSVPing: Yes!! to that invitation. So take a deep breath and let’s get started.

Erica Parkerson: Today’s episode is called, God knows your birthday. You are so special. If there was a hallmark shop in heaven, God would send you a card and it would arrive on time for your birthday because you are his kid. And that’s why I’m so excited to dive into the book of Ephesians with you.

It’s another of Paul’s letter from jail. The apostle Paul spent a lot of time in jail, but God used it for a purpose to encourage the people around him during that time and to encourage you and me today. So, this is a letter to the church in Ephesus, and it’s all about how you and I are adopted by the living god. Does that encourage you? Because it sure does encourage me. All right. Let’s begin with the word of prayer. Before we dive into God’s. Oh father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, and we say that name father, we are so thankful to be your children. Lord, would you open our eyes and our hearts to what you want us to see and understand in your word today. In Jesus’ name?

Amen. Okay, let’s do this. Let’s dive into Ephesians chapter one. By the way, before we begin, this is a little bit more formal than Paul’s other letters. If you’ve ever been on a cruise and I have, they usually have a formal night where you dress up a little more. So, keep that in mind. This is like formal night on the cruise.

Here we go. This letter is from Paul chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. The word apostle means sent. I am writing to God’s holy people in emphasis who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace. Now that’s for you today, too.

All praise to God. The father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, because we are United with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us, and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Here comes our takeaway verse, verse five, God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. God wanted to adopt you. You are chosen. You are so loved. So, we praise God for the glorious grace. He has poured out on us who belonged to his dear son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins.

He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan at the right time. He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ. Everything in heaven and on earth.

Furthermore, because we are United with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Isn’t that beautiful? God had an adoption plan that had your name on it. I think of my friend, Christina. She and her husband, Greg really wanted to be parents and they chose to adopt a precious baby named June.

She’s been with them, I believe for about seven or eight months now. June is precious. And I love hopping on Facebook and Instagram and seeing the look on Christina’s face when she looks at baby June. That is the kind of love God has for you. I want you to picture Christina’s face just completely lit up.

There’s something about when you smile with your whole face. That is the kind of love God has for you. You are loved. All right, I can’t wait for tomorrow. We’re going to dive into the second half of Ephesians chapter one.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.