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Ephesians is brilliant. It is the revelation or uncovering of the master plan of Jesus to unite heaven and earth, Jews and Gentiles, for a lasting mission of good works. The themes of Ephesians of adoption, heirs with Jesus, Spirit, resurrection power and so many more enlighten the believer’s faith and equip them for every good work.

Paul spends a third of this epistle not on prophecy but on people. The reason: there is nothing harder or more important than people. All of us need biblical guidance on dealing with the community that surrounds us. In this section Paul gives us our marching orders as saints.

After discussing two difficult subjects of hell and the Antichrist, Paul offers a practical guide to staying strong in the face of intense persecution.

Navy Seal, Chad Williams shared his journey to Christ through his time in the military. He parallels Naahman’s deliverance from leprosy to his journey to Christ.

Matthew 3-4 tells us the story of Jesus getting baptized then Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. The main point of these stories is to remind believers that we are at war. There is a real enemy; if there is a real enemy, it helps to be mindful of the typical weapons of the enemy as well as practical methods of fighting back against the evil in the world.

2 Thessalonians charges out of the gate by discussing two of the scariest subjects in Scripture: hell and the antichrist. Both of these frightening subjects carry a message of hope for the church experiencing a sampling of hell and antichrist-like figures.

In a book about hope, why would the first subject be God’s judgment in sending people to hell? In this text we learn about evidence of God’s righteous judgments that will bring hope to every believer.

The thriving model church at Thessalonica has lost hope and the Apostle Paul pens his second letter to both theologically and practically reignite the hope they had in King Jesus.

It’s not difficult to find conflict in this world. But the greatest conflict in the world today is the battle for our minds. The good news is God can reframe our mind for spiritual success.

1 Thessalonians concludes with a to do list of 15 commands for the believer and then states that God is faithful and He will do it. Seems like a contradiction but it is actually the key to growing in our faith.

The end of 1 Thessalonians is the practical boots on the ground portion of this brilliant letter. It gives the church both its marching orders and the plan to construct a community that lives into its given righteousness.