Here are some talks on Paul’s Letter to the 
Ephesians that I gave at the Tasmania Rural Bible Network on 20 May 2017. For each of the 6 chapters in Ephesians, I outline and apply some of the key points. There’s about 20-25 minutes per chapter of Ephesians – a total of just over 2 hours.
Get with the Program: Being Part of God’s Great Plan for the Universe
Talk 1: Ephesians 1–2
Here is an outline of the talk:
Ephesians 1: We are part of God’s great plan for the universe.
- Getting on the Christian bus?
- We are greatly blessed in Christ (verses 3–8, 15–19)
- God’s great plan is to unite all things in Christ (verses 9–10, 20–23)
- God puts his great plan into operation through the gospel being preached to the nations (verses 11–14)
Ephesians 2: The gospel of salvation is our only hope for peace.
- The desperate need for peace
- The gospel is a message of salvation by grace through faith (verses 1–10)
- The gospel of salvation brings peace (verses 11–22)
Talk 2: Ephesians 3–4
Here is an outline of the talk:
Ephesians 3: When things look discouraging, we should set our sights on God’s great plans through the gospel.
- What on earth is God doing?
- God’s plans through the gospel are far-reaching and multifaceted (verses 1–13)
- The enormous dimensions of Christ’s love call forth prayer and praise (verses 14–21)
Ephesians 4: We are called to “walk” in line with God’s great plans for the universe.
- The challenge of unity and diversity
- Christ gives diverse gifts for the sake of gospel unity (verses 1–16)
- Living the Christian life is all about speaking the truth in love (verses 16, 17–32)
Talk 3: Ephesians 5–6
Here is an outline of the talk:
Ephesians 5: We are called to imitate Christ’s loving sacrifice on the cross.
- Christians and the world
- We should live in the world as children of light (verses 1–21)
- Christ’s loving sacrifice transforms what marriage means (verses 22–33)
Ephesians 6: We are called to live our everyday life in the light of spiritual realities
- What does it mean to be “spiritual”?
- We must relate to earthly authority in the light of our heavenly Master (verses 1–9)
- We must view our earthly struggles in the light of God’s spiritual warfare (verses 10–20)