Blessed Be the God and Father (Ephesians 1:3-14; 1 Timothy 2:5-6)
/Paul praises all the members of the Trinity, through the ministry of Jesus Christ, for what each one has done in ordaining and accomplishing the salvation of God’s people.
Grace and Peace to You (Ephesians 1:1-2; Psalm 31:19-24; 65:1-4)
/God’s provision of grace, which leads to peace, is heavenly and inexhaustible and ours in abundance.
Paul, the Apostle (Ephesians 1:1-2; Isaiah 9:1-7)
/Ephesians is an official letter from the eternal, heavenly king to his kingdom people, written by an official heavenly ambassador.
The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-4; Deuteronomy 6:4-15)
/The most loving thing parents can do is fulfill their responsibility to nurture the faith of their children.
The Pattern of the Christian Life (Ephesians 4:1; Romans 12:1-2)
/The Scriptures call you to first understand what Jesus has done on your behalf and only then call you to bring forth fruit of obedience.
The Testimony is True (John 21:24-25; 1:1-18)
/Jesus brings a completely new order of things – not as contrary to the order established in the Old Testament, but as its fulfillment.
Follow Me! (John 21:7, 15-23; 13:3-15; 36-38)
/Jesus calls Peter to live out of the reality of the resurrection, by laying down his life.
The Great Commission, Pt 2 (John 21:9-17; 6:52-59, 66-70)
/Jesus calls Peter and the apostles, as the first officers of the church, the New Israel, to act as shepherds by feeding the sheep Christ through the means of Word and Sacrament.
The Great Commission, Pt 1 (John 21:1-14; Ezekiel 47:1-12)
/Jesus demonstrates the mission of the church as it pertains to evangelism through the bountiful catch of fish.
On the First Day, Pt. 2 (John 20:1-31)
/John 20 and 21 present several patterns for us to follow in meeting with the risen Lord on the first day of the week.
On the First Day, Pt. 1 (John 14:19-24; 19:1-31; Genesis 2:1-3)
/Worship on the Lord’s Day is a unique meeting with our risen Lord, by His Spirit, in which we participate in a heavenly assembly.
Why These Things Were Written (John 20:24-31)
/John records the works and words of Jesus in Scripture which provide all we need to lead us to understand who Jesus is and to place our faith in Him alone.
The Breath of Heavenly Life (John 20:19-23; Genesis 2:5-9; Ezekiel 37:1-14)
/In Christ, testified to by the church, you are identified with heaven itself and given the peace that characterizes heaven when you receive the Holy Spirit – the breath of heavenly life.
Rabboni! (John 20:11-18; Genesis 3:1-7; Exodus 25:17-22)
/Jesus shows you that he has taken the despair of the suffering of this world upon himself so that you can learn to walk, in this life, out of the hope of the next world.
Why are you weeping? (John 19:38-20:13; Genesis 1:1-5; 2:1-9)
/Jesus is a new Adam of a New Creation, who brings the light of redemption into a world of despair on the first day.
Behold, Your Mother! (John 19:23-30; Isaiah 66:5-14)
/We will see that Jesus uses his mother and the beloved disciple to show us that through the travail of the cross, the church was brought into existence, and in that a family closer than any blood relation.
The Water and the Blood (John 1:29-34; 15:26-27; 19:28-37; Zechariah 12:10-13:9)
/John presents a three-fold witness (water, blood and Holy Spirit) that Jesus is the Son of God brings all things to a conclusion by establishing a New Covenant in his blood.