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#7 – To the Praise of His Glory Riches Beyond Measure: Lessons from Ephesians

September 29, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Ephesians, Pages, Series, Teaching & Study

As we have listened to Paul speak of the surpassing power of God for us who believe, and of His lavishing of His riches upon us, we must ask what is His motivation in doing such things for those who are merely His creatures? In Ephesians 1:6, we read that this is all “to the praise of His glory and grace.” Today we are going to examine what the “glory” of God is.

The Apostle uses the Greek word for “glory” 7 times in his letter to the Ephesians. Six of those instances are in reference to God’s glory. They are in 1:6, 12, 14, 17, 18; 3:16, and 21. So what does “glory” (Gk. doxa) mean? The term itself means “splendor, brightness, excellence, honor, majesty, pre-eminence.” However, the definition alone does not seem sufficient to explain what Paul (and the Biblical writers in general) had in mind when they use it in reference to God. Here are a couple of fairly brief articles where the authors try to give a sense of the Biblical use of this term “glory of God.”

“What is the Glory of God?” from www.gotquestions.org.
“What is God’s glory?” – excerpts from a sermon by John Piper on www.desiringgod.org.

#6 – The Unsearchable Riches Riches Beyond Measure: Lessons from Ephesians

September 27, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Ephesians, Pages, Series, Teaching & Study

We saw in Lesson #5 that Paul wanted the believers in Ephesus to know God’s power at work for and in them. In that same passage (Ephesians 1:17-19), he also prayed that they would know “the riches of His glorious inheritance.” Today’s message reflects the core theme of this study series – “Riches Beyond Measure!” As we listen to Paul tell of the many ways God has made his treasure and wealth available to us, we should recognize how rich we truly are in Christ.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. – (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV)

#2 – Ephesus: The Great City Riches Beyond Measure: Lessons from Ephesians

September 22, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Ephesians, Pages, Teaching & Study

In the First Century, Ephesus was the second largest city in the Roman Empire, and by many estimations, the second most important and influential as well. In addition to being the world center for the worship of Artemis, it was also a great commercial and governmental center, a great educational center, and a melting pot of many cultures, languages, races, religions and philosophies. If the Gospel of Christ was going to truly reach the world, it had to be effective in large cities like Ephesus! Today’s lesson introduces us to a city not very different than many great cities in our world today.

It is a great benefit to check some good Bible dictionary articles on Ephesus to learn more about the city. For example, we can read this in the Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

#1 – Introduction to Riches Beyond Measure Riches Beyond Measure: Lessons from Ephesians

September 21, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Ephesians, Pages, Teaching & Study

This is the first of 26 sermons I delivered on the Epistle to the Ephesians. They were presented at the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas in 2013.

Of Paul’s 13 Epistles in the New Testament, two are commonly called “masterpieces” by biblical scholars. All recognize Romans as a masterful presentation of salvation by faith. In Ephesians by contrast, the Apostle provides a magnificent description of the riches God has provided by His mighty power for His people by grace through faith, and to His own glory and honor.

Series Now Available on Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

January 14, 2020 By Richard Cravy in Pages, Series, Study

A new series entitled, “A Shadow of Good Things to Come”: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament, is now available simply by clicking on the underlined link or by looking in the right-hand column of this page under SERIES.

This series of 27 messages was delivered to the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas during 2006-2007. I was moved to prepare this study after reading an excellent book by Dr. John M. Oakes titled, From Shadow to Reality: A Study of the Relationship Between the Old and the New Testament, published by my good friend Toney Mulhollan at IPI Books.Continue Reading

Series: “How to Understand the Bible” Available

September 16, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Pages, Series, Study, Teaching, Teaching & Study

During the first quarter of 2008, I had the opportunity to teach this series of twelve lessons on Sunday evenings at the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas. This was a challenge since normally I teach this in the classroom instead of in a sermon format. Entitled “How to Understand the Bible,” my goal was to introduce our church to the actual work involved in studying the Bible, rather than just assuming everyone already knew how to study and understand. Click here to access the entire series.

Series: “Jeremiah”

July 6, 2019 By Richard Cravy in Pages, Series, Teaching & Study

The Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament provides a first-hand account of the death throes of the nation of Judah as it struggled against the judgment of Jehovah before succumbing to the might of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire in 587-586 BC. It is the second longest book in the Bible, just behind the Psalms in size. We have available two separate series I taught on Jeremiah.

“Jeremiah” is a six message series I preached at the Tanglewood Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas in 2010. You may listen to the entire series by clicking here.

“Jeremiah: The Prophet & His Book” is a classroom course I taught at the Sunset International Bible Institute in 2004. It is about 18 hours of instruction recorded on 7 DVDs. You may purchase it in our Store by clicking here.