As we begin our summer message series at Open Life Church, we're going to be walking through the book of Ephesians... TOGETHER (the name of the series 😉). There are some incredible lessons, thoughts, and challenges for us to consider in the book of Ephesians and we are excited to unpack many of them in the next few weeks and months at Open Life. We want to offer you a few opportunities and resources that can really help you along the way. For the purposes of this post we will divide these resources up in a 101, 201, 301 manner that will be based on the time investment you are able to put into studying Ephesians this summer.

A simple structure to do this would be to read ch.1 on Mondays, ch.2 on Tuesdays... through ch. 6 on Saturdays, then come join us for the next message on Sunday. The repeated focus of reading the book of Ephesians will allow you to pull even more from scripture and make connections and further insights to what we will be speaking on during the messages.

Pro-Tip: change the version of the bible that you use each week. The NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, ASV are good places to start and you could even try The Message paraphrase to change things up a bit.

Resources:

• The Open Life Church app has a bible built in (lower right button). You can pick a number of different translations, use the audio feature, and even see messages where we have referenced passages in the chapter you are reading.

Maybe you will add the one-chapter-a-day challenge to your normal reading and prayer rhythm, or maybe this is a first step on your own journey of diving into scripture. Whatever the case, there can be times when you might open up the bible and be tempted to skip the day's reading or think, "I already read this, what new thing can I actually learn today... I've already read this 9 times." This is where creativity can become your ally. Here are some quick ideas:

• Instead of reading it, listen to the scripture being read to you from one of the audio versions in the Bible app or on the Open Life Church app (see above).  What does hearing it change for you?
• Switch to a physical bible for a week if you usually use a digital one or visa-versa. How does less distraction from your phone help you study? How do the more tools or resources on digital bibles help you?
• Read through the whole book of Ephesians in one sitting. Maybe even challenge yourself to read through the whole book each day during one of the weeks.
• Read it out loud. When you read it audibly you might find yourself hearing some of the encouragements from Paul differently.
• Write it out. Grab a journal and write out word-for-word the entire book of Ephesians. Maybe only do a couple of passages a day through the summer.
• Memorize it. Set a goal to memorize a verse each week. Bury this in your heart.

There are some incredible (and FREE) resources that are available through BibleProject. Along with their Ephesians book overview they have some other recommended reading and podcasts if you are looking to dive further into study, HERE.

CLASSROOM
Another resource they offer is an in-depth course looking at the book of Ephesians through their online teaching platform called Classroom. If you are interested in investing time (12+ hours) to really dive deep into the setting, structure, and message of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, then maybe this is your next step. You can find out more about Classroom, HERE, and a link directly to the Ephesians course can be found, HERE.

Further Study
Throughout this message series, we will add further resources that can be used to dive deeper into the book of Ephesians.

It is the name of the series after all. Of course you can study all of this on your own, but a new level of understanding is found when we learn and share what we are learning with others in community. Find opportunities to read and/or share what you are learning from the book of Ephesians and this message series with others. Here are a few ways to do that:

• In your micro-group. The fill-in notes have questions at the bottom that can structure your time looking at Ephesians.
• Text a friend to hold yourself accountable to reading the chapter-a-day.
• Read with a family-member.
• Share your experience with reading Ephesians and what you are learning before or after service on Sundays.
• Get creative, the list could go on and on. 

Share what you are learning and the questions you are holding.
We would love to hear about your experience with opening up the book of Ephesians in this intentional and in-depth manner. What are you learning? What new insights have you noticed? Are there questions you are holding about Ephesians? Let us know by filling out the form below, maybe we'll be able to use one of your thoughts or questions to inform a future message at Open Life in this series.

We can't wait to dive into this series and the book of Ephesians. We're praying for you as you take time to dive into this letter on your own, and with others.

Our prayer for this series is similar to Paul's in chapter 1:18-23 (MSG), that God would open the eyes of our heart "to make you (us) intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!"

Let's dive in... together.