The Unfathomable Riches of Christ

In one paragraph

This was a fifth-Sunday singing service at First Baptist Jackson, with Pastor Ryan leading a short message woven between songs of praise. The message centered on Ephesians 3 and the mystery of the gospel: that God's grace in Christ was always intended to reach every family on earth, not just the Jewish people. The whole service, songs and message together, was built around one idea: God is...

Read together

1. Psalm 103:1-5 read aloud at the opening to call the congregation to bless the Lord
2. Hebrews 13 cited as the biblical definition of praise as a sacrifice offered to God with the mouth
3. Psalm 107 quoted as 'let the redeemed of the Lord say so' to encourage vocal praise
4. Hosea quoted as 'take with you your words, render unto God the sacrifice of your lips'
5. Psalm 63 read aloud during worship, expressing thirst for God and a vow to praise Him
6. 1 Peter 1 mentioned as the passage where prophets and angels longed to look into the mysteries of the gospel
7. Ephesians 3 read in full as the short message, covering the mystery of Christ revealed to the Gentiles and the manifold wisdom of God made known through the church
8. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 quoted as Paul's succinct statement of the gospel: Christ died for sins, was buried, and rose on the third day

Talk about it

1. The preacher described praise as something the Bible calls for 'out loud,' with the mouth, as a sacrifice. What has shaped the way you personally express praise to God, and does anything hold you back from doing it freely?
2. Pastor talked about lying in bed in the morning and letting the Lord start his day, struck by how intentional God is about intimacy with us. When have you experienced God being intentional about closeness with you, even in an ordinary moment?
3. The song about the angels described heaven wondering why a king would choose to be a baby born to die. What does it do to you personally when you sit with the idea that God humbled himself that far to reach us?
4. Pastor read from Ephesians 3 that God wants to make his wisdom known through the church, not just to people but to rulers and authorities in heavenly places. What do you think it means for your local church, this congregation, to be the place where that mystery gets displayed?
5. Paul called the riches of Christ 'unfathomable' and prayed that believers would know a love that surpasses knowledge. How do you hold onto that kind of love when circumstances, as Pastor put it, are not happy or pleasant from the outside?