Ephesians
In addition to our springtime series of Sunday sermons and Thursday evening studies of the Epistle to the Ephesians, we have prepared a short prayer booklet to accompany the text of Ephesians and also the text of Ephesians printed in a format suitable for manuscript study.
The mentioned materials are available for free at the info desk at our church (while supplies last :)), and you can also download them as a PDF here, "The Guide to Praying Through the Epistle to the Ephesians" is also available in the YouVersion Bible app (in both Croatian and English).
We want to encourage and motivate you to take your time with the attached Bible text and materials and to draw closer to God in prayer through His Word with the help of this short booklet.
A Guide to Praying Through The Epistle to the Ephesians
In prayer, we often come to God with topics that are important to us, or with situations we are currently in. When we pray following the Bible text, we open ourselves to the topics that God chooses.
God’s Word and prayer are closely related. This guide contains instructions and questions that help us, after reading God’s Word written in the Epistle to the Ephesians, to accept that Word personally and continue talking with God. In this way, the eternal Word of God enters our everyday life and changes both us and the circumstances in which we live.
This free booklet is available at the info desk in our church, or you can download the PDF version by clicking the button:
Manuscript Bibe Study
Inductive method
Manuscript study is based on the inductive method of studying the biblical text, which basically contains three steps: observation, interpretation and application.
1. OBSERVATION - Looking is not the same as noticing. We need to train our eyes to see what is really written in the text and at the same time free ourselves of prejudices or preconceptions (e.g. ideas we have gotten from our upbringing or reading picture books and watching movies...). Answer the questions: Who, what, when, where, why, how? What is specific about the people in the passage? How does Jesus react?, What is the atomsphere like? In what tone and with what feeling do the characters speak? etc.
2. INTERPRETATION - Try to understand what the author is communicating to his original readers. Look for the simplest interpretation first. Sometimes there will be figurative language and confusing images, but don't start by looking for a hidden meaning. Start with the obvious.
3. APPLICATION - The ultimate purpose of Bible study is not to teach us, but to change us. Notice what the passage says to you personally. Think of practical steps you can take to embody the message of the passage in your life. Give glory to God as well, and ask him for help in living the truths you learned in the passage.
Manuscript study
The specificity of this method is that the reader has a printed biblical text in front of him, on which he can make notes and mark different things with markers or crayons.
A summary of the questions for a Manuscript Bible study and the text of the Epistle to the Ephesians is available at the info desk in our church, and you can download the PDF version by clicking the button:
If you print the text yourself, leave wide margins (eg 6 cm) and double spacing, so that you can write your notes between the lines. In addition, titles and subtitles should be deleted before printing. (Titles and numbers of verses and chapters are not part of the original biblical text. They were added later for better navigation and differ, depending on the edition and translation).
Web link for the Bible (Epistle to the Ephesians): ESV
Ephesians Summary
The BibleProject presents an overview, structure and peculiarities of the Epistle to the Ephesians in a unique, simple and interesting way.
The short video summary lasts 8:51 minutes.
