Preacher: Pastor Ray
Why don’t we change? One reason is that we don’t really believe what the gospel says about us.
Discussion Questions
Read Eph 4-6 and pay attention to the high standard for the Christian regarding personal character, purity, our role in the body of Christ, how we are to treat others (bearing with and forgiving others), marriage, family/parenting, work/vocation.
– What is your reaction as you read these chapters?
Read Eph 5:1-2.
– What is the prerequisite to imitating God and living the way Christ lived?
Read Luke 15 (parable of The Prodigal Son). The two sons never stopped ceased being sons. They were merely lost for a season.
– How does Eph 1:4 reinforce this idea that not a single day has gone by when we were not his son or daughter, but rather we were only lost temporarily until we were found?
– When did both sons become lost in a spiritual sense?
– How do we get lost spiritually?
Read John 8 about the woman caught in adultery. Notice Jesus’ approach in dealing with her and contrast His approach with how the scribes and Pharisees were treating her.
– What did Jesus see when he looked at the woman?
– What did the scribes and Pharisees see when they looked at the woman?
– When you look at the cross, do you primarily see your sin or do you see your worth?
Read Eph 4:7-11. Instead of focusing on our identity as beloved children, many fall into two traps–either chasing after the gifts or the offices.
– How might the search for a “spiritual” experience be related to the deceit of sensuality (read Eph 4:19-22)?
– What happens to the believer when he is defined by what he does (his office, title, ministry) instead of who he is?
Read Eph 4:22-24.
– What mistake do we make when we put off and put on while neglecting what it says in Eph 4:23?
– Put the phrase “the spirit of your minds” in your own words.
– What’s the significance of the grammar of the phrase “to be renewed” (present tense, middle-passive voice)?
– What 2 things can we do to participate in the spirit of our minds being renewed (read Eph 4:15-16)?