Christian husband, father of 3 and bi-vocational pastor
By ray
By ray
For those of us who are saved and in Christ, God will renew our minds first and then transform our wills (actions) and our emotions (i.e. anger).
Eph 1-3 describes theological concepts such as salvation and the gospel. Eph 4 describes how God changes our relationships in the body of Christ. Eph 5 describes how God changes our marriage relationships. Eph 6 describes how God changes our family relationships between parent and children and work relationships between masters and slaves or bosses and their employees.
– How does this outline help you to consider how deeply the gospel has changed you in the area of relationships?
Read Eph 1:3-6.
– What is one takeaway from reading these verses?
Read Eph 1:11-14.
– What is the word of truth? Describe the gospel in your own words.
Read Eph 1:17-20.
– What happened at initial salvation? To answer this, use the terms “wisdom,” “revelation,” “in Christ,” and “enlightened.”
– Describe how salvation changes your perspective about “hope,” “glorious inheritance” and “immeasurable greatness of his power.” Do you find your attitude toward these things changing?
Read Eph 2:1-5.
– What was our spiritual condition prior to salvation?
– What does the fact that there is a willingness to fight against sin demonstrate to the believer? Why should this encourage you?
Read Eph 2:8-9.
– Why is there no room for boasting for the Christian?
Read Eph 3:14-19.
– How do these verses point to the reality that salvation is not a one-time event?
– Do we have the strength to deepen in our appreciation for the love of God? It not, where does this strength come from?
Read Eph 4:17-19.
– Describe the spiritual condition of a typical non-believer.
– Examine yourself – have you been falling back into your old life? If so, reach out to someone in your local context.
Read Eph 4:20-24.
– Does it work to tell someone, stop doing certain bad things (“put off) and do these good things (“put on”)? For example, stop being proud and be humble.
– Why is v23 the key to understanding v22 and v24?
– Why does v23 say, “to be renewed in the SPIRIT of your minds?”
Read Eph 4:25-32.
– Pick out the words that pertain to acts of the will and pick out the words that pertain to emotions.
– Why is anger such a danger emotion that often times leads to sin?
– Why is anger mentioned in the context of Ephesians 4?
– Why is anger potentially more destructive in a broader sense than other sins (i.e. adultery)?
Read Eph 5:1-2.
– What is the Christian’s primary identity?
– How does a proper identity help to solidify many things in the Christian life in terms of our mind, will and emotions?
By ray
CORRECTION: Hushai was not someone who “flipped” to Absalom’s side. He was sent by David to spy on Absalom and to sabotage his plans while secretly sending information to David.
Psalm 3 is written at a time when David is fleeing for his life because his son Absalom is trying to kill him. To understand the events surrounding David’s life when he penned this psalm, read 2 Sam 12-15.
– Of the main characters in 2 Sam 12-15, which one sticks out to you and why? Characters include: David, Absalom (David’s son), Nathan (prophet), Amnon (David’s son, murdered by Absalom), Jonadab (Amnon’s cousin who gave wicked counsel), Tamar (David’s daughter, raped by Amnon), Ahithophel (spiritual advisor to David, flipped to Absalom’s side), Joab (David’s nephew and commander of his army).
If you don’t uproot and master sin, it will rule over you. Consider David’s lust, Amnon’s lust, Absalom’s anger and greed for power.
– Is there a sin that God is pointing out that He wants you to uproot and master?
Psalm 3 has three voices and three “selahs.”
– What are the 3 voices?
– What is the purpose of a selah in prayer?
– How did the first selah in David’s prayer change the tone of the rest of his prayer?
– What is the main takeaway from Psalm 3?
– How does this psalm help you to pray?
By ray
– Spiritual signs and wonders are pointers to Jesus. What was Simon fixating on and how does this explain why he was most likely not saved?
– What was the content of Peter’s rebuke to Simon? After Peter rebukes Simon, how does Simon respond and how does his reaction reveal that he doesn’t understand repentance and faith?
– Let’s suppose Simon got what he wanted and received supernatural power from God, but he remained unchanged at the core of his heart in regards to repentance, true faith in Christ and deliverance from bitterness and iniquity. How would Simon be a good example of Jesus’ warning in Matt 7:21-23? What is the wisdom or warning we gain when we connect Acts 8 and Matthew 7 regarding signs and wonders?
– How might we fall into the same trap that Simon fell into? Other than signs and wonders, what other things can easily become the focus of our lives?
– In our hearts, there is no multi-tasking. The eyes of our heart can only focus on one thing at a time. When we focus on something other than Jesus, our eyes have turned away from Jesus and we become utterly blind to Jesus. Do you agree or disagree?
– Describe a person who is truly gospel-centered versus somebody who only has the vocabulary of being gospel-centered.
– Read Matt 7:13-20. What are the odds of finding eternal life? Why is the Christian journey described as a difficult or narrow road?
– Describe the salvation journey from beginning to end, incorporating these terms in your explanation: Jesus is the Alpha, entry, narrow gate, difficult road, testing and trials, Jesus is the Way, abiding in Christ, Jesus is the Life, Jesus is the Omega, exit door, final destination and final salvation.
– You know a tree by its fruit. Bad fruit indicates a bad tree because the roots are bad. What was the fruit of Simon’s life? What is the ultimate fruit that validates our salvation? How can we ensure that we are on the road toward cultivating this kind of fruit?
– The supernaturally gifted ministers in Matt 7 give Jesus a pile of their works to validate their salvation, but Jesus is not primarily interested in their works because He’s interested in their hearts. If Jesus has your heart, you will do kingdom work but the order is extremely important. Do you find it easy or hard to keep this order right?
– Christian life is in one sense so easy. Just fix your eyes on Jesus and never look away. On the other hand, why is Christian life so incredibly hard? Many get tired of looking at Jesus or they lose interest in Him. One other reason to consider is that we become self-sufficient and think that we don’t need Jesus as much, as if He has ‘equipped’ us enough and now we can do this Christian life on our own. Can you identify with any of these?