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One Family // Ephesians 5:21-6:9

The gospel brings dignity, worth, and purpose to everyone, starting with our closest relationships: our family and church community. To imitate God and walk in the example of Christ is to mutually serve and sacrifice for one another out of love.

For a more in-depth discussion on the issues surrounding Ephesians 5:21-33, listen to our podcast episode on Authority, Headship, and Gender Roles.

Questions for Discussion:

  1. Read Ephesians 5:21-6:9 through the lens of “mutual submission” that seeks to love and dignify others as valued children of God. What stands out to you in the passage?
  2. By understanding this passage as a means of living out the gospel in your family, church, and as a witness of God’s grace to the world, what are the implications for you personally that you need to change in order to follow the ways of Jesus?
  3. What can we learn by Paul’s approach to applying the gospel to his cultural context? How can we do the same? Provide a real-life example.
One Family // Ephesians 5:21-6:9 // May 27, 2019
[VIDEO]  One Family // Ephesians 5:21-6:9
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One Example // Ephesians 4:17-5:20

Imagine if the church saw its primary job to model, pass on, and point to Jesus Christ “in everything” it does. What might the church look like, do, and reproduce?

Our ultimate loyalties, core beliefs, and fundamental values are shaped by those who we respect, follow, and imitate in this life. So if the very heart of our “oneness” in God, the hope of our restored humanity, and the promise of new life and salvation is contingent on following Jesus, shouldn’t we as believers reflect our One example? The call of the Christian is this: When we follow the ways of Jesus, we reproduce Jesus.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. Prayerfully evaluate your life based on Ephesians 4:17-5:20. What is needed to ensure that you are modeling your life after Jesus?
  2. How should a vision of modeling, passing on, and reproducing the ways of Jesus transform Christian community and the church?
One Example // Ephesians 4:17-5:20 // May 20, 2019
[VIDEO]  One Example // Ephesians 4:17-5:20
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One Body // Ephesians 4:1-16

The church today continues to struggle with the concept and practice of true unity and oneness in Christ. Contextual distinctions aside, with our churches divided socially, racially, and theologically, how will the world know the true witness of Christ – the union of all things in Him for the glory of His name and the salvation of His people? As we learn in this message, the measure of our spiritual unity determines the true health and maturity of the church.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. If you were to make a list of what determined a “healthy & mature” church, what would have been on that list?
  2. How does “spiritual unity” change your understanding and role of the church?
  3. Based on the list in Ephesians 4:11, what do you think your spiritual gift contribution might be in the body of Christ?
One Body // Ephesians 4:1-16 // May 13, 2019
[VIDEO]  One Body // Ephesians 4:1-16
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One Spirit // Ephesians 3:14-22

So who is the Holy Spirit and what’s His role in the unification of the church? This week we learn that just as Jesus Christ is the ‘head’ of the body (the church), the Spirit is the supernatural force that holds it all together. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the very power to our Oneness.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. What crowds out or invades your relationship with the Holy Spirit? What might you need to change in order to prioritize that relationship?
  2. How do you see yourself as a member of the church contributing to the greater unity of the body of Christ and fulfilling the will of God?
One Spirit // Ephesians 3:14-22 // May 6, 2019
[VIDEO]  One Spirit // Ephesians 3:14-22