Coming out of Sunday’s teaching, “Ephesians: Walking in Holiness” spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions.
Read through Ephesians 4:17-5:20 before starting. Pray and ask God to speak.
- How did God speak to you through the text and/or Sunday’s message? What jumped out to you? Why? What are some of the main ideas that Paul is communicating in this passage?
- What comes to mind for you when you hear the word “Holiness” (as it relates to our own ‘personal’ holiness)? Is it a positive word, negative word, or neutral word for you? Why?
- What is the difference between legalism and grace? As followers of Jesus, what are some of the dangers of legalism? How can we know when we’ve slipped into it?
- Spend some time reflecting again on our (large) passage for this week. Notice how many times Paul reminds his readers of who they are in Christ and what God in Christ has done for them (4:20-24, 4:30, 4:32, 5:1-2, 5:8-9). What’s so significant about these reminders? What is the connection between our identity and our behaviour & personal holiness?
- In Eph 4:30, Paul says “…do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” What does this mean? How does this happen?
- Look at the specific examples Paul gives of holiness throughout this passage (truth telling, anger, stealing, generosity, bitterness, sexual immorality etc…). Which of these examples jump out at you most? Which one is most challenging for you? Why?
- Notice Paul’s rhythm of saying “stop doing ____, and start doing ____ instead.” What does this show us about the importance of replacing our old life with our new life in Christ?
- Look again at Eph 5:15-17. What is the difference between between being wise and foolish in this case? What else do you notice in these verses that challenge you?
- The big idea of Sunday’s sermon coming out of this passage was: “How we live is a direct reflection of who we believe we are!” Spend some time unpacking this concept together. What does it mean? What happens when we ‘forget’ who we are in Christ? What happens when we remember?
- How is God inviting you to lead a life worthy of your calling by walking in holiness? What specific area(s) (mentioned in this passage) is God inviting you to surrender to him and his grace this week?
