Skip to main content

Ephesians 5:3-20

 

[Grace and Peace] EPHESIANS_

 

[Activity] Spend some time exploring the logical flow of Ephesians 5:3-20…

 

[Read Ephesians 5:3-10]

 

 

In verses 3-4 & 7, what is Paul’s remedy for immorality?

 

 

Paul has a real way of getting to the heart of an issue.
“Don’t be fooled” he says, “There are a lot of empty words out there…words that sound big and important… which echo and resonate with our culture, but they have nothing inside them, no life, no truth.”

 

 

In contrast to the culture of Paul’s day, in verses 8-10, how are we to behave?

 

 

[Read Ephesians 5:11-20]

 

 

In verse 11, what should our attitude be towards “the works of darkness”?

 

 

What are some “works of darkness” that we encounter on a regular basis?

 

 

In verses 12-14, how are we told that we can expose those works of darkness to the light or truth?

 

What commands, does Paul give to believers, for how we are supposed to conduct ourselves (verses 15-20)?

 

 

 

What is one practical way that you can live out each of Paul’s commands?

 

 

Based on verse 19, what role did psalms and hymns and spiritual songs seem to play in Paul’s life?

 

 

How is this similar / different from how hymns and choruses are used today?

 

 

Apparently, if you don’t want weeds in your garden, one of the best ways to achieve this is by planting strong and sturdy plants and shrubs.
Likewise, if you don’t want your mind and heart to go wandering off into realms of darkness, one of the best ways is to ‘plant’ wise and thankful themes within… psalms, hymns and songs can help provide that in the ‘soil’ of your life…

 

 

How have hymns and spiritual songs been important to you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #3

  {SEVEN LETTERS}    The Attractiveness of Suffering_   Revelation 2:8-11     In the year AD 177 persecution broke out against the Christians living in what is today the French city of Lyon. Christianity had raised the suspicions and hatred of the Roman  bureaucrats who governed the city. The vicious persecution that raged, touched Christians at every level of society. After the persecuti on subsided, church father Irenaeus, arranged for a letter to be written to Christians in other parts of the Roman Empire describing the faithfulness of the  martyrs...   We  can’t  even begin to put into words, much less describe in detail, the  magnitude  of the persecution here: how the pagans raged so terribly against the saints, and how the ble ssed martyrs endured so patiently... To begin with, they nobly endured all the abuse the whole mob collectively piled on: screaming  at them, punching them, dragging them through the stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #1

  The Lord Who Speaks_   Revelation 1:9-20   We  don’t  tend to get many letters these days. We get emails, text messages,  WhatsApp  and other electronic messages, but rarely  a handwritten, pen-and-paper letter.    I tend to save any good ones I get... notes from when Leah was little. Letters that encourage or bless me.   I’ll keep them in my  bedside  drawer or  tucked  into books on our shelves. Then I get to read them again and feel loved and blessed by their words. ..     [Discussion starter]    Tell the group about a significant letter you have received and why it meant so much to you.     Revelation 2-3 records seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches.   It must have been a thrill for an early church congregation to receive a letter from the apostles Paul, Peter, or James... but here were letters from Jesus himself . And we all get to read everyone else’s ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

David #12

  [DAVID] Generous giving_   1 Chronicles 29     Giving has become a sore spot for many Christians. Every day we are bombarded with appeals for money – from TV and radio evangelists, from missionaries, from parachurch organisations , from charities and from our own churches. Sometim es we might feel like shouting, “Enough is enough!” How can we adopt godly attitudes toward giving so that we don’t live with a closed fist but an open hand and a generous heart?     [Group discussion starter] How do you tend to respond when people ask you for money? Explain.     David had a refreshing attitude toward giving. In this chapter he illustrates what it means to give joyously and generously to the Lord...     [Read 1 Chronicles 29]     What does this chapter reveal about David’s perspective on giving?       In verses 1-5, how does David provide an excellent example of what it means to give generously to God?    ...
Post a Comment
Read more