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The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
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Love
Teaching Text: Ephesians 1:1-10
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Heaven and earth meet
Blessing
Presence
Watch or listen to the sermon. Then take a moment of silence and think about these questions:
Ask God to open your heart and mind to understand Ephesians anew as we start this season.
Thank him for the blessings he has given you already.
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
This letter to 1st Century followers of Jesus in what we know as modern Turkey: in the City of Ephesus by the apostle Paul
But Paul’s own thesis he gives us - I want you to know the mystery of how these different ethnic groups are brought together in Jesus
“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:2-6)
Ephesians is a community’s guide for comprehending and responding to the apocalypse of the crucified and risen king of the cosmos.
“An apocalypse in Biblical language is when the bond between heaven and earth become visible to you.” (Tim Mackie, Bible Project)
Ephesians is divided into two parts: Comprehending (chapters 1-3) and Responding (chapters 4-6)
In this graphic, the top is the story many of us grew up with; the bottom is the story Paul is telling. It’s not to say there isn’t a personal way that people come to believe. Thats just not what this passage is about.
What’s the story?
Every blessing in the Holy Spirit
Adoption - God’s delight
Redemption means forgiveness - the blood of Jesus
Redemption means grace lavished on us
Redemption means mysteries of unity being revealed
Pauls point is that in the end - all things are coming together in Christ!
There are spiritual blessings that we get to participate in and receive because we are part of a larger narrative, not an individualized one.
Where on the sliding scale of individual/personal faith and collective communal faith would you place yourself?
How would you define the blessings that the Christian faith provides?
How does that compare to the blessings described above?
Love
Read these notes and discuss the questions below:
What habits of love and service can you incorporate in your life, which, if practiced consistently, transform you and those around you?
Pray for one another in the group.
