Life Groups // Fall 2024 // Week 8
Posted October 25, 2024 — Lincoln Berean
Lay Aside the Old, Put On the New // Ephesians 4:17-24
Introduction
In this passage, Paul urges believers to abandon their old way of life, and to adopt a new life in Christ. He emphasizes the transformation of mind and spirit, calling for believers to live in the righteousness and holiness that only comes with a redeemed identity through faith in Jesus.
To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Due to preferences over a wide range of groups, we do not expect you will cover every question each week.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
1) If the weather reflected your mood today, what kind of weather would we have?
2) What is your favorite piece of clothing that you own, and what makes it your favorite?
Getting Started
Transition into group discussion.
1. Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2. Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) Take a moment for everyone in your group to share what is happening in their lives! In the past week, what has been something you’ve praised God for, something you’ve been asking Him for, or something particularly challenging going on in your life?
2) Ephesians 4:17-19 has a description of the lives of those living far from God. Does this description still apply to those who are in Christ? Why or why not?
Are there aspects of your former life (apart from God) that have been difficult to set aside? Why is that?
3) Verse 20 mentions the way that the believers in Ephesus have “learned Christ.” What is the difference between learning Christ and learning about Christ?
Our series in Ephesians is titled “Salvation is a Life” because our sanctification happens over a lifetime, and we all find ourselves experiencing a different degree of renewal at any given time. Describe your favorite moment of the renewal story that God has been telling through your life.
This passage asks you to shed your “old self” from before you were one with Christ, and to put on your “new self” that lives in the likeness of God’s righteousness. What might this process practically look like in your life?
4) Romans 1 follows a similar pattern of contrasting the lives of believers and nonbelievers. Read Romans 1:28-32. What similarities or differences do you see in relation to this week’s passage in Ephesians?
Consider the present circumstances of your life that you shared with your group back in question #1. How would you like to commit to living out your renewed identity in this season of your life?
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.
Scripture Focus: 2 Corinthians 5 is an amazing chapter of the New Testament that further outlines the transformation of a believer from the old self to the new self, as well as describing that new self as a citizen of heaven. It’s all part of a beautiful process that Paul calls the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). Read through the full chapter and find what stands out to you as part of your identity in Christ that you would like to focus on and meditate on that this week.
Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you deny your sinful self and embrace the new identity that He gives you. If you need a place to start, try this prayer:
“Heavenly Father, I know that my old identity was buried with you in your death, and I have been raised with you to walk in new life, free of the futility of going through this world without you. Please forgive me for the moments when the shadow of the old me shows up again and give me eyes to see the renewed path that you’ve set for me through your competed work on the cross. Help me to be only who you say I am. Amen.”
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?