Life Groups // Fall 2024 // Week 9
Posted November 1, 2024 — Lincoln Berean
Living the Truth // Ephesians 4:25-32
Introduction
This passage is packed full of practical advice about how to promote unity through acts of kindness, as well as warning us about how not to do it. If you find yourself longing for a more peaceful and kind community, take a look with us as what Paul suggests.
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) What’s your go-to cozy fall outfit? Why do you like it so much?
2) Fill in the blank: It wouldn’t be fall without _____________________.
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) Our passage begins with “therefore” to remind us that what’s come previously relates to what we will learn next. Give a quick summary of what you’ve learned so far in Ephesians about being “in Christ”.
2) Pastor Ryan explained that Ephesians 4:26 is not commanding us to be angry but to recognize that when we are angry, we should be quick to resolve it. How does the truth of who you are “in Christ” affect your ability to resolve anger quickly while living in a sinful and hurtful world?
Read James 1:19-20 and compare it to Eph 4:26-27. Considering what both of these passages teach us about anger, how might unresolved anger make us vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks?
Dream together for a few minutes: If we lived in a world where all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were able to put aside anger, what might be the effect on our culture?
3) List out the four issues that Paul addresses in this passage:
Can you think of a time when you’ve been tempted to respond or act out in those negative ways? Share with the group, if you feel comfortable.
Often, we can try to portray ourselves differently in different contexts. How might social media contribute to our ability to hide who we really are? In what ways does a true spiritual community expose us?
Reflect for a moment on your own: Is your Life Group the kind of safe space where each member is free to share their real selves without shame? If so, offer a prayer of gratitude together. If not, pray for the Holy Spirit to help you be the kind of group that’s described in Eph 4:32.
4) Explain in your own words what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit.
What makes the Holy Spirit so sad about our sinful behavior?
In contrast to that kind of grief, our weekend services celebrated baptisms which symbolize what is now true of each believer in Jesus Christ. How does this image relate to our passage this week?
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: Since we’ve been looking at Ephesians in smaller portions over the past 9 weeks, now might be a good time to read the whole book in one sitting. You may want to choose a translation that is different from the one you normally study in. (The New Living Translation, Amplified Bible, and The Message are good alternatives)
Prayer Focus: A traditional prayer that speaks to our passage this week is written below. Plan a time in prayer along these lines this week.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. – Francis of Assisi
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?