Holy Spirit – Pt 6
Ephesians 5:15-21 (NLT)
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-8 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 5:22-33 (NLT)
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 6:1-4 (NLT)
1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: 3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
THREE PRAYERS TO PRAY FOR EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY:
1. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal a deep reverence for Jesus.
2. Pray that they would truly know Jesus, rich in kindness and grace, who purchased their freedom and forgave their sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
3. Pray that God the Father would give spiritual wisdom and insight to help them grow in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:16)
COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING OUTLINE
Where your faith intersects with real life!
Reconnect:
Each person shares a recent high and low from their life.
Explore:
Review the message notes.
Big Idea: Spirit-guided relationships in the home come from Spirit-filled people who submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Consider:
Choose one or two questions for your Group to discuss as time allows.
▶ Read Ephesians 5:15-17. What are some practical ways you have seen people live out these verses?
▶ Read Ephesians 1:3-8. What reasons for praising God stand out to you for your family?
▶ Read Ephesians 5:22-33. Who is a couple you know that lives out these verses, and how do you see their faith in their lives?
Activate:
Spend a moment in silence to consider your response, then share your decision with the Group.
Read Ephesians 1:16. Ask God to highlight any family He would like you to lift up in prayer.
Prayer:
Thank God for the highs and lift up the lows.
Pray for the family members highlighted in the Activate question.
Want to go deeper?:
Choose a specific scripture to pray over whoever God highlighted for you to lift up in prayer.