Intro to Ephesians
God’s Story → Our Story
Pastor Gary Barber
4/7/24
Take time to pray for Jose/Marcela and the Doniz family as they prepare to go to Guadalajara this summer. Pray for the many tasks that are on their list between now and when they leave. Begin to pray about how your community group might be able to support them. Pray for their hearts as they say goodbye to friends and church family in the US.
1. Rewatch the Bible Project video overview of the book of Ephesians. What do you think of the breakdown between "The Gospel Story" (Ch. 1-3) and "Our Story"? How else could the two parts be explained? What are other highlights of the book that stand out to you? What interests you about some of the topics addressed in this book?
2. Read Acts 19: 1-4, describing Paul's arrival in Ephesus. What was the situation with these "disciples"? Why does Paul differentiate between John's baptism and Jesus' baptism? Pastor Gary mentioned that many in America have had a variation of John's baptism (i.e. sprinkled as an infant), but their lives haven't changed. How does true baptism change a person?
3. Pastor Gary summarized Acts 19: 1-6 with three actions that every Christian should take. What were these actions? What does each mean? Where would you place yourself in this process? What is your next step? (Extra: Pastor Gary mentioned that there is actually a fourth step taught in Ephesians: "Keep being filled." How do you understand that?)
4. What is your understanding of the Rivers Retreat that Pastor Gary talked about? Have you been on one or have you heard from somebody who has participated? What were the key takeaways? What do you understand the purpose of the Rivers Retreat to be? Are you interested in joining this retreat on April 26-27?
5. If you were on the women’s retreat - Share what God did during your time away - what did you learn? What did God say to you? What was your biggest take away?
End in prayer for creative ways to BLESS your FRANCES this week.
God’s Story → Our Story
Pastor Gary Barber
4/7/24
Take time to pray for Jose/Marcela and the Doniz family as they prepare to go to Guadalajara this summer. Pray for the many tasks that are on their list between now and when they leave. Begin to pray about how your community group might be able to support them. Pray for their hearts as they say goodbye to friends and church family in the US.
1. Rewatch the Bible Project video overview of the book of Ephesians. What do you think of the breakdown between "The Gospel Story" (Ch. 1-3) and "Our Story"? How else could the two parts be explained? What are other highlights of the book that stand out to you? What interests you about some of the topics addressed in this book?
2. Read Acts 19: 1-4, describing Paul's arrival in Ephesus. What was the situation with these "disciples"? Why does Paul differentiate between John's baptism and Jesus' baptism? Pastor Gary mentioned that many in America have had a variation of John's baptism (i.e. sprinkled as an infant), but their lives haven't changed. How does true baptism change a person?
3. Pastor Gary summarized Acts 19: 1-6 with three actions that every Christian should take. What were these actions? What does each mean? Where would you place yourself in this process? What is your next step? (Extra: Pastor Gary mentioned that there is actually a fourth step taught in Ephesians: "Keep being filled." How do you understand that?)
4. What is your understanding of the Rivers Retreat that Pastor Gary talked about? Have you been on one or have you heard from somebody who has participated? What were the key takeaways? What do you understand the purpose of the Rivers Retreat to be? Are you interested in joining this retreat on April 26-27?
5. If you were on the women’s retreat - Share what God did during your time away - what did you learn? What did God say to you? What was your biggest take away?
End in prayer for creative ways to BLESS your FRANCES this week.