EPHESIANS LIVE-IT-OUT GUIDE

(MEMBER VERSION)

 

SESSION 4: EPHESIANS 2:11-22

 

<< The following questions only serve as a guide.  Feel free to adapt the questions to your group and the time available. >>

 

OPENING DISCUSSION:  

 

Aliens & Strangers – I once auditioned for a church band in Seattle, Washington. As an international student in America, I attended a large white family church that had the most wonderful band. I still remember the moment I first heard the worship leader’s clear alto voice as it soared above the instruments, joined by the chorus of worshippers. It sounded like heaven! And so I filled up an online application, recorded a song and sent in my request. But then silence. There was no reply for weeks. In the end, I mustered up the courage to speak to the worship leader after the service. She was surprised to see me at first, not recognizing me during her time in church. So I introduced myself and told her I had applied for the band. “Oh it’s you!” She said. “I’m sorry we haven’t responded. Yes, you can serve but perhaps instead of the main service, why don’t you help out with the international group that meets on Saturdays instead?” Ouch… Never have I felt more like an outsider, an alien, a stranger in America, until that day in church.   

 

Have you ever been alienated by a group or community? How did that feel? Share with your group.  

 

GOING DEEPER

 

Read Ephesians 2:11-22

 

Brief Recap: Recall God’s plan for the universe, as described in Ephesians 1:10 – God’s plan is “to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth”. Last session, we saw how God made us alive in Christ and reconciled us to Himself. In today’s passage, our focus shifts from the individual to the plural. If all things are to be united in Christ, God must somehow reconcile the Jews and Gentiles to each other, and to Himself.     

 

1.      In verse 11, Paul instructs his readers to ‘remember’ their past condition as Gentiles. To ‘remember’ is not only to recall something in our head, but to literally ‘re-member’ it: to put it back together, to re-live it, to actively appreciate it. Therefore, Paul’s instruction becomes even more important and challenging for us in the modern world.

 

Now imagine yourself in the shoes of a 1^st century Gentile. According to verses 11 and 12, how were Gentiles once regarded by Jews and by God?

 

2. Consider verses 13 to 18. How does Jesus’ life and death reconcile Gentiles and Jews to God and to one another?

 

 

3. Read verses 19 to 22 again. The Gentiles are now included in the household of God and God’s purpose is for this whole structure to grow into a holy temple - a dwelling place for God’s presence. However, according to these verses, what enables the Church to grow into God’s holy temple? 

 

 

4. In what ways do you experience “no longer strangers and aliens, but… fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (v19, ESV) here in PMC? Try to be specific in your sharing.  

 

 

5. When was the last time you had to ‘make peace’ with someone? Share your experience, and why being a Christian requires us to be peacemakers.  

 

 

6. Ephesians 2:17 – Christ “came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near”. Who has God laid in your heart to ‘preach peace’ to in your circle of friends/family right now? Share a name with your group, and pray together for this person.    

 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

 

Close the session by (i) thanking God for the peace we have in Christ, (ii) confessing to God our failures in making peace with other Christians, and (iii) asking God for His strength to encourage peace in our Christian communities.