Before the Session
Facilitator: In advance of the session
- Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
- Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Context
Tell the group: Today’s passage is a prayer – Paul writes his prayer for the believers in Ephesus, so they will know what he desires for them. These kinds of prayers can be powerful and effective. Ask:
- How do you typically pray?
- For what kinds of things do you tend to pray most often and why?
- If you’re comfortable, share a little about a prayer you heard that was particularly meaningful or moving and why it was so powerful for you?
- Why is it different when someone says to you, “I’m praying for you,” than when they actually pray aloud with you?
- In what situations do you believe that group prayer or individual prayer is more significant and why?
Content
Read together Ephesians 3:14-21 then watch the Bible Background Video.
Then ask questions like these:
- Why do you think the writer chose to speak of God in this manner?
- From where do you think the power mentioned in verse 16 will come, and where will the readers experience it?
- Why do you think the writer chose this prayer, rather than to ask God, for instance, to convict them of their sinfulness; strike their persecutors; point out weaknesses in their church’s doctrine; or give them resources to withstand persecution?
- In which of your Bible favorite stories did God bring about an outcome that was different and better than anyone could imagine?
- When have you had an overwhelming sense of God’s love for you?
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In what ways does being loved make a difference in your life?
Closure
Continue by asking questions like these:
- At what point have you had a sudden realization of someone’s love for you, or when you’ve been surprised to realize your love for someone else?
- Why is it important to know that we are loved by others?
- Why, then, is it also important to express our love for others – and what can that expression look like?
- Who in your life might benefit from being reminded of God’s love for them, and given the times in which we live, how can we do that in a positive way?
- What situations in your life seem hopeless – and how might you already foresee God working to bring about an unexpected outcome?
Close with prayer.
Writer: Jon Parks