Read Ephesians 5:21-33

Click this link to re-read the sermon 

Discuss

• To what extent do you think our consumer driven culture interferes with how we connect with our local church?

Read Ephesians 5:25b-27

“…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

• What factors influenced Jesus’ decision to love the church? Find passages elsewhere in Ephesians to confirm your answer

• What are the key implications of Jesus’ love for the church, and how does this impact you?

• In Ephesians 5:25-27, is the emphasis more negative or positive, and what does this mean for
  • How we view the church?
  • How we engage with the church?

• Looking back over your life, who has shown you the greatest example of what it means to love the church?

• What are three things your local church could do differently to bring this powerful picture to greater expression?

• Spend some time praying for what you have just discussed, asking God to work in you to bring these things about.