Ephesians 1
Second week of cell group last night. Last week we did an overview of Ephesians and this week looked at chapter 1.
It was hard work.
To begin with, interactive Bible studies is not something practiced widely in Vanuatu (or the Pacific in general I suspect) so there seemed to be an expectation for me to preach and then quiz them – a bad temptation for someone like me who likes the sound of his own voice! There were one or two who weren’t afraid to put out an opinion which helped. Aside from the dynamics of the group, it is a very dense passage… Once we’ve progressed further into the book and I’ve had a chance to type up some leader’s notes I may put my studies up for anyone who wants to use them (bearing in mind they’re written very specifically for my CF kids).
We spent the majority of the time picking apart what ‘spiritual blessings’ we’re promised in v.3, what it means for them to be ‘in the heavenly places’ and how that shapes our thinking and living while we’re in more earthly places. The main point we seemed to get stuck on again and again was a misunderstanding of the word ‘blessing.’ At times I got the impression some of the kids had a hint of resentment in them that their service to God seemed to go unnoticed in this world – that the non-Christians around them seemed to be blessed just as much if not more then them. After pulling back again and again to the passage, I’m hoping they’ve seen the anticipation of the spiritual blessings that is meant to sustain us in just such situations…
Posted: Mar 12, 01:31 PM Category: cell group