Love God, love others, serve the world.pages

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Homework and Sermon Study Guide Sermon Series: The Church Has Left The Building - “Church Beyond the Walls.” Big Idea: Love God, Love Others, Serve the World Main Passage: Ephesians 3:6-11 6And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. 7By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. 8Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Three Ways To Keep Our Focus On Loving Others: • The Purpose: God’s Glory (through: worship, service, fellowship, ministry, discipleship, evangelism) Ephesians 3:10-11, 20-21 • The Plan: Ephesians 3:6 • The Process: Inside-out. Love God- Love Others- Serve the World Discussion: What? What insights or observations did you learn from this weekend’s message? What did you find helpful, eye opening, or troubling? Ephesians 3:10 gives us a purpose statement. A purpose statement in any organization defines why the organization exists. What does Paul (the author of Ephesians) say is God’s purpose for the church? Any good organization also has a plan. Ephesians 3:6 gives us a glimpse of how God has going to make his glory seen. What was the plan? Read Ephesians 2:14. This verse is right in the middle of a passage about Gentiles (any who was not a Jew that was considered an outsider and inferior to the chosen people of Israel) becoming one in Christ because of the work that Jesus did while on earth. What does this passage say Jesus’ peace does? First Christian Church has a mission statement that is also our process. We believe this process reflects God’s plan and purpose. How does the three parts of “Love God, Love Others, and Serve the World,” reflect Ephesians 3:6-11?

So What? Share a moment when you built walls around yourself to guard against hostility. How could accepting Jesus’ peace and recognizing his love for that person have improved that situation? Read 1John 4:20-21. God takes the act of loving people pretty seriously. Why does John say you are a liar if you say you love God but not others? Many leaders will say that change starts from within. They recognize that a broken inside destroys growth on the outside. What are some internal barriers that keep us from breaking down walls? Do What? God is a God of love and unity for every individual and the church (that’s you and me by the way) are called to champion that love. However, as a humankind goes we need to admit we’ve done a poor job. How can we change that? How can our church be a church that breaks down walls and welcomes every individual into a transforming relationship with Jesus? Is there anything you need to do as a result of what you’ve learned this week? Scriptures for further study or memorization: Use these as a reference for digging deeper about loving others and Christian community. For a deeper study do a phrase search (google works for this too) of “each other” and/or “one another” statements in the Bible. Ex: in your search engine type in word for word: “each other” in the bible. Ephesians 3:20-21 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Acts 10:34-35 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.