Imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:1-7 NLT)

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. 3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people. 4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes--these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. 5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. 7 Don't participate in the things these people do.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Why should believers imitate God? (v.1)
2) As followers of Jesus Christ, how should we live our lives? (v.2a)
3) How did Christ demonstrate His love for us? (v.3)
4) What are we to refrain from doing? Why? (v.4a,5-7)
5) How are we to behave instead? (v.4b)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) How do you know that you are a child of God?

LIFE LESSONS
7) Children of God consistently manifest the love of Christ.

Love of God! (Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT)

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 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.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the Apostle Paul pray for the readers of this epistle? Why? (v.14-19)
2) Why does the apostle glorify God? (v.20)
3) How does Paul conclude this passage in his epistle? (v.21)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How do you pray for new converts to Christianity?

LIFE LESSONS
5) As disciples of the Lord Jesus, we are commanded to teach them how to live as Christians.

The Least Likely (Ephesians 3:8-13 NLT)

8 Though 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. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God'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. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence. 13 So please don't lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the Apostle Paul describe himself in this passage of Scripture? (v.8a)
2) Despite Paul's shortcomings, what did the Lord entrust Him to do and why? (v.8b-11)
3) What can we do because of our faith in Christ? (v.12)
4) What does the apostle tell his readers to refrain from doing? Why? (v.13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever questionned whether the Lord could use you despite your past? If so, briefly describe one such time.
6) Has the Lord ever used you despite your own feelings of inadequacy? If so, please describe one instance in which you were used by the Lord.

LIFE LESSONS
7) Our abilities have little to do with the Lord's calling on our lives.
8) Our inadequacies do not negate the Lord's purpose in calling us to a specific ministry.

The Privilege of Servanthood (Ephesians 3:1-7 NLT)

1 When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . . 2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. 3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 And 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. 7 By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How does the Apostle Paul refer to himself and what was his responsibility to the Gentiles? (v.1-2)
2) What did the Lord reveal to the apostle? Who else did the Lord reveal His plan to? (v.3-5)
3) What is God's plan and why did He give Paul the privilege of revealing it to others? (v.6-7)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) In what ministry, or ministries, has the Lord entrusted you to serve His people?

LIFE LESSONS
5) Followers of Christ are privileged to serve God through His grace

One New People (Ephesians 2:11-18 NLT)

11 Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. 14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How does the Apostle Paul describe the Gentiles prior to their salvation and how the Jews treated them? (v.11-12)
2) What happened to the Gentiles after professing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? (v.13)
3) What did Christ's sacrifice on the cross accomplish for the Gentiles, as well as for the Jews? (v.14-17)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What was your relationship with Jesus Christ like before you were saved?

LIFE LESSONS
5) Prior to salvation we were all enemies of God.
6) The plan of salvation was to create "one new people."
7) Every believer is united to God, and to one another, through Christ's sacrifice and the infilling of His Holy Spirit.

Saved by Grace (Ephesians 2:1-10 NLT)

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil--the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.


OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How does the Apostle Paul describe our condition before we were saved and why we were in that condition? (v.1-3)
2) What did God do for us when we were still dead in our sins? Why? (v.4-7)
3) Who is responsible for our becoming new creations in Christ? (v.8-10)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How do you know that God brought you out of darkness into His marvelous light?

LIFE LESSONS
5) After the Lord has saved us there is an undeniable and noteworthy change within us that cannot be attributed to human effort or willpower.

God's Plan Revealed (Ephesians 1:11-14 NLT)

11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 12 God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.


OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What have we received because we are united with Christ? Why? (v.11)
2) What was God's purpose in sending His Son to save us? (v.12-13)
3) For what purpose was the Holy Spirit given to the people of God? (v.14)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What does the Holy Spirit do through you to glorify the Father?

LIFE LESSONS
5) The Father is glorified as those who believe in Christ are transformed into His image through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

God's Mysterious Plan (Ephesians 1:6-10 NLT)

6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ--everything in heaven and on earth. 

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Why should we praise God? (v.6-8)
2) What has God revealed to us? (v.9-10)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
3) How has the Lord's myerious plan impacted your life?
4) Who else have you shared this plan with?

LIFE LESSONS
5) The mysteries of God are revealed to those who belong to Him and to those who will belong to Him.
6) The Lord's plan, from the dawning of time, has been to bring everything under Christ's authority.
7) Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Chosen (Ephesians 1:1-5 NLT)

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who wrote this letter? (v.1a)
2) Who chose Paul to be an apostle of Jesus Christ and why? (v.1b)
3) Who was this letter written to? (v.1c)
4) What did Paul want God to do for the disciples at Ephesus? (v.2)
5) Who did the apostle praise? Why? (v.3)
6) When did God choose us to be in Christ? (v.4a)
7) What are the blessings of being "in Christ"? (v.4b)
8) What did it please the Father to do for us through Christ? Why?  (v.5) 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
9) How do you know that you are in the family of God?

LIFE LESSONS
10) We are children of God because He chose us from the foundation of the world to be His!

11) We know that we belong to God because He blesses us to become more like Jesus as we mature spiritually.

12) We did not choose God. God chose us.

Children of God (Galatians 3:26-29)

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What makes us children of God? (v.26)
2) What have those who have been baptized into Christ done? (v.27)
3) Who is one in Christ Jesus, Abraham's seed, and heirs of God's promise? (v.28-29)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Are you a child of God? If so, how do you know? If not, what will you do to become God's child?

LIFE LESSONS
5) All who have faith in Jesus Christ belong to Him and are children of God.

God's Promise to Abraham (Galatians 3:15-20 NLT)

15 Dear brothers and sisters, here's an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn't say "to his children," as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says "to his child"--and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise. 19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who can revoke or amend an irrevocable agreement? (v.15)
2) Who did God make promises to? (v.16)
3) Did the law cancel the promises of God to Abraham? If not, why not? (v.17)
4) How was God's promise received? By keeping the law or by believing God's promise? (v.18)
5) Why was the law given and for how long were the people of God obligated to obey it? (v.19a-b)
6) Who was the mediator between God and His people under the law, or until Christ first advent? (v.19c-20a)
7) Who was the mediator when God made His promise to Abraham? Why?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
8) How does God's promise to Abraham impact you, personally?

LIFE LESSONS
9) The Lord's promise to Abraham was to Jesus and to all who would believe on Him.

The Way of Faith (Galatians 3:10-14 NLT)

10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, "It is through obeying the law that a person has life." 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What do the Scriptures say about those who under the Law and depend upon their obedience to the law to be made right with God? (v.10)
2) If the Law does not make us right with God, what does? (v.11)
3) How does the "way of Faith" differ from the "way of the Law"? (v.12-13)
4) How and why do we receive the blessing promised to Abraham? (v.14)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Are you in right relationship with God? 
6) How do you know that you are a child of God?

LIFE LESSONS
7) Faith in Jesus Christ is what puts believers in right relationship with God.
8) Obedience to the law can never justify a child of God.

Greeting! (Galatians 1:1-5 KJV)

1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) 2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and [from] our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5 To whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who commissioned or ordained Paul to be an apostle? (v.1)
2) Who else is credited with writing this epistle and who was it written to? (v.2)
3) What does the Apostle Paul write concerning our Lord Jesus and God the Father? (v.4-5)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How do you know that an apostle is commissioned or ordained by God? (v.1)
5) How do you encourage and/or edify Christians within your local church, your denomination, or the body of Christ? (v.2)
6) What do you do to glorify the Father and our Lord Jesus in this present evil world? (v.4-5)

LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord ordains those who will serve Him to advance His kingdom on this earth.
8) The Lord commissions those who will minister to and edify the members of His body.