Ephesians 6:18-24

*If you’re doing this with little skip to the Family-Friendly Short version at the bottom*

Sermon Follow Up

Paul began the letter to the Ephesians with abstract theology as he spoke to us about powers, principalities, heavenly places, divine fullness, mysteries, and new creation. But he ends the letter with normal people doing normal things in order to show us that the cosmic mission of God cashes out in ordinary embodied faithfulness.

Discussion/Reflection Material

-Paul’s section on the armor of God comes to a crescendo with a call to prayer. Does that challenge your standard way of thinking about how Christians battle against powers and principalities?

-Paul asks the saints to use their access to God’s sanctuary on his behalf. If the prayers of the saints were pivotal in holding up the Apostle Paul’s ministry, how much more do non-apostolic ministers need the prayers of the people of God?

-Is the seeming decline in overt divine/angelic activity in the modern church era a sign that we’re somehow out of touch with what the early church was tapped into? Why or why not?

-If you had to sum up the letter to the Ephesians in a sentence, how would you do it?

Family-Friendly Short

Big idea: God pours His life, power, and grace into the world through our normal, everyday lives.

Family Discussion Question: When has someone’s normal interaction with you been used by God to lift up, encourage, or strengthen you?