Creative Community

When have you found yourself in a difficult situation because you weren't paying attention? How did you fix it? What did you learn? As a group, read Ephesians 5:15-21. What do you think it means to "be careful how you live?" (some translations say, "pay attention to your life") How can someone make the most of every opportunity in life? How does a Christian do this differently than someone else? Verse 18 is a comparison between two ways of living. Being controlled by "wine" leads to evil deeds. What does the life of someone who is controlled by the Spirit look like? Read verses 19-20. Use your own words to describe what these verses say about the spirit-controlled life. What is your first reaction when you hear the word "submit?" What are some negative responses people have to the idea of submission? Someone who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will submit to others. Discuss the following questions about submission. Wh...

Who is the most mature person you know? What is it about this person that make you consider them "mature?" Make a list of the character traits of a mature person. Make a list of the character traits of a mature Christian. Make a list of the character traits of an immature Christian? Read 1 Peter 2:1-2. Have people in the group give examples of things like: malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. If you believe that one of these things is present in your life, how can you get rid of it? What do you think is the "spiritual milk" spoken of in verse 2? What does it mean to "crave" this spiritual milk? How would a craving like this affect someone's life? In life, we recognize different stages of physical maturity (childhood, adolescence, adulthood, parenthood, retirement, etc.). How could these (or other) terms be used to describe spiritual maturity? What steps do you need to take if you want the Bible to help you grow to maturi...

Read Ephesians 1:1 Why do you think Paul calls the people in Ephesus "saints"? What had they done to earn that title? Do you think Paul would refer to you as a saint? Why or why not? Read Ephesians 1:3-9. Which part of this paragraph is your favorite? What parts of this paragraph raise questions for you? How would you summarize this paragraph in one or two sentences? As a group, make a list of all the words that describe what God has done for us. Why do you think he did all this? Verse five says this all happens "through Jesus Christ." How did Jesus' life make all this possible? Tell a story about someone you know that has been radically transformed by God. If you had to identify one part of your life that has been transformed by God, what would it be? If you had to identify one part of your life that still needs to be transformed by God, what would it be? One of the reasons we aren't always transformed as much as we should be is tha...

When have you had fun giving someone else a gift? What did you give them? Why was it fun? How did they respond? When have you given someone a bad gift? What made it bad? How did you feel afterward? What is the best gift you have ever given? How do we give gifts to God? What kind of gifts does God want from us? Read Genesis 4:1-5. Why do you think Cain and Abel were offering these gifts? Both Cain and Abel were offering the results of their own labor as gifts to God. Read the verses closely and discuss how their offerings were different. (What are the precise words used to describe each offering?) Why do you think God accepted Abel's offering but not Cain's? Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly instructed people that they should sacrifice the first and the best of their crops and flocks. Why do you think He wanted them to give up their first and best? How does that kind of offering point to Jesus? Make a list of all the things in our lives we ...