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May 29, 2023
Ephesians 3:14-21
OVERFLOWING LIFE
Power and love and two ‘biggies’ for human beings. We crave both. This week, I read that power or love (or both) is the main subject in two-thirds of all songs and movies. Jesus has a few things to say about power and love, and you may be surprised that he wants more of both for us, much more. Except he doesn’t want the false versions that the world is selling; not all that calls itself ‘power’ is true power, and not all that calls itself ‘love’ is the genuine article. Give us the good stuff, LORD!
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Ephesians 3:14-21
- How have you seen power and or love used well? Have you seen them used pooly? Share your observations.
- Paul prays for three specific things for the believers in Ephesus; see if you can get each down to a single phrase.
- The first request seems to be about ‘power in your inner being.’ How would you assess your ‘inner being’ these days? Powerful? Uncertain? Angry? Sleepy?
- Have you experienced God’s ‘love that surpasses knowledge’? Tell that story.
- What does it mean for God to get the glory “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations”? How do you understand us to be part of that?
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Daniel 6:1-24-The book of Daniel is all about the Sovereignty of God. The God of Israel proves himself sovereign even in faraway Babylon: boys receive foreign favour and are released from having to eat rich and potentially unkosher food. Young men are saved from a fiery furnace, and old man Daniel doesn’t get eaten by a den of hungry lions. God proves he’s not limited by international borders, arrogant kings or wild beasts. All of this points forward to Jesus, who demonstrated his sovereignty (he is God, after all!) in different ways.
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1 Kings 12:1-16: King Rehoboam continues the descent that has been the story of the kings since the throne was established. No one seems to be able to get it right. Leadership is tough. It requires listening to God and keen self-awareness. Rehoboam’s legacy is that he divided the people of God. May that never happen again.
