July 3, 2023
Ephesians 5:21-6:9
EXTRAVAGANT FAMILY
The extravagant love God showed us in Jesus has to show up in our everyday lives. In today’s passage, Paul explains how love plays out in our closest and most ordinary relationships: kids and parents, bosses and workers, husbands and wives. For Christians, love means submission. Submission means choosing the other over ourselves. We submit to each other because Jesus did it for us, and the power we have to do it is His Spirit alive in us.
Listen to an audio version of the message
Songs for this week: Spotify
Ephesians 5:21-6:9
- What does submission in relationships include, and what does it not include? Is there a story from the Bible that best displays submission?
- Wives and husbands are called to submit to each other. What does that look like? Is a Christian supposed to guard herself or himself against being abused or taken advantage of? If so, how would they know when to do that?
- Children and parents are also to submit to each other “out of reverence for Christ.” Is submission a word that would describe your childhood or your parenting? Explain.
- Parents are to “bring up their kids in the training and instruction of the LORD.” Give specifics on how best to train up children.
- What does submission look like in the workplace? How might both Christian employees and employers live out this command at work?
Share with a friend
Recent Sermons
Discover how staying connected to Jesus—the true vine—produces lasting spiritual fruit. Learn how a simple Rule of Life, shaped by practices like prayer, Scripture, sabbath, solitude, community, and service, helps us remain rooted in Him.
Mark 2:17 - Jesus came to call sinners—those who know they miss the mark. Following him begins with humility and self-awareness, not perfection.
Matthew 26:36-39 - Christian practices like prayer and Sabbath quiet the noise so we can hear God’s voice and face the deeper emotions He invites us to heal.
Mark 1:35 - Jesus modelled a life of restraint and rhythm, showing us how to live with peace and purpose even amid urgency through the practices he shared.
Luke 6:39-49 - Jesus reminds us that we all have teachers shaping us. Some lead us astray, but when we follow him, we learn to live as we were truly meant to.
Romans 12:1-2 - Jesus’ invitation is to follow him: to be with him, become like him, and do what he did. We surrender control to Jesus, resist the pattern of the world that shapes us, and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit for transformation.
