Get Smart (Pentecost 13B Epistle)

Download the Word One Bible Study for Pentecost 13B Epistle.

Text: Ephesians 5:15-21 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Series B

OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

1. Grow in their understanding of wisdom in Christ.
2. Desire to implement Christian wisdom into their lifestyle.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Bibles

Markers

Newsprint

GROUP GUIDELINES

Form small groups of 4-6 people.  Choose as leader the person who had the least amount of absences from school last semester.  The leader’s job is to keep the group moving through the material and ensure that everyone has a chance to share.  Participants always have the right to pass if they do not feel comfortable sharing.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

1. Who is the smartest person you have ever known?
2. What is it about them that makes them smart?
3. How does society define intelligence?

LOOKING AT GOD’S WORD

1. Read Ephesians 5:15-21.
2. In verses 1-17, Paul urges the Ephesians to examine the degree of carefulness they are using in their life. To walk with some care is not enough in these evil days.  Paul warns: Christians must employ the greatest wisdom in their daily lives.  In your group, brainstorm ways that we can walk not as unwise, but as wise believers.
3. When you are assigned a project in school, the teacher typically gives a due date. Do you think you would ever finish a project without a due date?  Paul addressed the use of time in the beginning of verse 16.  Does God give us deadlines?
4. In verse 18, Paul warns us about abusing wine. It is not just wine that we need to be careful with, however alcohol is just one example of how people make themselves incapable of sound judgment.  List some other ways that we impair our behavior.
5. Compare the two lists you have created (wisdom vs. lack of judgment). Create a definition of Christian wisdom from the Ephesians passage as well as from the lists.

 REINFORCING WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED

1. What challenge to wise living have you experienced?
2. Paul underscores the importance of heartfelt praise in the life of Christians in verses 19-20. How can we insure that our praise remains genuine and heartfelt?
3. As a group, create a list of thanksgiving (verse 20).

CLOSING

Use the thanksgiving list as your closing prayer.

by Linda Behrendt

Originally published in Discovery Bible Studies 9, 1996.

Updated for youthESource in August 2015