May 15, 2023
Ephesians 2:11-22
FOREVER FRIENDS
I received an email recently informing me that the US Surgeon General has identified an epidemic of loneliness and the health implications of loneliness compare to heavy cigarette use. We are strangers to each other. We set up walls between us. One of the powerful things that Jesus did in his earthly life and on the cross was to destroy the walls that divide us. Very interesting! 2000 years ago God knew all about our loneliness and did everything in his power to include us. Strangers, even enemies, became friends.
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Ephesians 2:11-22
- Recall a time in your life when you felt ‘on the outside’. Did someone include you? Tell that story.
- v. 14 talks about a ‘dividing wall of hostility’. Describe what you know about the divisions during Paul’s time. Is there a wall of hostility in your life right now?
- Jesus ‘destroyed’ the barrier. Explain how that worked. Do Jesus’ actions on the cross have any bearing on our ‘hard to handle’ relationships?
- Paul speaks of the Church as the ‘holy temple’. What does that mean? In what ways are we ‘heaven on earth’? Where do we do that best? Where are we dropping the ball?
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