READ
This week we began a new series called Hot Mess. This series is all about what God wants for us in our relationships.
Ephesians 5:1 tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. In the following verses Paul goes on to unpack what mutual submission looks like. He describes how wives are to submit to husbands, how husbands are to submit to wives, how children submit to parents, how parents submit to children, and how slaves and masters (employees and employers) are to submit to one another. This kind of submission is not about one person assuming power over the other. It is not about who is dominant and who is dominated. It is about the voluntary act of putting another person’s needs ahead of your own. We are to do this out of reverence for Christ. The person we choose to submit to most likely does not deserve this treatment. We do this because this is what Jesus did for us. He set aside His own life, suffered and died for us while we were still sinners.
DISCUSS
What is the healthiest relationship you currently have? Why do consider it to be healthy?
Have you ever had a relationship that was strained by selfishness? What did you learn from that experience?
While we need to selflessly lean into hurting or broken relationships, we also need to end or limit relationships with toxic people. How do you tell the difference between a relationship that is suffering, and a relationship with a toxic person?
Tell us about a time when someone set aside their own interests and submitted to yours.
What is it about the idea of submitting to others that is most difficult for you?
Is there a relationship in your life that you have been pulling away from, and you need to start leaning into?
PRAY FOR YOUR GROUP
Pray for our relationships, especially those that are suffering. Pray that we will take to heart what it means to submit to one another, to set aside selfishness, and to put the need of others ahead of our own.
PRAY FOR FCC
Pray that as a church we will be an example to our community of what good relationships look like. Pray for the health of our relationships.
PRAY FOR OUR GLOBAL PARTNERS
Pray for FCC global partners, MidIndia Christian Mission, as they come alongside 15 new followers of Jesus who were baptized earlier this week. They are from the Bhil people group, a mostly unreached people group in India, where no one knows about Jesus. Pray for encouragement and a strong community of like-minded followers to help empower and support them in reaching more of their own people with the good news of Jesus.