Pay Careful Attention to How You Walk

In one paragraph

Pastor Josh walked through Ephesians 5:15-21, continuing the church's series in Ephesians. The passage shifts from the earlier chapters' teaching on who believers are in Christ into what that identity looks like on the ground, in daily life. The sermon traced four ways the text calls followers of Christ to walk: wisely, diligently, on course, and filled with the Spirit. The opening point came...

Read together

1. Ephesians 5:15-21 main text read aloud in full at the start of the sermon
2. James 1 if any lacks wisdom, ask God and it will be given
3. Ephesians 1 Paul prays for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God
4. Jeremiah 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick
5. James 3 wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy
6. Galatians 6:10 take every opportunity to do good to one another
7. 1 Thessalonians 4 the will of God is your sanctification and abstinence
8. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 be thankful in all circumstances
9. 1 Peter 4 the will of God is to live no longer for human passions
10. Romans 12 be transformed by the renewing of your mind to discern the will of God
11. Colossians 1:9-10 praying to be filled with the knowledge of his will to walk worthy of the Lord
12. John 15 abide in the vine, the Father is glorified by bearing much fruit
13. Matthew 28 go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching
14. Ephesians 1:11 he works all things in agreement with the purpose of his will
15. Romans 8:28 he works all things for the good of those who love him
16. Psalm 95 come into his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise with songs of praise
17. James 1 rejoice in trials
18. Matthew 10 do not fear those who can only kill the body, fear God who can destroy both body and soul
19. Matthew 25 women at the tomb walked away in fear and joy
20. Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira lied about land sale, God struck them dead, great fear fell on the church
21. Acts 9 the church had peace walking in the fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Spirit

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about how worldly wisdom and biblical wisdom often point in opposite directions, and he used his family's decision to leave home and move to Alaska as an example. When have you felt that tension between what the world called sensible and what you believed God was calling you to do?
2. The sermon drew a distinction between kronos, clock time, and kairos, a season ripe for action. What does a season that is ripe for action look like in your own life right now, and what might it look like to actually purchase that time rather than let it pass?
3. The pastor said that not knowing God's will is foolishness, and he pointed to several passages where the will of God is stated plainly, things like sanctification, thankfulness, and making disciples. Which of those felt most clear to you, and which felt hardest to actually live out?
4. The sermon described being filled with the Spirit as both something that happens at salvation and something ongoing, a continual being filled. What practices or habits in your own life either open you up to that ongoing filling or crowd it out?
5. The pastor ended on submitting to one another in the fear of Christ, pointing to Jesus serving us as the model. Where do you find submission to others most difficult, and how does keeping the fear of the Lord in view change the way you think about it?