Teaching

Ephesians

Living Out God's Purpose in Grace

Pastor Paul LeBoutillier

Life Bible Ministry · April 18, 2026

Video Coming Soon

Audio and transcript are available below

Discover the transformative purpose God has for your life through the Book of Ephesians, and learn to walk in His light amidst a confused world. Let His love guide you!

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier EPHESIANS Finding Purpose g A Verse-by-Verse Bible Study by Sue LeBoutillier Copyright © 2023 Sue LeBouƟllier Published by: Calvary Chapel — Ontario, Oregon

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier g Finding Purpose — in a Confused World g The Book of Ephesians Dear Friend, Welcome to our verse-by-verse exploraƟon of the New Testament book of Ephesians. It’s actually a leƩer wriƩen by the Apostle Paul to some dear people that he had previously spent quite a bit of Ɵme with. These people had heard and believed in the gospel of grace — they were ChrisƟans. But even from his current residence, miles away in prison, Paul’s heart leaned in their direcƟon. His desire was to en- courage them to live out that gospel in their daily lives, and to seek to fulfill the purpose for which God had created them and saved them. I Ɵtled this study Finding Purpose because we also need encourage- ment to live out the gospel in a world that is very confused about almost everything — especially truth. One of my favorite exhortaƟons is found in chapter five: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the Ɵme, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15) Fortunately, God has a purpose and a plan for us — that’s not just a cliché — that is a repeƟƟve theme in Ephesians. God’s purpose, His plan, and His will are menƟoned a total of 13 Ɵmes! And one of the most exciƟng parts of His will is that we would really know Him ...the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge! (Ephesians 3:18-19) As you study through Ephesians, I pray that each week’s passage will help you find real purpose to walk as children of light and discern what is pleasing to the Lord! (Ephesians 5:8,10) May the Lord richly bless you as you study His Word! Sue LeBoutillier sue@ccontario.com

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier How to use this Bible Study Finding Purpose is a five-day-a-week, verse-by-verse study through the book of Ephesians. Whether you are meeƟng with a friend, in a small group, or doing this study on your own, the following would be an ideal path: #1 Your first step will be to watch/listen to Week One — IntroducƟon either independently or in your group. #2 Begin Week Two in your Study Guide ¨ Read the assigned Scriptures and answer the quesƟons for each day. This Study Guide is intended to be completed independently before you watch or listen to the teaching associated with each week’s lesson. (Take note of the QuesƟons for Thought and Dis- cussion at the end of each week’s lesson). ¨ Then watch/listen to that week’s teaching using the links below. You can do this privately or in your group. ¨ Then discuss the week’s lesson in your group and pray together about applying the passages to your lives. Repeat this process as you do all eight weeks in your Study Guide. One last reminder — be sure to approach each of the above steps with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to give you understanding and speak to your heart. The best translaƟon of the Bible to use is the one you understand best, and using more than one translaƟon can be a useful aid in your study! This study guide was created using the ESV (English Standard Version). To watch the video teachings for this Bible Study go to: ccontario.com/womens-studies or YouTube.com/calvarychapelontario

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier The first step in any Bible Study is geƫng a big picture perspecƟve of the book — that’s what our Week One IntroducƟon is all about — background, history, and the purpose of the book of Ephesians. The IntroducƟon is intended to be the first thing you do — either by aƩending our live Women of the Word Bible Study, or by watching or listening to the Week One IntroducƟon via our website: www.ccontario.com/wow-ephesians Week One—IntroducƟon The next two pages are provided to take notes on this teaching. AŌer this, you’ll be ready to start your independent study on Week Two of Finding Purpose in a Confused World. Week One — Introduction Map of the Area Surrounding Ephesus

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Introduction — Week One

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. The words blessed or blessing are used four Ɵmes in v.3-6. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you consider yourself blessed? What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase spiritual blessings? 2. The book of Ephesians emphasizes the connecƟon between what we believe and how we behave. Discuss why it’s so important to reinforce our beliefs through our study of God’s Word. 3. How can believing that you were actually chosen before the foundaƟon of the world (v.4) shape your view of yourself, and affect your behavior today? 4. V.5 tells us that the purpose of His (God’s) will is our adopƟon as children of God. In what ways might an adopƟon seem more purposeful than bearing natural children? What does this mean in terms of our relaƟonship with God? 5. Are you a saint? Why or why not? Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier I hope that our IntroducƟon to Ephesians has inspired you to begin your journal. Even though we covered the first few verses in the Introductory Teaching, today will be your opportunity to write those verses in your journal. Here is a useful Ɵp for your personal study — the heading for each week (above) will indicate the enƟre passage to be studied during that week. If you’re able, begin each day by reading the enƟre weekly passage. Then, as you write your verses in your journal, you can simply concentrate on the words you are wriƟng for each day. a READ and WRITE Ephesians 1:1-6 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline saints, in Christ, in Him q With a green pencil, underline blessed, blessing (4x) Circle chose us and adopƟon q With a red pencil, underline purpose of His will We’ve already explained who this leƩer was wriƩen to and why. Like most of the other leƩers that Paul wrote from prison, this leƩer was addressed to the saints. Unlike many of the other leƩers, we find no glaring points of correcƟon in his wriƟng. Maybe that’s why we’re able to underline ‘blessings’ FOUR TIMES in these opening verses. Every Ɵme you mark words in green it will draw our aƩenƟon to something wonderful that God has done for us! In the first fourteen verses, the various ways in which we saints are blessed can be neatly distributed into three buckets: blessed by the Father — blessed by the Son — blessed by the Holy Spirit. Let’s fill in the first of three charts that list how we are blessed… Week Two — Ephesians 1:1-23 Day 1: Our spiritual blessings that stem from God the Father: V.4 He ______________ _____ before the foundaƟon of the world V.5 He planned for us to be ___________________ as children

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 1:7-12 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline in Him (3x) in Christ (2x) q With a green pencil, circle redempƟon, forgiveness q With a red pencil, underline His will (2x), purpose, plan You just wrote the second porƟon of one very long sentence that began in v.3. Our Bible translators have included helpful punctuaƟon for our benefit, but at the Ɵme, Paul seemed to be wriƟng very enthusiasƟcally — almost without taking a breath — about all the ways that God has blessed us spiritually! With the proper inflecƟon we can read about our blessings just as enthusiasƟcally! The blessings in today’s passage we aƩribute to the work of Jesus Christ. We know that God is ONE, and the three persons of the God- head don’t work separately, but we can see their disƟnct ministry in our lives. It’s because of Jesus that we’re redeemed, forgiven and then handed an inheritance! That’s why we marked the words in Him, and in Christ five Ɵmes! (All words marked in purple note our posiƟon or our relaƟonship to God.) Let’s invesƟgate these blessings... Redeemed— consult a dicƟonary and write a definiƟon of what it means to redeem something: · From v.7, what did Jesus use as a form of payment in order to redeem us? Forgiven— we generally think of forgiveness as something we offer someone when they do something bad to us. In a way, we all have done something bad to God. · From v.7, what did we do that needed to be forgiven? Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · READ 2 Corinthians 5:19. What is a slightly different word used in this passage in place of forgiveness? Don’t you think that elevates any experience of forgiveness? In your own life, simply forgiving someone is step one, but if you take the next step to become reconciled and re-establish a relaƟonship, that’s a completely different story. That’s why the third blessing that we aƩribute to Jesus is so special. · From v.11 what has been handed to us? WOW! Who doesn’t dream of an inheritance! Read these passages and note anything addiƟonal that you learn about your inheritance: GalaƟans 4:4-7 Colossians 3:23-24 James 2:5 1 Peter 1:3-5 Finally, fill in the second of our three charts that list how we are blessed by Jesus Christ: Our spiritual blessings that stem from Jesus the Son: V.7 We have ________________ through His _______________ V.7 _________________ of trespasses because of His grace V.11 We have obtained an __________________ according to His will

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 1:13-14 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline in Him (2x) q With a green pencil, circle sealed, guarantee of inheritance q With a pink pencil, underline heard and believed Today we consider how the Holy Spirit contributes to our spiritual blessings. Our salvaƟon experience happens in a parƟcular order and you actually marked these steps with your pink marker. (Pink marks will always indicate some direcƟve or acƟon needed on our part.) · From v.13, we learn that a person needs to first — hear the ___________ ______ ______________ , then — believe ____ ________ (speaking of Jesus Christ). Sealed with the Spirit— The Holy Spirit plays a unique role in authen- ƟcaƟng or proving our new relaƟonship with God — we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. God marks us with a stamp of belonging — we might consider it a Holy Spirit taƩoo! Read these passages and note any other aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit you see once we hear and believe. John 14:17 2 Corinthians 1:22 Guarantee of our inheritance— Not only are we marked by the Holy Spirit, but His very presence in our lives serves as a guarantee! It’s like wearing an engagement ring — the presence of that ring signifies that the fiancée will come and claim his bride at some future date. Now, fill in the final chart that list how we are blessed by the work of the Holy Spirit in our salvaƟon experience: Day 3: Our spiritual blessings that stem from the Holy Spirit: V.13 We have been ___________________ with the Holy Spirit V.14 We have a ______________________ of our inheritance

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier We have just one thing leŌ to discover in these first 14 verses. q With a red pencil, go back to v.6, 12, 14 and circle the phrases to the praise of his glory (or glorious grace). Do you see what Paul did in this opening — in triplet? He reinforced the reality that God’s purpose in blessing us so lavishly is that He would receive glory. Everything you listed in those three charts are blessings that you have received because God is good and God has chosen to bless you. You didn’t earn any of it, you aren’t deserving of any of it, it’s ALL meant for the purpose of bringing glory to God! a READ and WRITE Ephesians 1:15-18 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline in the saints q With a green pencil, underline knowledge of Him, hope, glorious inheritance q With a pink pencil, underline give thanks, prayer While studying the leƩers of the Apostle Paul, it’s always thrilling to read his opening prayers. This parƟcular leƩer has TWO prayers, this one and a second one in chapter three. From v.15 note the report that came to Paul about the Ephesians: · Their FAITH is in: ___________________________ · Their LOVE is shown toward: ________________________ Since they are in Christ, as the Apostle prays for them, one aspect we noƟce right away is that he doesn’t seem to ask God to give them something they don’t already have — he always asks God to help them understand what they do have — in Him. Day 4: So that the tested genuineness of your faith — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier That aspect alone should speak volumes to us. How many blessings do we already possess that we either take for granted or just don’t fully uƟlize. Let’s idenƟfy the first two… Knowledge of Him — I’m sure we will live out our enƟre lives without grasping the full revelaƟon of Christ, but it is both our privilege and responsibility to conƟnue to grow in wisdom and revelaƟon of Him. · List a few phrases that describe the truths that God has already shown you about Himself: Hope to which He has called You — Hope is a very powerful word. We thrive on hope. In a similar way that humans can’t last long without water, we also can’t last long without hope. · From v.18, to what kind of blessing is Paul connecƟng the word hope? We marked the phrases give thanks and prayer in pink because they highlight something we observe Paul doing that is also a direcƟve for all ChrisƟans. More than anything else, prayer helps us flourish in our own God-given purpose. We’re grateful for the prayers we have modeled for us in the Bible. · What is one thing that strikes you about this prayer that you are inspired to follow? And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 1:19-23 in your journal. q With a green pencil, underline power q With a normal pen, put the leƩers “AT” over the phrase all things in v.10, 11, 22 (4x) Power — As we finish Paul’s first prayer, this is the final focus, power! · From v.19, who is this great power extended to? · From v.20, how is this great power described? What was Paul comparing it to? · Read Romans 8:11. What is the immediate benefit of this same resurrecƟon power in our lives? · Read Acts 1:8. What did Jesus tell the disciples would be an addiƟonal significant purpose for His power? I think we know that God is powerful — even non-ChrisƟans would agree with that. But it’s good for us to meditate on the aspects of His power that He shares with us. Since you marked the phrases all things, let’s wrap up chapter one by reinforcing the magnitude of the work of Christ: V.10 to _____________ all things in him. V.11 He _____________ all things according to his ___________. V.22 God put all things _______________________________. V.22 He is ________ _______ all things to the church. Day 5:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. RepeƟƟon is a clue to finding themes that authors consider important. It’s one reason we mark repeƟƟve phrases or ideas. Name one repeƟƟve word/phrase in chapter one that caught your aƩenƟon. Explain why. 2. The report came to Paul of the Ephesians love toward all the saints. If someone had been watching you for the last 30 days, what might be their report about you? 3. Of what pracƟcal significance in your life is the idea that God chose you before the foundaƟon of the world? 4. We talk about the mark of the beast in connecƟon with end-Ɵmes. We rarely talk about the mark of the Lord in our lives today. Share why being sealed with the Holy Spirit (our mark of ownership) is so relevant to our lives. 5. Read Jeremiah 17:9. Discuss some reasons we need God’s power acƟve in our lives to overcome the deceiƞulness of our hearts. 6. What would you say was the main prayer inspiraƟon for your life from Paul’s first prayer in this book?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Two

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Ephesians chapter two conveys some of the most powerful contrasts in all of the New Testament. How does something dead become alive? How does something condemned make it’s way to a throne? The answer, of course, is God’s mercy and kindness. a READ and WRITE Ephesians 2:1-3 in your journal. Before and AŌer— We’ll use our purple pencil quite a lot this chapter, because words marked with purple indicate our posiƟon or relaƟon- ship. UnƟl now, purple words have conveyed posiƟve meanings like saints or in Christ. But chapter two is a walk down memory lane for the believer. Paul masterfully places the before and aŌer pictures side by side so we can fully comprehend what God has done for us. It’s so beneficial for every ChrisƟan — no maƩer how long one has been in Christ — to reflect on exactly how hopeless our situaƟon was without Christ and how we were liŌed into the family of God. We’ll use our same purple pencil to indicate both posiƟons — — The before posiƟon (negaƟve relaƟonship) will be bracketed. — The aŌer posiƟon (posiƟve relaƟonship) will be underlined. q With a purple pencil, bracket dead in trespasses and sins, children of wrath The important concepts here about our life before Christ are: what we were and what we did! · From v.1, what was our original spiritual condiƟon? · From v.2, what two influences were at work in our lives that we followed? Week Three — Ephesians 2:1-22 Day 1:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · From v.3, what desire or purpose did we live for at this Ɵme? Today’s verses are perhaps the most concise Biblical passage regarding our original condiƟon, and should clear up any noƟon that people are basically good! Below are addiƟonal Scriptures that will add greater dimension. Read and note any addiƟonal understanding these provide. Isaiah 53:6 John 3:3 Romans 5:12 Well, that’s a clear picture of our before Christ condiƟon. It’s not too difficult to understand. But even if we come to agreement about our sin there are sƟll some piƞalls to watch out for: #1 The suggesƟon from the enemy that you need to do something to improve your relaƟonship with God — maybe help the less fortunate, or get to church every Sunday, or get bapƟzed, or even teach Sunday School — maybe God will be impressed at your effort and your good stuff will outweigh the bad stuff. Satan knows all about redempƟon and forgiveness of sin, so he loves it when people spin their wheels trying to change their relaƟonship to God by their own means. #2 The idea that your before Christ condiƟon is past the point of God wanƟng you. When you read the phrases sons of disobedience and children of wrath, perhaps that resonated with you. Maybe the world has condiƟoned you to believe you are not someone that God wants in His family. #3 An expectaƟon that temptaƟons to sin will come to an abrupt end once you are transferred to your aŌer Christ relaƟonship. OŌen, when people realize they are sƟll influenced by the same stuff as before, discouragement can easily set in. More on avoiding these piƞalls in the following chapters!

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 2:4-7 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline together with Christ, and with Him (2x) q With a green pencil, underline made us alive, raised us up, seated us q With a red pencil, circle four aspects of God’s character that we are intended to note: mercy, love, grace, kindness Jesus Changes People— Everything in v.1-3 leaned toward hopeless- ness. What a delight to discover that v.4 begins with transiƟonal words that change the mood of the enƟre chapter. · Write those two words here: ___________ _____________ Those two words change the focus from us to God, and death to life. Since the focus is now on God, let’s idenƟfy the four character qualiƟes that He possesses in abundance and extends toward us: v.4 M__________ v.4 L______________ v.5 G______________ v.7 K______________ Paul didn’t explain right here all of the technicaliƟes about how Jesus’ sacrifice became acceptable as payment for our sins — the main point is His kindness lavished upon us, which has the potenƟal to produce a drasƟc change in our life. · From v.5, when did God extend his mercy and love toward us? · From v.5, explain the transformaƟon we can experience because of God’s mercy: Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Mercy is oŌen simply described as not geƫng what we deserve. · READ Romans 6:23 and explain what we do deserve. An important part of Bible study, aŌer asking ‘what does it say?’ and ‘what does it mean?’ is to ask ‘what does it mean to me?’ · Using two sentences, share how God’s mercy has transformed your life. (I know you could write a book, but try two sentences.) Grace is oŌen very simply described as geƫng what we don’t deserve. · From v.6, explain the elevated posiƟon or relaƟonship we can now experience because of God’s grace: · From v.7, what is the purpose for which God save us from the consequences of our sin?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 2:8-10 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline his workmanship q With a green pencil, underline saved q With a red pencil, circle God’s aƩribute of grace The Role of Faith— Everything that God has done for us comes to a crescendo in these verses. But we also become aware of another important element — one that we bring to the relaƟonship — Faith! · According to v.9, what is useless for our salvaƟon? · According to v.8, what acƟvates God’s grace? Does the role that faith plays seem like it could use more explanaƟon? · Read Romans 10:8-10 and write one sentence that explains what faith looks like in pracƟcal terms? · Because we are now seated with Him, what is our purpose in life according to v.10? The phrase good works can be challenging. Because our works don’t save us, we can tend to minimize their importance. Consider what these verses add to the idea that God has a purpose for us to fulfill. MaƩhew 5:16 Romans 12:6 Colossians 1:10 Hebrews 10:24-25 Day 3:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Here is a summary of Ephesians 2:1-10 in a chart form: Now, summarize these same verses in two sentences: JESUS CHANGES PEOPLE Our condition before and after Jesus saved us BEFORE: Dead in sins and transgressions Our RelaƟonship: Objects of Wrath Influences in that relaƟonship: · Ways of the world (world) · Ruler of the kingdom of the air (devil) · Sinful nature (flesh) COMPONENTS OF CHANGE: On God’s Part On Our Part Mercy Faith Love Grace Kindness AFTER: Alive in Christ Jesus Our RelaƟonship: Children of God Influenced in our new relaƟonship: · Seated with Christ · Saved by Grace · God’s Workmanship

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 2:11-16 in your journal. q With a red pencil, circle peace (2x) Have you ever felt like an outsider? Most of us have probably felt a bit on the outside in some situaƟon! Most of the Ephesian believers were GenƟles. They knew that God had chosen the Jewish naƟon to be the carriers of His blessing to the whole world. They were not part of that naƟon — they were on the outside in terms of race. List four phrases from v.12 that described the situaƟon of the GenƟles before they were saved. (Then bracket them with a purple pencil in your journal.) · · · · The truth is, they didn’t just feel like outsiders — they were outside of God’s family. But, once again we find a transiƟonal phrase in v.13 that changes the mood of the passage. Complete the missing words: “But Now, ____ __________ ____________” Only God can bring lasƟng peace! We understand that God reconciles people to Himself, making peace with God — but Paul was actually commenƟng here on the tension between Jews and the GenƟles. The very day that I was preparing this passage we happened to watch a short documentary that featured a middle-ages cathedral in an English village. We noƟced an ornate veil separaƟng two secƟons of pews in the Abby. The commentator told of a sharp disagreement that grew between the monks and the villagers, which was ulƟmately laid to rest by erecƟng this wall. The monks then worshiped on one side and the villagers on the other — problem solved! That’s how people aƩempt to create peace — building walls — but God breaks down walls for the sake of peace and unity! Day 4:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier The differences between Jew and GenƟle were real, and they were established by God himself (as odd as that sounds). · Read Romans 9:4-5 and bullet point the advantages and blessings that God gave to Israel: Human nature can easily turn blessings into hosƟlity, and that is what had happened between Jew and GenƟle. But this chapter is all about CHANGE. JESUS CHANGES PEOPLE. God’s Plan to Reconcile— We’ve realized that the hosƟlity described in this secƟon is actually two-fold — Jews against GenƟles and people against God. But it was God’s purpose, through Jesus, to reconcile both groups and to establish unity within the Body of Christ. We’ve been given this same ministry, to facilitate God’s reconciliaƟon, both between people who are at odds and between people and God. · Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. What is one purpose that all believers in Christ are to fulfill? · List one specific situaƟon in your life that this message of reconcil- iaƟon speaks to. Note what you believe God is showing you. We don’t make our own peace with God, Jesus made peace for us through His work on the cross.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 2:17-22 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline through Him, in Him, ciƟzens, saints, members of the household, and bracket strangers and aliens q With a red pencil, circle peace (2x) Turning Strangers into Saints— To restate the theme of this chapter, God made peace with humanity through the cross of Christ. It’s Jesus’ work on the cross that changes people and transforms relaƟonships. Because of Jesus, an alien can become a ciƟzen, and a stranger can become a saint and all people can potenƟally be at peace with God and with one another. Household of God— Our ChrisƟan relaƟonships can now be described as family, or a household, or (as these verses help us visualize) a dwelling place like a temple. · Who is the cornerstone? (v.20) · Describe the foundaƟon (v.20) and why it’s important. · Describe the enƟre structure. (v.21-22) As a reminder, Paul was expressing that God’s household included people who may have nurtured centuries of prejudice against one another and were now required to lay those differences aside. Our cultural biases might not be as pronounced, but every generaƟon has it’s concept of who is considered acceptable and who is not. · Consider one way you can help God’s church thrive as we are all building this structure together. Day 5:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. You’ve undoubtedly heard someone say that they believe all people are born basically good. Given the right environment and/or a proper educaƟon, they will be good people. How can you accurately and winsomely share the truth of God’s Word regard- ing our dead spiritual condiƟon at birth? 2. People oŌen think they need to clean up a bit in order for God to accept them. How does v.5 of this passage explain that’s not the order that our relaƟonship with God follows? 3. Discuss the differences between mercy and grace and share how God has lavished these aƩributes on you personally. 4. Read Hebrews 11:6 and discuss the importance of faith in our before and aŌer transformaƟon. 5. Most ChrisƟans think that we go to heaven aŌer we die, and that’s true. How does v.6 broaden our thinking on that maƩer? 6. Read 1 Peter 2:5. The image is a variety of stones, Ɵghtly stacked together to form a structure. What are some of the potenƟal challenges that we face living in such close proximity? And what are some strategies for geƫng along in such close proximity?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Three

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Chapter three is essenƟally Paul’s second prayer — at least it begins that way. But He barely gets started before he veers off on a fairly long parenthesis from v.2-13 in order to explain God’s purpose for his life. He does eventually make his way back to praying, but for the first three days this week, we’ll invesƟgate the parenthesis! a READ and WRITE Ephesians 3:1-3 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline prisoner of Christ Jesus q With a green pencil, underline God’s grace A Prisoner — If you hadn’t read any other porƟon of the Bible, this would be your first hint that the author wrote this leƩer from prison. (Paul repeats this at the beginning of chapter 4.) This could be confus- ing because Paul had just told us in the last chapter that God has good works prepared for His kids — prison doesn't seem good. Since the Ɵtle of this study is Finding Purpose, we’ll follow the detour to look at Paul’s calling, his purpose, and his situaƟon in life. We might find something useful to apply to our own situaƟon and purpose. Read and consider these verses that explain a bit more about Paul’s calling from the Lord. Acts 13:1-3 Acts 13:47 Acts 21:10-11 Paul spent Ɵme in various prisons, at least three Ɵmes that we know of. None of his prison experiences were due to commiƫng evil acts, but were always a result of being faithful to God’s parƟcular call on his life, which was to share the good news of salvaƟon in Jesus Christ. Paul was actually put in chains at the request of the Jews and by the hands of the Romans. Yet, you underlined the phrase in v.1 that indicated his percepƟon of who was really behind his imprisonment. Week Four — Ephesians 3:1-21 Day 1:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · ∙Write it again here: You underlined that phrase in purple to indicate a parƟcular relaƟon- ship to the Lord — in this case a prisoner. WOW! Does God work like that? Does our relaƟonship with Him someƟmes take the form of uncomfortable things in our lives? Even if those situaƟons might be a benefit to others? · Check a few other translaƟons to see what words are used in v.2 to describe God’s grace (or the work given to Paul): · Also in v.2, who received the benefit from that grace/work? It’s Ɵme to consider the administraƟon of God’s grace in your own life. · How has God lead you? What is the work He has given you to do? · Who might benefit from that act of grace/work? · What are some of the inconvenient or uncomfortable aspects that go along with your faithfulness to that work. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Philippians 1:29

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 3:4-6 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise, in Christ Jesus q With a red pencil, circle mystery of Christ (v.4), mystery (v.3,6) The secret plan — It might be a surprise to some that God didn’t share His enƟre plan of redempƟon with the Old Testament saints. The idea that His Kingdom would one day be open to people beyond the children of Abraham, and that these outsiders would have equal standing, was concealed in the Old Testament. It was God’s intenƟon to let this remain a mystery unƟl Christ came. This is the mystery Paul spoke of in his leƩers — that God’s family, the church, would include both Jews and GenƟles — that literally anyone who believed could be included in God’s plan of grace! · From v.5, along with Ephesians 2:20, who else was this revelaƟon given to besides Paul? · How did God reveal this mystery to them? (v.5) · From v.6, list the three main benefits of this mystery to the GenƟles (or actually, to anyone who would believe)? · · · Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier That might seem like a completely normal part of what we call being saved, but to the first century GenƟles, that level of inclusion was mind-blowing! Since Paul went into such detail about their place in God’s family, we wonder if the GenƟle ChrisƟans felt insecure about their posiƟon in Christ. Did the Jewish believers sƟll glance at them sideways wonder- ing if they were really saved — really included? We don’t face aƩacks of our faith in this same way today...or do we? · What might be some situaƟons that may cause a believer to ques- Ɵon their real place in the Body of Christ or to feel second class? · What examples can we find in Paul’s wriƟng here that might help modern believers encourage one another with an assurance of their salvaƟon? For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:17

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 3:7-13 in your journal. q With a green pencil, underline gospel (v.6,7) grace, power q With a red pencil, circle mystery, and eternal purpose So far, in Paul’s 12-verse detour, we’ve learned... ¨ About God’s mystery— that the door has been opened for GenƟles to become just as much a part of the Body of Christ as the Jews. ¨ About God’s Ɵmetable— that God determined this arrangement long ago, only to be revealed aŌer Jesus Christ opened the way of redempƟon. ¨ About God’s administraƟon of grace— that He chose Paul to carry this gospel to the GenƟles. Even though Paul wrote authoritaƟvely and made sure his readers knew that God’s power was at work in his life, he made an interesƟng disclaimer about himself in v.8. · Read Acts 22:4. Why do you think Paul referred to himself as the least of all the saints? · With Paul’s situaƟon in mind, write a truth that you learn about how God equips and uses those that truly belong to Him. If possible use the words grace and power. Day 3: Minister — A biblical concept that means “to serve” or “to be a servant”

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier According to v.10, · What did God want to be made known? · To whom did He want this to be made known? · And through whom did He want this to be made known? This makes us curious about the rulers and authoriƟes in heavenly places. Here is something that Warren Wiersbe wrote that may give us insight: “Paul means the angelic beings created by God, both good and evil (Colossians 1:16). Angels are created beings and are not omniscient. In fact, Peter indicates that during the Old Testament period, the angels were curious about God’s plan of salvaƟon then being worked out on earth (1 Peter 1:10–12). God is ‘educaƟng’ the angels by means of the church!” 1 · With all of this in mind, how is God using US (the Body of Christ) to display His Glory? · How does this all play into Paul instrucƟng his friends not to lose heart over what he was suffering. What posiƟve benefit was the result of his suffering? Glory — the honor resulting from a good opinion1

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Day 4: a READ and WRITE Ephesians 3:14-19 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline the phrases Christ dwell in your hearts, and filled with fullness of God q With a green pencil, underline glory, power, rooted and grounded in love, know the love of Christ Finally, we return to the prayer that Paul began at the beginning of this chapter. Today’s words have so much depth and inspiraƟon, we want to try our best to really comprehend them. Let’s consider some of the key phrases in Paul’s prayer: Every Family in Heaven and on Earth— Since the GenƟles may have felt that they somehow wiggled their way into God’s family (that really belonged to the Jews) Paul emphasized that every family (race) is named by God, or has God-given idenƟty and purpose. · How would you rephrase this to encourage people today? Christ may Dwell in your Hearts— The word dwell carries the idea of residing permanently. That’s what Jesus does, He actually takes up residence in us when we believe in Him. Read these Scriptures and note what you learn: John 14:15-17 John 14:23 Romans 8:9,11 Without any revelaƟon in the Word of God, the concept of God dwelling in us wouldn’t come naturally. We should meditate on this truth. That’s why Paul asked God to give believers strength to understand and comprehend this reality.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Strengthened with power — This is what we need! · Through what means does God strengthen believers? · Where are we strengthened? Being Rooted and Grounded— Both of these phrases describe the beginning stage of something that will eventually grow in stability. · What is iniƟally rooted and then grows into a stable structure? Read Jeremiah 17:7-8 for more insights. · What is grounded (has a foundaƟon) that grows into a stable structure? Read 1 Peter 2:5 for more insights. · From v.17, what are we to be rooted and grounded in? To Know the Love of Christ— This is the goal! I’ve oŌen said that our spiritual roots can only grow downward in direct proporƟon to our understanding of the love of Christ. If we don’t grow in comprehend- ing the love of Christ, we risk going through life thinking that God is displeased with us, or worse, out to get us. · From v.19, what is the result of knowing God’s love? · What does that mean?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 3:20-21 in your journal. q With a green pencil, underline power Paul wrapped up his prayer by asking God that the believers would be helped to comprehend His love. · In v.20, he described God’s power as greater than what? · Also, in v.20, where is God’s power at work? Read 2 Timothy 1:7 and note addiƟonal insights. When facing a challenging situaƟon in your life, have you ever said the words “well, I’m just powerless to do anything about it?” · How does v.20 change your perspecƟve? · From v.21, who is to receive the glory for all of the above? · What porƟon of this second prayer is the most inspiring to you? Day 5:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. Why do you think Paul inserted the parenthesis in this chapter related to his own mission, purpose, and suffering? What sort of example did those verses convey to the Ephesians and how is it useful today? 2. Briefly discuss Paul’s mission. What are some things that hinder ChrisƟans from considering their own mission and pursuing that mission from God? 3. We can be very quick to want to relieve someone’s suffering, but God is someƟmes bringing glory to himself through suffering. Read 2 Corinthians 11:24-29 and summarize the suffering that Paul endured in order to do what God called him to do. According to v.13, how did Paul view that level of suffering? 4. Name one pracƟcal way to grow in the love of Christ? 5. Why do you think we someƟmes avoid hard prayer requests, as if we’re protecƟng God? This passage says that God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think! In what specific area of your life do you want to change your expectaƟon?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Four

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier We’re now halfway through our Bible study and also halfway through the book of Ephesians. Chapter four changes the focus significantly in that, up unƟl now, we’ve been encouraged about what to believe. From here on, we’ll be encouraged about how to behave, based on what we believe. Our green and purple pencils will rest a bit while our pink pencil (which indicates instrucƟons for the believer’s behavior) will get a workout for the second half of our study. a READ and WRITE Ephesians 4:1-6 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, circle humility, gentleness, paƟence, love, peace. Walking worthy— From infancy to old age, our journey through this life on earth could be described as one long walk. · Write out the phrase from v.1 that instructs us as to what our walk should look like? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Websters 1828 DicƟonary of the American Language defines worthy as equal in value, having qualiƟes suited to. As Paul builds upon this opening sentence (above), we can expect to find instrucƟons about our behavior being equal in value, or suited to our calling. List five character qualiƟes found in v.2 (that you circled in pink) that describe traits equal in value to our calling. Write a brief definiƟon of each of them (using a dicƟonary if desired). · _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Day 1: Week Five — Ephesians 4:1-32

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ · __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ · __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ · __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ The Blessing of Unity— Peace is an essenƟal component in promoƟng unity. Unity means agreement, harmony. God’s order provides a pleasant harmony to our walk as believers. · From v.4, what things are unified, or in agreement? · From v.5, what things are unified, or in agreement? · From v.3, with what aƫtude should we try to maintain unity in the Body of Christ? Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 4:7-14 in your journal. q With a green pencil, underline grace was given, to equip, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers. Remember the context of this passage is sƟll the unity of the Spirit — harmony and order in God’s Kingdom. It is God who helps us maintain the unity of the Spirit or unity of the faith as it says in v.13. We have underlined in green what God has done and who He has given to help. · From v.7, what has been given to each of us? Today’s verses could be boiled down to grace was given … to equip … so that we may no longer be children! Timing of God’s Grace— The working of God’s grace came through His Holy Spirit, and God did not give His Spirit as a giŌ to us unƟl a certain point in Ɵme. · Where did Jesus ascend according to v.8 and v.10? · Before He ascended, he also descended to where? (v.9) Read Ephesians 2:1 and GalaƟans 3:23. · How do these verses help us understand the capƟvity that people experienced before Christ ascended? Equipping the Saints— Praise God that He planned to give Spiritual giŌs to His children. The giŌs listed here are not a complete list of all possible giŌs. Read these addiƟonal Scriptures and note other types of giŌs that God has given: Romans 12:6-8 Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 1 Corinthians 12:28 · The giŌs listed in this passage do serve a specific purpose. From v.12, what are the two purposes of these parƟcular giŌs? · · · From v.13, what is the goal to be achieved through the working of these giŌs? From Children to Adults— Everything organic grows — seedlings to trees, kiƩens to cats, babies to grown adults. This is the goal of our spiritual lives as well. How dreadful would it be if God’s children didn’t mature in their faith. · What are the characterisƟcs of spiritual children listed in v.14? · How can the ministry of the giŌs listed in v.11 bring about the spiritual maturity that would bring stability?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 4:15-19 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline speaking the truth in love, and all other words or phrases that you think indicate what our behavior should be. All Grown Up— Nature dictates that children will physically grow to adulthood. The same is not necessarily true for ChrisƟans, not every- one who becomes born again will mature spiritually. That’s why Paul said, “grace was given … to equip … so that we may no longer be children” (from yesterday’s lesson). One characterisƟc of maturity was given in v.2 “bearing with one another in love” · What is another characterisƟcs in v.15? · From v.15, into whom are we to grow? Growing in Christ is the goal! As we grow, we mature, and maturity offers us many benefits both individually and collecƟvely. · What is the third characterisƟc of maturity related to love that is found in v.16? Read 1 Corinthians 13. What are some of the insights into love from that chapter that help us see it’s associaƟon with spiritual maturity? Day 3:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Don’t act like the Lost— What Paul actually said was, ‘we must no longer walk as the GenƟles do’. By saying this, he was contrasƟng his previous statement ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling’ (v.1). In this context, the label GenƟles means the unsaved or those who are sƟll walking in darkness. The main point of difference seems to be centered around their thinking! · In fact, from v.17, how is the mind of the unsaved described? · What are some other words or phrases from v.18-19 that further describe the spiritual, emoƟonal, or physical state of people who are without Christ? · There seems to be a cause given at the end of v.18. What is it? · What do you think is a remedy for a hard heart? Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 4:20-28 in your journal. q With a green pencil, underline in him, in Jesus q With a pink pencil, underline words or phrases that you think indicate what our behavior should be. Having Learned Christ— These verses begin by reminding us of the contrast between those who have darkened thinking because they are outside of Christ, and those who have been taught in Him. The whole difference lies in posiƟon — in Him or outside of Him. In your journal, look through the first 13 verses of chapter one. Count how many Ɵmes you underlined in Christ, or in him ______. That was the believing porƟon of Paul’s leƩer — this is the behaving porƟon. Do you see the impact that being taught in him has on a person’s life? When we’re taught the truth that is in Jesus we have a new purpose for our life and that is to reflect HIM. Off with the Old and On with the New— Those who have learned Christ don’t have the luxury of just siƫng back, leƫng the world go by and hoping that maturity will show up as surely as grey hair! We are to be acƟvely involved in growing up in Christ by puƫng off the old and puƫng on the new! · How is our old self described in v.22? · According to v.23, where is it that we become renewed? Read these passages and note addiƟonal insights: Romans 8:5-7 Romans 12:2 1 Peter 1:13 Day 4:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier DecluƩering our Lives— Many ChrisƟans carry around needless emoƟonal baggage. Our minds become cluƩered with all types of useless and damaging habits. · What is listed first in v.25 that is to be eliminated from a believer’s behavior? This means more than stop lying! Falsehood covers a broad spectrum of deceit that usually boils down to wanƟng other people to view us differently than we actually are. · Give another example of what could be falsehood, beyond simply telling a lie. True unity means that we’re okay with being known by who we really are, for we are members one of another. The next target of decluƩering our mind relates to anger. We are to deal with our emoƟons of anger within the same day. · How can refusing to put off anger give the devil an opportunity? The final decluƩering of our mind (in today’s verses) is to put off stealing. · Explain what a believer is to put on in place of this: · What addiƟonal benefit is found in working? (v.28)

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 4:29-32 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline words or phrases that you think indicate what our behavior should be. As we wrap us this week’s study we conƟnue the theme of puƫng off the old and puƫng on the new. Yesterday’s decluƩering session targeted falsehood, anger, and theŌ. Today we note our words, our emoƟons, and our kindness level. Gracious Words— CorrupƟng talk is a preƩy broad category. Don’t you think that many of our trivial conversaƟons could really be classified as corrupƟng? How do we know if they are or aren’t? Well, there are three guidelines given in v.29 to determine whether our words are corrupt or helpful. What are they: · · · Do you also wonder if the statement do not grieve the Holy Spirit, was strategically placed? · What do you think corrupt talk and grieving the Spirit could have in common? Abounding in Kindness— Our purpose is to reflect God’s character, His kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. The things listed in v.31 are at odds with that purpose. Has the Lord shown you something in that verse to be cut out from your life? Are you acƟvely chasing it out of your life? Those things don’t give up easily, they love to creep back in! But God is the One who gives us the victory! Day 4:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. Read Colossians 1:10 and 1 Thessalonians 2:12. Walking worthy is a phrase the Apostle used frequently. It’s an acƟon verb that indicates a choice on our part. Share one aspect of walking wor- thy that the Lord ministered to you as you studied this passage. 2. Read the list of giŌs that God gave to the church menƟoned in v.11. How do these giŌs help the church become spiritually mature? Share how one of these giŌs has helped you become spiritually mature. 3. There are harmful and destrucƟve acƟons and aƫtudes listed among the things that we are to put off. Discuss some pracƟcal ways to effecƟvely wage war against those old habits? 4. Puƫng off is only half of our focus, we must also put on. V.23 says we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. First, what is the spirit of our mind; secondly, discuss how we can renew it. 5. Walking worthy is something that all true believers are trying to do — with varying results! Read v.2 again and discuss how aƩen- Ɵon to this one verse may be the key to unity among believers.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Five

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier You’ve probably watched a toddler slip her chubby liƩle feet into her momma’s heels and traipse proudly across the living room while trying her hardest to appear very grown-up! Kids naturally imitate the adults in their life. SomeƟmes their imitaƟon reveals that they’ve been paying very close aƩenƟon, like when my two-year-old wrin- kled up her face, shook the high heels off her feet and declared, ‘shoes are killin me!’ I wonder who she got that from! But the point is, we are created to imitate. The key phrase of this whole chapter is found in the first five words that you’ll write in your journal today. a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:1-2 in your journal. q With a purple pencil, underline beloved children q With a pink pencil, underline walk in love A True ImitaƟon— Our purpose is to imitate our Heavenly Father. In the next 17 verses we will discover three aspects of God’s character that we are to copy: · We’re to Walk in love (v.2) · We’re to Walk as children of light (v.3-14) · We’re to Walk in wisdom (v.15-17) The context of today’s verses is love. It’s difficult to imitate some- thing you’ve never seen or experienced — but God has taken care of that because He has modeled love for us. · What is the example of love described in v.2? Knowing the Word is the same as learning to know the heart of God. Once you know God’s heart you find yourself more able to discern the things that grieve Him. Pastor Paul LeBoutillier2 Week Six — Ephesians 5:1-21 Day 1:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Ah, a sacrificial love — giving of one’s self for the sake of another! That might seem like a very difficult thing to do, but let’s walk through some Scriptures that teach us how loving others is actually more possible that we might think. Read these passages and complete the sentences. 1 John 4:16 We learn about God’s nature: “God is _________” 2 Peter 1:4 We find that through God’s great promises, we are able to “become _________________ of the divine nature” John 15:12 We learn that God has commanded us to “ _________ one another.” This is the essence of being imitators of God and walking in love. Now, let’s think of how we can actually imitate God through love. Consider each of these phrases from chapter 4 and jot down an example of imitaƟng God while showing love to another. Ephesians 4:2 — bearing with one another in love Ephesians 4:15 — speaking the truth in love Ephesians 4:16 — building up in love

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:3-5 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline thanksgiving Today we begin the next secƟon in a believer’s walk — to walk as children of light. Those exact words won’t be used unƟl tomorrow’s passage — the negaƟve is presented first before the posiƟve. Keeping our Distance— In our walk with Christ, there are always many choices to be made and many paths that we could potenƟally follow. These verses specifically name those things that we need to distance ourselves from. · List the three sins that you find warned against in v.3. · · · · What does ‘must not even be named among you’ mean? Provide an example. Day 2: Here is a brief definition for each of the sins mentioned above: Sexual immorality— any sexual relationship or act outside of the bond of marriage. (Some Bibles translate this fornication.) Impurity— corrupting influences allowed in our lives that might not fall within the technical boundaries of sexual immorality. In this con- text, of a sexual nature that may promote sexual immorality or lust. Covetousness— a passionate desire for something belonging to another person. In this context usually considered lust.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · The list from v.3 fits into a certain category — what would you label this category? · Now, List the three sins that you find warned against in v.4. · · · · What would you label this category? · What is the proper use for our speech as offered in v.4? These behaviors are all considered deeds of darkness. They are commonly found among those who are sƟll walking in darkness, but they should not be pracƟced by those who are walking in the light. One challenge for new ChrisƟans is old habits. We want to honor God with our lives, we want to walk in the light, but someƟmes deep ruts have been formed in our minds. When our minds have developed a habit of thinking along the lines of impurity, then our humor can lean toward crudeness. · Considering the advice given in Ephesians 4:23, explain an effecƟve strategy for changing deeply rooted habits.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Day 3: a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:6-10 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline walk as children of light q With a pen bracket the contrasƟng words: deceive & discern, darkness & light Walking in Agreement— Do we inventory our associaƟons as oŌen as we should? With what do we aligned ourselves? Who have we become partners with? (And I’m not talking just marriage partners.) What elements of impurity and darkness are we allowing into our homes and minds? Before we know it, we find ourselves walking in agreement with darkness simply because we don’t take the iniƟaƟve to cast those things out of our lives. You circled the contrasƟng words discern and deceive. The world is constantly trying to deceive us, convince us that darkness isn’t really dark. We’re instructed here to discern what is pleasing to the Lord — to walk as children of light. · From v.6 what does the culture around us use to deceive us? · Can you give an example of this? · The truth is that the consequences of darkness and disobedience brings what? (v.6) That’s not something the culture ever menƟons! · Who will experience God’s wrath? (v.6) That’s not someone you should be partners with!

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Darkness and Light— This is the second Ɵme Paul has reminded us that we’ve been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, so that we can be imitators of our Father in Heaven. Read these passages and complete the sentences. 1 John 1:5 We learn about God’s nature: “God is _________” 1 Thessalonians 5:5 We find that because of God’s work in our lives, “We are ___________________ of the light.” MaƩhew 5:16 We learn that God has commanded us to “let our ___________ shine before ______________” This is the essence of being imitators of God and walking in the light. · Write a dicƟonary definiƟon of the word discern from v.10. · Why is discern such a perfect contrast to the word deceive in v.6? · Read Isaiah 30:21-22. This is an ancient example of discerning what pleases the Lord, followed by acƟon. Give a modern exam- ple of discerning what pleases the Lord followed by taking acƟon.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:11-14 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline expose, exposed q With a pen bracket the contrasƟng words: darkness & light, Double Exposure— Yesterday we considered discerning what pleases the Lord and not walking in agreement with the deeds of darkness. I noƟced that Paul didn’t just leave it there — we are also encouraged to expose those works of darkness by means of the light. This requires acƟon on our part! · Read John 3:20-21. What reacƟon should we anƟcipate when we do expose the unfruiƞul works of darkness? · How can a believer conƟnue to walk in the light and expose the deeds of darkness when we stand up against resistance like this? Rise and Shine— V.14 seems like it could be a modern rendiƟon of Isaiah 60:1 (below). I like the idea of waking in the morning to both the light of the sun and the light of the Lord. All things are new and fresh in the morning with another opportunity to imitate our heaven- ly Father. Read these passages and note any addiƟonal insights. Romans 13:11-13 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 Day 4: Arise, Shine, for your light has come And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:15-21 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline look carefully, filled with the Spirit q With a pen bracket the contrasƟng words: unwise & wise, foolish & understand Here is our third aspect of God’s character that we are encouraged, in this week’s passage, to imitate — walking in wisdom. Now, those exact words aren’t used, but they are in every way implied. Note the contrasƟng words that you bracketed — wise and unwise; foolish and understanding. Clearly we have choices in life. The path of least resistance always veers toward foolishness, which is a lack of wisdom. If you have raised children, you know that foolishness shows up naturally. But the Lord wants us to walk in wisdom which is the same as walk- ing in the truth. We have learned to walk in love, and walk in the light, now we add this addiƟonal characterisƟc of God. · According to v.16, what is one very pracƟcal way to walk wisely? · List a few pracƟcal adjustments to your Ɵme management that you think the Lord would have you put in place to eliminate foolish use of your Ɵme. Day 5: Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier With What are you Filled?— There is another more subtle contrast in v.18 that you can bracket if you want to — wine and Spirit. You might wonder how those are contrasts. Well, the answer lies in Paul’s clever way of bringing to our aƩenƟon something that those walking in darkness oŌen fill up on — wine; compared to something those walking in wisdom fill up on — the Holy Spirit! · In v.18, how is drunkenness described? Check another translaƟon or a dicƟonary to get a beƩer understanding. The following verses delineate the kind of praise that could be expected from someone filled with the spirit. · From v.19, list the three ways that believers are encouraged to speak to one another: · · · · Why do you think that it pleases the Lord when we make melody to Him? (v.19) · Why do you think that it pleases the Lord when we give thanks always and for everything? (v.20) The final verse, “submiƫng to one another out of reverence for Christ” sets up our study for next week when we will consider the importance of submission in the Body of Christ.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. Among the three godly characterisƟcs given in this chapter that we are to imitate — walking in love, light, wisdom — which one do you find the most difficult? Why do you think that is? 2. There are six sins named in v.3-4 that should not be found among believers. Have you come across ways that ChrisƟans have tried to re-define any of these in order to not handle them so harshly? 3. SomeƟmes preparaƟon is key. How would you prepare your teen to handle an off-color joke being told in a group? 4. In just a few sentences, use Ephesians 5:8 as a metaphor for your own experience with the Lord. 5. We are encouraged to walk in wisdom. Biblically, how is wisdom gained? 6. It could be comical to think of spirit-controlled believers greeƟng each other with hymns and spiritual songs. What do you think is a good pracƟcal everyday applicaƟon of v.19?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Six

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:22-24 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline submit (3x). A Heart of Submission— We oŌen use the phrase a soŌ heart toward God, or something similar. The final verse of the previous lesson leŌ us with the idea that being filled with the Holy Spirit should lead us to submiƫng to one another out of reverence for Christ (5:21). The ‘one another’ part leads us to believe there is more to understand about Biblical submission than the phrase ‘wives, submit to your husbands’. We’ll begin with this ‘one another’ idea first and then move on to the specifics of marriage. Read these verses and note other relaƟonships that call for submission, rather than marriage alone. Romans 13:1 1 Corinthians 16:16 Ephesians 5:24 1 Peter 2:18 1 Peter 5:5 Now that we’ve been reminded that God has a plan for order in all things, let’s idenƟfy what the word submission means. It’s actually a military word that means ‘to rank under’ or ‘to arrange under rank’. It’s an organizaƟonal word. · List some every-day, observable relaƟonships that require rank. (i.e., pilot/flight aƩendant) Week Seven — Ephesians 5:22-6:9 Day 1:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Harmony in the Home— Now let’s turn our aƩenƟon specifically to marriage. · In v.22, who is intended to submit to whom? · Also from v.22, with what aƫtude are they to submit? · Also, from v.22, do you find a direcƟve for all women to submit to all men? · What is the limitaƟon given? Even born-again ChrisƟans can come to this passage with differing concepts of what the word submit means. The spectrum goes from obey his every command, no maƩer how stupid or dangerous — to consider his ideas an opƟon to be considered (if convenient). The key to properly understanding verses 22-33 lies in understanding what marriage is intended to represent. · From v.23, what two relaƟonships are being compared: The husband is to _____________________, As Christ is to ________________________ · The order of rank given in v.24 As the church submits to ____________________ Wives should submit to _______________________. That is a simplified opening statement and we will gain much more clarificaƟon in the coming verses.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:25-29 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline the words love, loved, loves (5x) A Heart of Love— Now we turn our aƩenƟon to the role of the husband. Remember, in the previous part of this chapter, we were given the exhortaƟon to be filled with the Spirit! In the Bible to be filled with is almost synonymous with to be controlled by. We someƟmes think that the empowering of the spirit is useful for evangelism — and it is — but as we study how the ChrisƟan home is structured, we quickly realize that both husbands and wives need the power of the Spirit to not only live in harmony, but to demonstrate God’s order. · From v.25, what is the command given to the husband? · Who is the role model for husbands? · From v.25-27, note everything you find that Christ did for the church. Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Isn’t it interesƟng that Paul gave twice as much instrucƟon to the husbands as he did to the wives? He gave the instrucƟon, he showed a role model, and then he explained how they were to walk that out in their own lives. · From v.28-29, how should the husband apply what he learns about Christ’s love for the church to his own relaƟonship with his wife? · What word did you underline three Ɵmes in yesterday’s passage that was a direcƟve to wives? · What word did you underlined five Ɵmes in today’s passage that is direcƟve to the husbands. Read Philippians 2:5-8 and write one sentence that explains how Jesus was an example for both wives and husbands. In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 5:30-33 in your journal. q With a red pencil, circle mystery q With a pink pencil, underline the phrases love his wife, respect her husband. The Profound Mystery— The first word that you circled today was mystery because that is the overall theme of these verses — how the relaƟonships between a husband and wife demonstrate the mystery of Christ and the church! I asked you to circle mystery in red because that’s the color we’ve been using to indicate God’s purposes! Marriage reveals something about God’s ulƟmate relaƟonship with His creaƟon. · From v.32, put this mystery into your own words. · From v.31, what is required in order for a marriage relaƟonship to flourish? At our wedding, the Pastor gave a cleaver (but good) message about the necessity for both husband and wife to leave, cleave, and weave. It may sound corny, but it was an excellent descripƟon of the process of a man and woman becoming one-flesh. · List two areas (from your observaƟons in life) that you believe are necessary for newly-marrieds to leave behind their former family ideals, tradiƟons, or comforts. Day 3:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier In addiƟon to demonstraƟng the spiritual mystery of Christ and the Church, there are pracƟcal and emoƟonal needs that marriage is also intended to fulfill. Read these passages and note what needs are filled. Genesis 1:28 Genesis 2:18 1 Corinthians 7:1-4 Love and Respect— EnƟre books are wriƩen from the premise that women require love and men require respect. Clearly we’re all on different points of that spectrum, I tend to be a woman with a need for respect along with love, and you may be married to a man who has a fairly sizable love tank that needs to be filled. In general however, (and maybe that’s why Paul used the word however at the beginning of v.33), marriages flourish best under the following condiƟons: When the husband _____________ his wife And when the wife _____________ her husband. · List two areas (from your observaƟons in life) where you would counsel a newly-married wife to purposefully show respect to her husband.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:1-4 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline the word obey. A Home of Peace— ChrisƟans are not only intended to be Spirit-filled, or Spirit-controlled in marriage, but also in home relaƟonships (v.1-4) and workplace relaƟonships (v.5-9). All of these spheres of human interacƟon are intended to reflect God’s order, by God’s people. · There are two things children are commanded to do in v.1-2, what are they? · · · There are two reasons given for these commands in v.1-2, what are they? · · Obviously, this wasn’t the first commandment spoken, but rather the first commandment that held a promise. (Note Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16.) It’s been said that obedience requires acƟon, while honor requires aƫtude. In other words, one can technically obey commands with a bad aƫtude that shows zero honor. · What do you think is required in order for God to bestow the promise aƩached to this command? Day 4:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Nurture and Guidance— I tend to imagine leƩers like this being read in the assembly. During these verses the reader is making eye-contact with young people who were allowed into the group. Then, perhaps sensing the, “yeah, Paul, you tell those kids what’s what” aƫtude rise up in the parents, the reader makes eye contact with the fathers and gives them a very important caveat. · From v.4, what negaƟve effect are parents to avoid? · Read Colossians 3:21 and note the potenƟal result of constantly criƟcizing and never affirming. · From v.4 in what posiƟve ways are parents to nurture their children? If asked for one posiƟve way to instruct a child in the Lord — what would you say? a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:5-9 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline the word obey A Heart to Serve— To be clear, the word bondservant was clearly a term indicaƟng of some level of indentured service. But we will apply it to any aspect of serving, whether it be employment, volunteering, a sports team, etc. All of these relaƟonships require ChrisƟans to be spirit-controlled and to walk in a sense of order. Day 5:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · First, what is the command given to a servant in v.5? · What is the preferred heart aƫtude described in v.5? We’ve oŌen menƟoned that the word hypocrite means an actor — one who plays a part. It is a person who is concealing something real in order to portray something unreal. — by way of eye-service — means playing the part when the boss is watching — as people-pleasers — means playing the part that pleases the people who are watching Neither of these stem from a sincere heart. · How do v.6-7 describe the acƟons of a sincere-hearted servant? · From v.8 what can be expected by a sincere-hearted servant? Leading with a Sincere Heart— Serving with a sincere heart requires us to be controlled by the Spirit, but so does leading with a sincere heart! · From v.9, summarize the commands given to those who lead.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. This week’s verses were all prefaced by the idea that ChrisƟans need to be controlled by the Spirit. Discuss what that means and how GalaƟans 5:22-23 can be an indicaƟon of success. 2. To what degree should a wife submit herself (or be subject to) her own husband? Discuss Biblical limitaƟons (using Scripture). 3. Discuss the potenƟal benefit in the home, the church, and society in general if husbands and wives were to walk in obedience to God’s design for marriage. 4. Discuss ways that wives can make the husband’s role in leading a pleasure. Discuss ways that husbands can make it easy to submit to their leadership. 5. Do you think the responsibility for discipline and instrucƟon menƟoned in chapter 6 is specifically directed toward fathers, or is this equally intended for both parents (and care-givers as well)? 6. What was the most personal take-away from the secƟon about servants and masters both having a sincere heart?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Seven

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:10-12 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline be strong, put on, stand against We’re in a War— The Armor of God is a popular secƟon of Scripture, one that resonates parƟcularly well with boys as they can imagine the costumes, swords, baƩles, and victories that might result. But the concepts in this week’s lesson aren’t allegory or illusion. Our baƩles against the devil and his schemes are real. Because we belong to God, we find ourselves in real spiritual baƩles that require real acƟon — it’s just spiritual fighƟng rather than sword fighƟng. We need Strength— The first phrase you underlined in pink was be strong. That’s appealing — strong is the new skinny! If we want to be physically strong, we liŌ weights and consume more protein. If we want to be mentally strong, we challenge our mind. But none of those strategies will do a thing to help us fulfill this command to be strong. We can’t possible be physically, emoƟonally, or intellectually strong enough to stand against our ancient foe — he’s just far too imposing. · From v.1-2 whose strength is our only hope against our enemy? The next command you underlined was put on. Since God is the one who will strengthen us through His might, we need to simply apply what He has already provided for us, through prayer and discipline. This might sound mysterious, but I think we’ll find that it’s more simple than we think. Day 1: Week Eight — Ephesians 6:10-24 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Knowing our Enemy— We oŌen think our enemy is our husband, or child, or boss, or neighbor, or governor. But v.12 corrects our think- ing by reminding us that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. · Bullet point how our baƩle foes are described in v.12. Everything you listed from v.12 is under the command of the devil (v.11). So let’s invesƟgate what we actually learn about Satan from these passages. Look up these references, note labels given to Satan, acƟons on his part, warnings we are given, etc. MaƩhew 4:3 — John 8:44 — 2 Corinthians 4:4 — 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 — 1 Peter 5:8 — 1 John 3:7-10 — RevelaƟon 12:7-12 —

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:13-15 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline take up, withstand, stand firm Puƫng on your Armor— Now we get to invesƟgate every single piece of the armor of God that is available to us. · From v.13 what will God’s armor enable us to do? Many of our baƩles in life begin with temptaƟons. TemptaƟons are thoughts, suggesƟons, and ideas that Satan dangles in front of us while aƩempƟng to convince us that acƟng on the temptaƟon will solve our problems. Our task, when tempted, is to stand firm. James 4:7 says Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. That is the goal of our baƩle and the reason we need the whole armor of God — to resist the devil. So let’s look at each piece which represents an important strategy in our war with the devil. The Belt of Truth— For a Roman soldier, the belt’s importance lay in holding the enƟre uniform in place. · When you looked at John 8:44 yesterday, what did you discover about Satan and his relaƟonship to the truth? What name was he given in that passage? · With that idea in mind, why do you think truth is something that holds all else together in our lives, like a belt on a soldier? Day 2:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier The Breastplate of Righteousness— In a soldiers uniform, the breast- plate would have covered his enƟre front and back from the neck to the waist, giving protecƟon to his vital organs. In your study yesterday, you also discovered from RevelaƟon 12:10 that Satan is the accuser of the brethren — accusing day and night. Skim through your journal and consider the purple words and phrases that you’ve underlined along the way. · Write just a few of them here: · How can knowing and meditaƟng on your true idenƟty protect you from accusaƟon, in a similar way that a breastplate protects a soldier's vital organs? The Shoes of the Gospel— Modern soldiers wear boots, ancient soldiers wore sandals. Each style, in their own Ɵme, served the purpose of being ready to do what was needed. · What do you think the phrase readiness given by the gospel of peace means as it relates to warfare against spiritual powers?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:16-17 in your journal. The Shield of Faith— We may not be able to picture an equivalent of a shield on a modern soldier, but ancient soldiers actually carried around a large (about 2’ by 4’) wooden shield. Their shields usually had a feature on the edge enabling aƩachment to the next solider in order to make a protecƟve wall to advance on the enemy. · According to v.16, what pracƟcal purpose did the shield serve in a physical baƩle. · Explain what this represents in your spiritual life. · How do we pick up faith? Name some pracƟcal suggesƟons. The Helmet of SalvaƟon— The baƩlefield of our minds is Satan’s first target, that’s how he enƟced Eve to think differently about God than what she had been told. It’s how he tempts us to embrace dangerous beliefs. If the mind can be won, everything else will topple from there. Read these Scriptures and comment on the importance of our minds, our thinking and our understanding. Psalm 119:130 Romans 8:5-6 Romans 12:2 Day 3:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier The Sword of the Spirit— This final piece of equipment is different than the other baƩle gear we’ve studied in that it’s an offensive weapon. The other pieces were meant to protect, but this is meant to both transform us and triumph over our enemy. · Read Hebrews 4:12 and explain how the Word of God is similar to a sword and has a transforming effect on our life. · Read Luke 4:1-13 and explain how the Word of God enabled Jesus to triumph over the temptaƟons of the enemy. Read these passages and note how they inspire you to use the Word of God as an effecƟve sword. Psalm 119:11 Romans 10:8-10 1 Peter 1:25 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Day 4: a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:18-20 in your journal. q With a pink pencil, underline praying at all Ɵmes, keep alert, making supplicaƟon. q With a red pencil, circle mystery of the gospel. A Life of Prayer— Our relaƟonship with the Lord isn’t as complicated as we someƟmes think. It’s simply a maƩer of trusƟng and obeying! But in order to trust someone, you have to know someone, and the best way to know someone is communicaƟon. In our relaƟonship with the Lord, communicaƟon equals prayer! · From v.18, how oŌen are believers to pray? Does that sound daunƟng? Does that inspire you to new heights or discourage you in frustraƟon? Certainly, the Apostle meant it to be an encouragement. ...rather than thinking “I have to pray all the Ɵme!” ...we can think “God is listening to me at any moment of the day!” · Why is it important to know that we can speak to the Lord at any moment? Why would it be beneficial to pracƟce that oŌen? · The word supplicaƟon is used sixty Ɵmes in the enƟre Bible and twice in v.18. Look it up in a dicƟonary and describe what it means.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier · What might be the difference Paul had in mind between the two disƟncƟons: prayers and supplicaƟons? · From v.18, with what sorts of aƫtudes are we to pray? Persevering in prayer requires an acƟve faith in God. Faith means believing. We won’t conƟnue to do something that we really don’t believe will help. · Name two ways to encourage your faith — which will in turn help you persevere in prayer. Remember, Paul’s purpose in life was to proclaim the mystery of the gospel — especially to the GenƟles. He asked that his brothers would pray for him that he would speak boldly. · Besides yourself, who are you praying for that they would be faithful in the purpose for which God has called them?

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier a READ and WRITE Ephesians 6:21-24 in your journal. We are an Army— The Ɵtle of this study has been Finding Purpose. We’ve considered God’s purpose in and through the church, God’s purpose for the Apostle Paul and God’s purpose for each of our lives. We might be tempted to live independent, isolated lives, but we actually flourish best in our purpose when we form an enƟre army that is advancing the Kingdom of God and resisƟng the evil one. Paul didn’t work independently or keep his purpose hidden. He linked arms with the churches by giving them updates. · Who delivered this leƩer and gave an update on Paul’s welfare and ministry? (v.21) · AddiƟonally, what other purpose was assigned to him by Paul? (v.22) · How might you encourage another ChrisƟan’s heart this week? I hope this Bible Study has encouraged your heart, and I hope you treasure your journal where you wrote the enƟre book of Ephesians. I hope the Lord has equipped you in some way to be more prepared to fulfill the purpose for which He has created you. With Love and Blessings, Sue Day 5:

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Questions for Thought & Discussion 1. If someone asked you, ‘what is the real war going on in the world’ how would you answer? 2. What do some people mistakenly think they are struggling against (i.e., a poliƟcal agenda)? What have you mistakenly believed your enemy to be? How has your thinking changed? 3. The baƩles we wage are against evil powers, but our enemy doesn’t oŌen appear evil. Satan is more subtle than we think. In what ways does Satan work decepƟvely to enƟce ChrisƟans into sin, weakening their faith, or compromising on God’s Word? 4. We use the phrase full armor of God. Discuss the consequences of picking and choosing which pieces you want to use and ignoring the rest. 5. Why do you think the command to be alert was given right on the heals of the discussion of the armor of God? What do we need to be alert about? 6. Name one area that you have been encouraged to be more persistent in prayer.

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Notes from Teaching — Week Eight

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier RĊċĊėĊēĈĊĘ ESV Bible verses: Scripture quotaƟons are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Cross- way, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permis- sion. All rights reserved. NIV Bible verses: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNA- TIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. 1— Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible ExposiƟon Commentary — New Testament, Vol 2. Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2001 WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 2— LeBouƟllier, Paul D. Pastor, I have a QuesƟon — Amazon Publishing

Finding Purpose — Copyright Sue LeBoutillier Women of the Word Bible Studies The following WOW Bible Studies wriƩen by Sue LeBouƟllier are available through the Calvary Chapel Ontario bookstore, and through our online store at www.ccontario.com. Old Testament: · Genesis — Divine Design, From Eden to Egypt · Exodus — Divine Deliverance, From Egypt to Sinai · Numbers —The Wilderness Way, From Sinai to the Jordan · Joshua —The Path of Promise, From the Jordan into Canaan · Judges — A Time of Turning · Ruth — Rescue and Rest · 1 Samuel — The Coming King · 2 Samuel — The Reigning King · 1&2 Kings— Solomon and the House of the Lord · Jonah —The Call of Compassion New Testament: · The Way of Jesus — The Sermon on the Mount from MaƩhew · Simply Jesus — The “I AMs” of Christ in the Gospel of John · Acts — Walking in the Spirit, The First Days of the Last Days · GalaƟans — Finding Grace in a Demanding World · Ephesians — Finding Purpose in a Confused World · Philippians — Finding Joy in a Disjointed World · Colossians — Finding Stability in a Changing World · Titus — While We Wait · James — Real Faith for Daily Life · 1 & 2 Peter — Hope, Holiness and Humility in a HosƟle World · 1,2,3 John — Light, Love and Logic, Lessons from the Apostle John

Apr 18, 2026

Pastor Paul LeBoutillier