Week 6: Advance The Kingdom

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

- Ephesians 6:11-12

DAY 1

Read Ephesians 6:1-9

  • Paul gives specific instructions to various groups of people.  Summarize how he tells each group to behave.

    • Children

    • Parents 

    • Slaves

    • Masters

  • Which group do you feel has the hardest task of serving wholeheartedly?

  • What would it look like for you to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord” in your current life circumstances?

DAY 2

Read Ephesians 6:10-17

  • According to this scripture, why do we need to put on the full armor of God?

  • List what each piece of armor stands for: 

    • Belt

    • Breastplate

    • Shoes

    • Shield

    • Sword

  • Which piece of armor do you find most reassuring in your life right now?

DAY 3

Read Ephesians 6:10-17

  • What is the job of the shield?

  • When marching into battle, Roman soldiers used a military strategy known as the phalanx to present a solid barrier of overlapping shields to the enemy.  How is the image of overlapping shields a good symbol of the way Christian community supports and protects an individual believer?

  • When have you experienced the protection or power of Christian community in your own life?  

Day 4

Read Ephesians 6:18-20

  • How does Paul ask the Ephesian church to pray?

  • How does prayer allow the Ephesian believers to participate in the battle Paul is fighting?

  • The organization of the Roman army kept the strongest, most experienced soldiers in reserve, using them only in the most difficult battles.  Soldiers in their first battle were kept in a protected position at the rear of the army.  And there was a system in place for the soldiers fighting in hand-to-hand combat on the front lines to be constantly relieved by fresher troops moving up from behind to replace them.  How could these strategies be applied to the church today?  

Day 5

Read Ephesians 6:21-24

  • Why is Paul sending Tychicus?

  • In their book, Bringing Heaven to Earth, Storment & Ross write, 

    “A saint is simply someone with passion.  Scripture teaches us that God can do extraordinary things with a passionate heart…Heroes can come from anywhere.  Their names may never be known, and their stories may never be told.  But they march from safety into risk.  They run into injustice, not away from it.”

    How do we see Paul marching forward in these verses?

  • Roman soldiers were well-aware of the expectation that they stand and fight their enemies.  In fact, despite the opposition they faced on the battlefield, retreat was a more dangerous option.  First, Roman armor was designed to protect only the front of a soldier’s body, leaving the back of a retreating soldier open to injury. Shields were virtually useless in retreat, and their footwear made it uncomfortable to even step backward.  In addition, the word ‘decimate’ found its origins in the Roman army tactic of executing every tenth man of a group who retreated during battle.  Thus, Roman soldiers learned very quickly the expectation that they stand firm on the battlefield, never turning their back on a fight.  In what way(s) are you marching forward for God’s kingdom?  

DAY 6

Reread Ephesians Chapter 6

  • Lingering questions? New insights?

  • Consider the following excerpt from Epic by John Eldredge

    “Christianity, in its true form, tells us that there is an Author and that he is good, the essence of all that is good and beautiful and true, for he is the source of all these things.  It tells us that he has set our hearts’ longing within us, for he has made us to live in an Epic.  It warns that the truth is always in danger of being twisted and corrupted and stolen from us because there is a Villain in the Story who hates our hearts and wants to destroy us.  It calls us up into a Story that is truer and deeper than any other, and assures us that there we will find the meaning of our lives. 

    What if all the great stories that have ever moved you, brought you joy or tears—what if they are telling you something about the true Story into which you were born, the Epic into which you have been cast?

    We won’t begin to understand our lives, or what this so-called gospel is that Christianity speaks of, until we understand the Story in which we have found ourselves.  For when you were born, you were born into an Epic that has already been under way for quite some time.  It is a Story of beauty and intimacy and adventure, a Story of danger and loss and heroism and betrayal.

    This is the story God is telling…

    This is our most desperate hour.  You are needed.  We are now far into this Epic that every great story points to.  We have reached the moment where we, too, must find our courage and rise up to recover our hearts and fight for the hearts of others.  Jesus calls to you to be his intimate ally once more.  There are great things to be done and great sacrifices to be made.  You won’t lose heart if you know what’s really going on here, where this Story is headed and what your Lover has promised to you.  

    This is the gospel.

    This is the Story we are living in.

    May you play your part well.”