Week Four

What kind of world are we being called to live in?

We have moved from asking: What kind of God do we serve?", to !What kind of gospel do we proclaim? Then we asked !What kind of people are we becoming?"#Finally, we ask what kind of world do we live in? We ask this question because we need to be aware that there is a Spiritual dimension to life. There is another dimension beyond the physical. The scripture teaches us that there is struggle going on in our lives between the forces of good and evil. Paul in the last chapter of Ephesians invites us to be aware of the struggle and to put on God"s spiritual clothes of protection.

SEEDS TO SOW: ARE WE WEARING THE RIGHT SPIRITUAL CLOTHES FOR THE RIGHT WEATHER? *

Read Ephesians 6: 14

Belt of Truth. Truth is like a belt that holds our integrity together. Once truth has gone there is no true understanding of reality.

Take time to have a discussion or reflect upon the place of truth in our fast moving world of communication, social media and political unrest. How do we discern the truth? Could it be linked into Love? Perhaps read 1 Corinthians 13.

Read Ephesians 6: 15

Shoes of Peace. If peace-shoes enable the difficult pathways to be overcome — why is it that peacemakers don’t always feel blessed? (Matthew 5: 9 ).

Read Ephesians 6: 16

Shield of Faith. Faith allows us to say 'I believe' and the evil cannot stay in the same room as faith. Discuss.

* SEEDS TO SOW: These are open-ended and optional prompts and are designed for people wanting to develop their own resources in response to the themes. Perhaps if you are using this material as a group you could use these prompts to inspire a time of prayer, or drawing, or creative writing? They are a short and sweet, simply a starting off place for you and your imagination. Tailor and develop as suits your group.