Call to Worship

Week 3: Rooted and Grounded in Love

Ephesians 3:14-21

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal)

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants share their experiences of feeling loved (for example, love expressed by our parents, family, or friends).

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes).

Read: Ephesians 3:14-21

• For what reasons does Paul have to “bow” his knee before God? [Recall the main themes of weeks 1 and 2 – hope and grace that lead to reconciliation.]
• Have one person from the group read the passage aloud for the group. Each time the reader encounters the word “you,” have him/her pronounce it as “you all” or “y’all.” (The word “you” is plural in Greek, but that is hard to translate in our English versions.) What difference does that make in what we learn about in this passage? [It is not primarily directed to us as individuals, but as the community.]
• What do we learn about each person of the Trinity from this passage?
• What might Paul be referring to by observing that “the love of Christ surpasses all knowledge”? What does that say about the limitations of our knowledge? About the vast scope of God’s love?
• How might verse 20 shape our prayer life and our expectations of what God desires to do in us and through us? [Be bold. God’s desires for us often exceed our own.]
• What might it mean for you to be “rooted and grounded in love”? How would you live differently if you were more aware of that?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End by praying the following or a similar prayer:

God of transformation, strengthen us as individuals and as a community of followers with the power of the Holy Spirit. Ground us and root us in your love, and may we yield to your grace that you might accomplish abundantly far more in us and through us than we can ask or imagine. Amen.