Series: Becoming Who We Are
Passage: Ephesians 5:8-20
Main Idea: Christ shines to wake us up from our dark deeds and fill our lives with the Spirit.

1. When was a time you remember being afraid of the dark?

Read Ephesians 5:8-20 and then answer the following questions:

2. Verse 10 says to “find out what pleases the Lord.” According to this section of verses, what specifically is pleasing to the Lord?

3. According to this passage, what is NOT the pleasing to the Lord?

4. Where have you seen “unfruitful deeds of darkness” (vs. 11) played out in the world around you? What makes these things barren, unfruitful, empty?

5. In contrast to a life lived in darkness, this passage describes the overflow of a life filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:19-20). What do you think a person filled with the Spirit looks like in the everyday places we live/work/play?

6. Ephesians 5:14 speaks about people waking up from their darkness so that Christ might shine on them. Who in your life do you hope to see wake up to God so that Christ can shine on them? Share with the group 1 or 2 people your group can pray for in an ongoing way.

7. In what areas of your own life might you need to expose the darkness, wake up, and let Christ’s light shine on you?

8. Ephesians 5:15 encourages believers to “be very careful how you live, not as unwise but wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Give a number for how many opportunities to share light you think you actually miss in any given week. What could happen in your life if the Spirit enabled you to make the most of even one opportunity a day?

9. Read through the paragraphs below, and respond to the questions together before celebrating what God has done in prayer.

We know that our lives aren’t perfect, BUT this passage makes it clear that we ARE children of light who can speak “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together” about what God is doing in, around, and through us.

One tangible way to do this is to go around your group and share examples/stories of where you see evidence of Christ’s light shining in your own life or that of others. (ie. An area of your life you’ve seen God redeem and/or develop, an example of how God provided hope in a dark time, or a way that God is guiding you in a present situation). Basically share how is your life better because of Jesus?

OPTIONAL: If your group knows each other well enough then take this as an opportunity to encourage one another by explaining where you have you seen Christ’s light in each other’s lives? Invite people to start with the phrase “I see Christ’s light in you in…”

After this time of sharing, close with a prayer praising God for all he has done in Christ.

Purpose: Introduce topic and get everyone talking.

1. Share a story with your group about a time when you were afraid of the dark?

This is a “lighter” question intended to get the conversation going.

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text.

As a group, read Ephesians 5:8-20.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Verse 10 says to “find out what pleases the Lord.” According to this section of verses, what specifically is pleasing to the Lord?

3. According to this passage, what is NOT the pleasing to the Lord?

These questions are primarily trying to get your group to note all of the instructions that are included in the passage. However, it could be helpful for your group to have a larger conversation about how someone can actually “find out what pleases the Lord” (vs.10) and “understand what the Lord’s will is” (vs. 17) as well as why a follower of Christ would want their lives to align with God’s desires and will.

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

4. Where have you seen “unfruitful deeds of darkness” (vs. 11) played out in the world around you? What makes these things barren, unfruitful, empty?

6. Ephesians 5:14 speaks about people waking up from their darkness so that Christ might shine on them. Who in your life do you hope to see wake up to God so that Christ can shine on them? Share with the group 1 or 2 people your group can pray for in an ongoing way.

In this passage Paul references the poetic words of an early hymn that would have been known to the Ephesian believers: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” In the greek, the words translated “sleep” and “dead” share the same rhyming ending. A few verses later Paul encourages believers filled with the Spirit to share psalms, hymns, and make music from their hearts to the Lord. Paul is most likely drawing on this musical theme to highlight the overflowing of life that comes through being filled by the Spirit. Push your group to discuss what the reality of having the Spirit fill up and overflow every area of your life could look like, and encourage them to go beyond literal “singing.”

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

7. In what areas of your own life might you need to expose the darkness, wake up, and let Christ’s light shine on you?

This may be a fairly heavy question for your group if they are willing to enter into it. Remind the group that there is freedom when you allow God to expose darkness in your heart. If someone shares, be ready to assure them with a scripture that highlights grace, such as
1 John 1: 8-9 — If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

8. Ephesians 5:15 encourages believers to “be very careful how you live, not as unwise but wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Give a number for how many opportunities to share light you think you actually miss in any given week. What could happen in your life if the Spirit enabled you to make the most of even one opportunity a day?

Purpose: Imagine what your world would look like if the truths from the passage were lived out.

9. Read through the paragraphs below, and respond to the questions together before celebrating what God has done in prayer.

One tangible way to do this is to go around your group and share examples/stories of where you see evidence of Christ’s light shining in your own life or that of others. (ie. An area of your life you’ve seen God redeem and/or develop, an example of how God provided hope in a dark time, or a way that God is guiding you in a present situation). Basically share how is your life better because of Jesus?

OPTIONAL: If your group knows each other well enough then take this as an opportunity to encourage one another by explaining where you have you seen Christ’s light in each other’s lives? Invite people to start with the phrase “I see Christ’s light in you in…”

After this time of sharing, close with a prayer praising God for all he has done in Christ.