Ben Phebus // Rockford Campus // November 30, 2025
SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Ephesians 5:1-7
REMINDERS
Christmas at Magnify
Check out the Christmas at Magnify page for a list of all the Advent and Christmas events at all three campuses.
You can keep up with all our current news and events through our online bulletin.
See the events page on the website for more updates.
TOGETHER IN LIFE
This Sunday was the first Sunday in Advent. Do you have a favorite Advent tradition or a favorite tradition to kick off the Christmas season?
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
Read Ephesians 5:1-7 aloud together.
QUESTIONS
- What stands out to you in this passage?
- On Sunday, the worship team lit the Advent candle for “love.” How many times is love (or a variation of the word love) used in the first two verses of this passage?
- Why do you think Paul undergirds what he’s about to tell us in verses 3-6 with a reminder of God’s love for us and our call to walk in love?
- Re-read verses 5-6. What do these verses suggest about how God feels about sexual immorality?
- Why do you think He feels that way? Read Romans 6:12-14 if you would like.
- Verse 4 calls us to replace filthy or foolish talk and crude joking with thanksgiving. Read Philippians 4:6-7 and Colossians 2:6, 3:15-17. How is genuine love and thankfulness the opposite of impurity and foolish joking?
TOGETHER IN PRAYER & ACTION
- Spend time in prayer with God, asking Him to reveal anything in your heart or life that is impure in His sight.
- Ask Him to help you understand the longings behind that and your standing in Christ as a beloved child of God and a new creation. Then bring those longings to Christ, asking Him to help you develop accountability, limits, and a plan for when you are tempted.
