This past weekend, we talked about how the bedroom can be a battleground or a playground. We know that small groups generally are filled with both married and single people. While we want to make sure that we are considerate of all audiences, we want to make sure that we have a conversation about sexuality in our groups. The reason is that the Bible has a lot to say about sex. For this reason, this small group study is intentionally not PG. If your group has any problem or is not ready for the content, please elect to do the alternate study at the bottom of the page. The Going Deeper section can be found after the alternate study.
Why do you think “sex” is such a hot topic at church? What is the danger of Christians never talking about it? What about talking about it too much?
Bible Study Questions
1. Why do you think our culture obsesses over sexuality?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2. Read Genesis 2:22-25. Why do you think the Bible uses the words “they felt no shame”? What does this look like today in our sexual relationships?
Genesis 2:22-25 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’ ” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Genesis 2:22-25
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
“At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
3. Read Ephesians 5:1-3. What do you think this means for people to have no hint of sexual immorality or impurity? Why would this area be singled out in the text?
Ephesians 5:1-3
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
4. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4. What does it take to be holy and honorable in regards to our sexuality? (You might also need to look at 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.)
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor
Application
1. What does it look like to honor God sexually as a married couple? What about if you’re single?
2. Why is God’s plan for sexuality better than what the world has to offer? How does his plan help us to avoid ghosts of the past, guilt, or shame?
3. What changes do you need to make this week to honor God as a single person or married couple?
Is there currently something hindering unity in any of your relationships? If so, what is it? Share this with your group. Along with sharing this, tell your group one step you can take toward unity in those relationships this week after everyone has shared. Pray for each other and your relationships. Pray that God would give each one of you a spirit of unity.
As we continue our study on marriage and relationships, it is important to understand one of the most important qualities Scripture talks about in marriage relationships and any relationship in the body of Christ: unity. Scripture teaches that idea of unity, or “oneness,” is critical for any relationship to thrive. So today, in our study together, we will talk about what it looks like to live in unity in our relationships, especially our marriage relationships.
What comes to mind when you think of the word “unity?” Why?
1. Why is unity so important in relationships, especially marriage relationships? What is at risk if we do not choose unity?
2. Read Ephesians 5:21-23. How is submission connected to unity?
Ephesians 5:21-23 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.
Ephesians 5:21-23
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.
3. What is the reason behind a lifestyle of submission?
4. Read Ephesians 5:24-33. Based on these verses, what does it look like to live in unity in our relationships, both in marriages and relationships with others in the Body of Christ?
Ephesians 5:24-33
As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
1. Think about your relationships. When it comes to unity, what is going well? What needs improvement?
2. What do you think it looks like to live out these principles listed in Ephesians 5 daily?
3. In what ways has God gifted you to aid in unity in your relationships?
To help us better understand Biblical unity, the Apostle Paul uses several metaphors in his letters to help us better understand what it looks like. Today, we will look at the metaphor of the human body because Paul uses that same metaphor to describe the church and the marriage relationship. Each of these metaphors points us to the importance of living in unity. So let’s look at these passages of Scripture and discover what they have to teach us about oneness.
Followers of Christ:
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
What is significant about the phrase “body of Christ?” that Paul uses to describe Christ-followers in these verses?
What is at stake if followers of Christ are not unified? Why does unity matter?
What happens when followers of Christ are unified?
Husbands and Wives
Look back at Ephesians 5:21-30 again, a passage you are becoming very familiar with throughout this sermon series.
How does Paul’s comparison of husbands and wives to a body in these verses add to your understanding of unity?
When you discover problems in your own body, what is your first response -- Do you work to heal the injured part of your body, or do you chop it off? Why?
Paul tells us to view our marriages in the same way....as one body. So, with these metaphors linked, do you approach problems in your marriage relationship the same way you approach problems in your own body? Or are you more apt to just cut something or someone off if they give you some discomfort? Why?
Questions to Consider:
How does understanding the way different body parts work together help you understand what unity looks like in the relationships in your life, specifically marriage relationships and relationships with other followers of Christ?
As you think about your own life, how do you see your role in promoting unity within the Body of Christ?
Paul made it clear in Scripture that just like every part of our bodies is important, every part of the Body of Christ is important. As you think about your own life, do you view your role as significant? Why or why not?
We all have an invaluable role to play when it comes to living in unity. Take some time to talk as a small group about how each of you contributes to the unity spoken about in the passages of Scripture we have studied today. Encourage each other. One by one, name specific ways each member has added to your small group and its unity. After everyone has shared, pray. Thank God for the way He is using each small group member to play a vital role in your group.
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
Psalm 103:2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
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