1. In what relationships do you experience submission- both in submitting to others and others submitting to you? Would you say those relationships are healthy? Why or why not? 
2. Do you think submission is a dirty word in Western culture? Why or why not? 
3. What stood out to you from the message? 
4. Read  Ephesians 5:1-2, 15-21
   • How do verses 1-2 inform our understanding of 15-21? 
   • Why do you think it’s important that we regularly practice “submitting to one another”, that is, “voluntarily yielding to one another in love”? 
   • How have you seen this done well in the church and what impact did it have? 
5. Read Philippians 2:3-11.  
   • Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say?)
     • What do you notice and what are you curious about? 
   • Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean?)
     • What do we learn about submission from Jesus? 
     • What does it mean to have the same mindset as Christ? 
   • Now make some applications (what’s my response?)
     • How are you encouraged, challenged, or convicted by this passage? 
     • What needs to change in your life so that you might have the mindset of Christ? 
6. In Ephesians 5:21, we are told to submit to one another “out of reverence for Christ”, that is, out of respect for who He is and what He has done for us. When Jesus is your life, you can freely give it to others. In other words, when we are utterly dependent on Christ for our identity, worth and value, we can depend on one another in a healthy way. 
   • Would you say you are growing in your dependence on Christ for your identity, worth and value, or do you depend on others for that?
   • Are you giving others power over your worth and identity that only Jesus should have? What are the results of this? 
   • How might you grow toward a greater dependence on Jesus for these things? 
7. What is one relationship this week that you can practice sacrificing your way, yielding to them in love, and seeking their interests above your own? What is one, tangible way you can show that to them? 

Key Scriptures: 

Ephesians 5:1-2, 15-21

Philippians 2:3-11

Prayer: 

Read through Philippians 2:3-11 slowly, out loud, meditating on who Jesus is and what He has done. 

Respond with thanksgiving. Simply thank Jesus for who He is and what He has done.

Request help. Ask for Him to help you to grow in looking like Him and having His same mindset when it comes to submission. Confess ways that you haven’t had this mindset. How do you want Him to change you?  

Next Steps:

• As we observe Juneteenth this week, commemorating the emancipation of the last enslaved community in 1865, consider watching this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmjuDxKTzzg. Another opportunity is to participate in this 10-day reading plan to “reflect on our history, thank God for the blessings in our present, and pray fervently for our future.” https://odb.org/page/juneteenth 
• As we prepare for going out into our neighborhoods on July 4th weekend, follow along with the Acts devotionals on the Gateway youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@gatewaychurchaustin 
• For further information on the “love one anothers” of scripture, check out this infographic: https://overviewbible.com/one-another-infographic/#:~:text=Here’s%20all%20that%20info%20in,in%2094%20New%20Testament%20verses 

Parents:

This week, kids learn about the fall of the first humans and how God still cared for them.

THE BIBLE: The Fall: Genesis 3:1-15; Matthew 9:9-13

THE BIG IDEA: God can create and rebuild things

ASK THIS – Because sometimes you and your kid need a conversation-starter that isn’t, “So . . . how was church?”

• How do you know God planned all along to unbreak, or fix, what the first humans did in today’s story?
• What might you do to help someone feel better when they feel broken – for example, when someone feels sad or sick?

REMEMBER THIS

This month, your kids are memorizing the Bible verse Hebrews 3:4 (NIV), in case you want to work on them together.

• Preschool: “God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4b
• Elem: “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4 (NIV)

NEXT WEEK: kids will learn about what happened between Cain and Abel.