Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson:
1. What do you know about your family’s roots? Try to sketch out a quick family tree for yourself. What steps are you taking to pass that knowledge on to the branches of your family tree that come after you?
2. What are some benefits you have enjoyed simply by being born into your family? How would your life have been different without those benefits? What are some benefits of family you expect to have in the future?
Read Ephesians 1:3-6.
1. Citizenship is closely associated with family. How did you obtain your citizenship? Read verse 3. Since God is our father, where is our spiritual citizenship?
2. Circle the word us each time it appears in verses 4-6. Each instance gives us a description of one of the blessings of our spiritual citizenship. How does each blessing build on the others?
Read Ephesians 1:7-10.
3. What is an executor of an estate? How does Jesus serve as an executor of God’s estate? List the blessings of inheritance Jesus distributes to us—God’s heirs. (See also 1:17-21.)
4. In settling an estate, some of the inheritance is distributed immediately, some is distributed over a lifetime, and some is distributed at a set time in the future. What part of your inheritance did you receive when you acknowledged Jesus as Savior, what do you continue to receive on an ongoing basis, and what will you receive later?
Read Ephesians 1:11-14.
5. Christians differ on exactly what it means to be elected, chosen, and predestined. Nevertheless, the words imply forethought and a plan. How might the self-perception of a child who learned that his birth was “an accident” differ from one who learned that his parents planned for him for years? Regardless of the exact mechanics of predestination, why is that description of our relationship with God important?
6. What are some ways we give a guarantee that we will follow through on a promise? (For example, consider engagement rings, down payments, contracts, etc.) In the ancient world, someone would write a promise on a scroll and seal the scroll with wax stamped with his unique insignia. What is God’s seal on us?
7. Consider your spiritual genealogy. Who came before you, leading you to faith in Jesus? Take time to thank someone like that this week. To whom would you like to pass on your faith in Jesus? Make a point of praying specifically for them during the course of the coming week.