Ephesians 4:17-19

17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19 They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Questions to consider:

• What do you think the author meant by the "futility" of the Gentiles' minds?
• What is the "life of God" from which these people were alienated?
• In what ways have you experienced a hardening of your heart?
• How are sensitivity and the practice of "every kind of impurity" related?

Possibilities for prayer:

Part of what Ephesians talks about is being made a new creation, casting off old things and embracing the new that has been brought about by Christ, and in the first verse of this passage, we see echoes of that idea, as the author asks the reader to change their way of living, and cease being alienated from the things of God. Today, think about some of the things in your own life that have left you alienated from God. Confess those things and give them over to God so that you will be able to fully participate in the life of God the author mentions.