Key Truth: We need the Holy Spirit’s help to comprehend and live out the love of Christ in the abundant power of God.  

Introduction:

What has most shaped and affected your understanding and practice of love?

“Now (Paul) turns from exposition to intercession. He prays that God’s wonderful plan which he has been elaborating may be even more completely fulfilled in his readers’ experience.”

John R.W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians: God’s New Society

The Knowledge Surpassing and Knee Buckling Love of Christ:

Ephesians 3:14-19

“Being rooted in God’s love provides a stability or security from which to grow. Thus growth in love of God and love of neighbor is both the vehicle and the end of the Christian life.”

Stephen E. Fowl, Ephesians: A Commentary

What all helps to strengthen you in your inner being in Christ?
What all helps to root and ground you in the love of Christ?
How have you grown in your comprehension of the love of Christ over the last year?

The Exceedingly Abundant and Expectation Eclipsing Power of God:

Ephesians 3:20-21

“Paul’s prayers of intercession add another dimension, the huge reservoir of plenitude out of which the intercessions flow. His prayers of intercession flow out of the plenitude of God. The plenitude of God, not the penury of the human condition, undergirds the intercessions. Paul is certainly not unaware of the neediness of the congregation to whom he is writing—he is, after all, a pastor. But his prayers do not arise out of pity or desperation over the human condition. These intercessions are shaped and energized by God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Eugene H. Peterson, Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ

What do you expect from God?
What are some ways in which He has exceeded or reframed your expectations and understanding of Him over the last year?

Application: 

Ephesians 3:14-21 teaches us that:
-the love of Christ surpasses our knowledge and strength requiring the Holy Spirit’s help to comprehend and live it out
-the power of God exceeds all that we ask or think making Him worthy of all glory  

Benediction:

Ephesians 3:20-21