Why the Church? — Ephesians 3:1–13 | Season 2, Episode 6

Don't Check Out — Ephesians 5:15–21 | Season 2, Episode 12

Have you ever reached the end of the day and wondered where it all went? The meetings, the calls, the scrolling — and suddenly it's over and you can't quite account for any of it? Paul has a name for that. And a remedy. In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through Ephesians 5:15–21, where Paul calls the church to something that cuts against the grain of modern life: intentionality. Don't live like fools. Don't act thoughtlessly. Make the most of every opportunity. Because the days are evil and autopilot is not an option for followers of Christ. From the challenge not to be drunk with wine — and what that actually means versus what religion has often made it mean — to the call to be filled with the Holy Spirit and make music in your hearts, this passage is a practical blueprint for what it looks like to stay awake to the life God has called you to live. Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt connects intentional living to the Holy Spirit's work in us, unpacks the fence-building instinct of religious rules around alcohol, and makes the case that music — whatever form it takes in your heart — is one of God's primary ways of keeping us connected to him and to each other. The passage closes with verse 21, setting up everything that follows about relationships: submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who keeps ending the day on autopilot — and wants to wake up to the purpose God has placed in them. In this episode: * Why intentionality is at the heart of living as children of light * What Paul actually means by "don't be drunk with wine" — and what he doesn't * The fence-building problem: how religious rules can miss the point * Being filled with the Holy Spirit as the alternative to checking out * Why music is a universal language — and what making music in your heart really looks like * A closing prayer for those who struggle with alcohol and for all of us to live with purpose 📖 Passage: Ephesians 5:15–21 (New Living Translation) 🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

How Two Become One — Ephesians 5:21–33 | Season 2, Episode 13

How do two people with completely different lives, needs, dreams, and desires actually make a marriage last? It's one of the most practical questions in human experience — and Paul addresses it in just twelve verses. In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through one of the most discussed and most misunderstood passages in all of scripture: Ephesians 5:21–33. Paul's vision for marriage isn't a power struggle or a hierarchy of value. It's a mutual submission rooted in something much bigger — the relationship between Christ and his church. Matt unpacks the Greek language behind submission, explains why the tiger illustration changes everything about how we read verse 22, and makes the case that what Paul asks of husbands may actually be the heavier call of the two. Loving your wife the way Christ loved the church isn't one moment of heroism. It's a lifetime of waking up and choosing to lay your life down every single day. Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt draws on 32 years of marriage, his son's recent wedding, and the love and respect wheel to bring this passage to life — and lands on a vision of marriage as the world's most visible reflection of how Christ loves his church. This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who wants to understand what God's design for marriage actually looks like — and why it matters far beyond the relationship itself. In this episode: * Why verse 21 — submit to one another — is the foundation for everything that follows * The Greek word for submission and why it has nothing to do with weakness * The tiger illustration — what it means to voluntarily surrender strength * Why the husband's call to sacrificial love may be the greater challenge * What it means to wash your wife with the word and present her as holy * The love and respect wheel — and how the two fuel each other * A closing prayer for marriages that reflect the grace and love of Christ 📖 Passage: Ephesians 5:21–33 (New Living Translation) 🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Children of Light — Ephesians 5:1–14 | Season 2, Episode 11

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to drift? To feel like you're following God, but slowly, subtly, the world around you starts shaping you more than you realize? That's exactly what Paul is addressing as he opens Ephesians chapter 5 — and he doesn't soften it. In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through Ephesians 5:1–14 where Paul calls the church to something simple but demanding: imitate God. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. And then he draws a clear, bright line between the things of darkness and the things of light. With the temple of Artemis looming over the city of Ephesus and a culture where sexual immorality was literally wrapped in the language of worship, Paul's words weren't abstract theology. They were a call to look unmistakably different. And two thousand years later, in a world that blurs the same lines with different language, the call is the same. Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why Paul hits sexual immorality and greed so directly, what it means to be a bearer of Christ's light in a dark world, and why the Holy Spirit's conviction isn't meant to crush us — it's meant to wake us up. The application lands in one honest word: confess. This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who has been slowly drifting and needs the light to shine on it. In this episode: * What "imitate God" actually looks like in everyday life * Why Paul addresses sexual immorality and greed so directly to the Ephesian church * The historical context of the temple of Artemis and what it meant for the early church * Why greed is called idolatry — and what it's really about * What it means to expose darkness rather than excuse it * A closing prayer of confession and restoration for children of light 📖 Passage: Ephesians 5:1–14 (New Living Translation) 🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Take Off the Old, Put On the New — Ephesians 4:17–32 | Season 2, Episode 10

Have you ever felt like two different people? The person you want to be — and the person who shows up when life gets hard, when you react without thinking, when the old you just walks back in like it never left? Paul has language for that. And in this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through Ephesians 4:17–32 where Paul gets specific about what sanctification actually looks like in everyday life. The imagery is simple but powerful: throw off the old nature like a cloak you no longer need, and put on the new. Not once — continually. This is the middle ground between justification and glorification, and it plays out in the most ordinary moments of any given day. The lies you tell. The anger you hold onto. The words you let fly. The bitterness you've been carrying for months. Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through Paul's practical list — stop lying, don't let anger give the devil a foothold, quit stealing, let your words encourage rather than tear down, don't grieve the Holy Spirit — and ties it all back to the same thread running through the whole letter: it's not about your effort. It's about Christ in you, giving you the power to choose differently every single day. This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who is tired of being surprised by their old self — and ready to understand what putting on the new nature actually looks like. In this episode: * What Paul means by throwing off the old nature and putting on the new * Justification, sanctification, and glorification explained in plain language * Why anger gives the devil a foothold — and what to do about it * What it means to grieve the Holy Spirit through everyday choices * The summary verse: kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiving as Christ forgave * A closing prayer for the Holy Spirit's conviction and power to live worthy of the calling 📖 Passage: Ephesians 4:17–32 (New Living Translation) 🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Gifted on Purpose, for a Purpose — A Conversation About Spiritual Gifts | Bonus Episode

After 25 years of pastoral ministry, one question keeps coming up: Do I actually have a spiritual gift? And does it really matter for my everyday life? In this special bonus episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson sits down with Paul Ryden from Global Book Network for a conversation about his book Gifted: On Purpose for a Purpose — a practical, accessible guide to understanding and activating your spiritual gifts where you live, learn, work, and play. If the last few episodes walking through Ephesians 4 left you wondering what your specific gifts might be and how to actually use them, this conversation is for you. Matt breaks down the difference between talents and gifts, explains why so many believers take their gifts for granted without realizing that's exactly what a gift looks like, and unpacks some of the most misunderstood gifts — including the mercy gift, the teaching gift, and the ministerial gifts Paul lists in Ephesians 4. The bottom line? God didn't give you the Holy Spirit so you could use your gifts for an hour on Sunday. He gifted you on purpose, for a purpose — and that purpose touches every area of your life. In this conversation: * The difference between a talent and a spiritual gift * Why most believers already have a ministerial gift without knowing it * What the mercy gift actually looks like — and why it's so misunderstood * Why spiritual gifts are tools to be wielded, not collectibles to be admired * How couples can use spiritual gifts to strengthen their marriages * How to take the free spiritual gifts assessment at mattdawson.tv/yourspiritalgifts 📖 Referenced passages: Ephesians 4:7–16, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 🔍 Keywords: spiritual gifts, Bible study podcast, Gifted on purpose for a purpose, Christian discipleship podcast, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Scripture-first Bible study