“Alcohol and the Christian Life” Ephesians 5:18 * Alcohol as a blessing. * Alcohol has a place in scripture as health care. * Alcohol has a place in scripture as palliative care. * Alcohol is dangerous. * It is bad for your life to be consumed by alcohol. * Those in leadership or with heavy responsibility are especially warned against alcohol. * We should consider how our drinking could affect others. * Everything we do should be for God’s glory. * Being filled with the Holy Spirit is better than being drunk. * As Christians we have been fundamentally changed, and our relationship to Christ changes the way we should think about and use alcohol. REFLECTION/PRAYER -What do you think is the right way for Christians to think about alcohol? -What relationship is God calling you to have to alcohol? -Do your past struggles or the past struggles of family members make avoiding alcohol the wisest approach for your life? -Are your responsibilities and leadership roles such that it would be wise to avoid alcohol and all its dangers entirely? -Do your current alcohol habits negatively affect the people around you? -Are your current alcohol habits God-glorifying? -Are there things in your life that you need to deal with, rather than covering them up with alcohol use? -If you know you have sinful alcohol habits, who can you confess your sin to? -Do you need to take a big step? Have the elders pray for you? Join our Celebrate Recovery Group? Enter into treatment?