What if chasing happiness is the wrong goal altogether?

Welcome to Season 3 of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast. Host Matt Dawson opens the Philippians Bible study with one of the most joy-saturated letters in all of Paul's writing — and one of the most surprising. Paul is in prison. His circumstances are about as far from ideal as they can get. And yet the word that defines this entire letter, from the very first verses, is joy.

Not happiness. Not comfort. Not freedom from struggle. Joy.

In this first episode, Matt walks through Philippians 1:1–11 and draws out the foundation Paul lays before anything else: his identity as a bondservant of Christ, his deep love for the people of Philippi — the first Jesus community Paul planted in Eastern Europe — and his prayer that their love would overflow more and more until they truly understand what really matters.

Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what it means to identify yourself as a doulos — a bondservant of Christ — and why that identity, more than any circumstance, is what makes joy possible. He draws on his own 20 years of pastoral ministry in Huntersville to reflect on what it means to think about a community of faith with genuine joy, even when the circumstances haven't always been easy.

This Philippians Bible study is for anyone who has been chasing happiness and keeps coming up short — and needs to hear that joy is found somewhere different altogether.

In this episode:

• A brief introduction to the church in Philippi and Acts 16
• Why Paul opens with gratitude and joy — even from a prison cell
• What the Greek word doulos means and why Paul uses it to describe himself
• The difference between happiness and joy — and where Paul says joy actually lives
• Why community is central to the life of faith Paul describes
• A closing prayer for growing in knowledge, love, and understanding of what really matters

📖 Passage: Philippians 1:1–11 (New Living Translation)

🔍 Keywords: Philippians 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

Have you ever considered that the reason you're exhausted — emotionally, physically, spiritually — might not be because you're failing? It might just be because you're fighting.

In this final episode of Season 2, host Matt Dawson brings the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast's walk through Ephesians to a close with one of the most well-known passages in all of Paul's writing: the armor of God. But this isn't just a children's Sunday school lesson with felt boards. It's Paul's capstone to everything he's written across six chapters — and every piece of the armor points back to something he's already said.

The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. The shoes of peace. The shield of faith. The helmet of salvation. The sword of the Spirit. Paul didn't invent these out of thin air. He drew them from the full counsel of what he'd already written to the Ephesians — and now he's telling them to put it all on, stand firm, and remember who they're actually fighting.

Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why the real enemy is never flesh and blood, what it means to pray in the Spirit with persistence, and why Paul — still in chains — asks the church to pray for his boldness rather than his release. He closes with a deeply personal story from his mom about why corporate worship is the one place every part of you is fully engaged — and why that's also why it leaves you spent.

This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who is tired of fighting and needs to be reminded they're not fighting alone — and they're not fighting in their own strength.

In this episode:

• Why Paul ends with armor — and how it connects to everything in the letter
• The difference between offensive and defensive pieces of the armor of God
• What it means to pray in the Spirit with persistence — and why it matters
• Why Paul asks for boldness, not rescue, while writing from prison
• The story about corporate worship and why it fully engages every part of you
• A closing prayer of gratitude for two seasons of walking through God's Word together

📖 Passage: Ephesians 6:10–24 (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

Who are you when no one's watching? How do you treat people when there's no audience, no accountability, no one keeping score?

That's the question Paul brings the gospel home to in this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast. Host Matt Dawson works through Ephesians 6:1–9, where Paul takes the thread he started in chapter 5 — submit to one another out of reverence for Christ — and pulls it through every relationship structure in daily life.

Children and parents. Servants and masters. Employees and employers. In every one of these relationships, Paul's answer is the same: the way you respond isn't ultimately about the person across from you. It's about Christ. You belong to him. You serve him. And he sees everything, whether anyone else does or not.

Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what it really means to honor your father and mother — especially when the relationship is painful or broken, why obedience in the workplace isn't weakness but service to Christ, and why those in positions of power are held to the same standard as everyone else. There are no favorites with God.

This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who wants to close the gap between who they are in public and who they are when it's just them and one other person.

In this episode:

• What honoring your parents actually means — and what it doesn't
• Why the promise attached to this commandment still applies today
• How Paul's instructions to servants and masters apply to modern work culture
• Why Gen Z's ideas about workplace agency and this passage are worth wrestling with
• The one thread running through chapters 5 and 6 — it's always about Christ
• A closing prayer for every relationship to be rooted in belonging to God

📖 Passage: Ephesians 6:1–9 (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

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 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

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

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

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

Have you ever wondered if your life actually matters? If you're really contributing anything — to the church, to the people around you, to what God is doing in the world?

Paul has an answer. And it's not vague encouragement. It's specific.

In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson digs into one of the most practically rich sections of Ephesians — chapter 4, verses 7 through 16. Christ himself, after descending to our lowly world and ascending to fill the entire universe, gave gifts to his people. Not just to pastors and leaders. To every single believer. And those gifts have a purpose: to equip the church, to help each other grow, and to move the whole body toward maturity in Christ.

Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through all five of the Ephesians 4 ministerial gifts — apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/shepherd, and teacher — breaking down what each one actually looks like in everyday church life. He connects this to his book Gifted: On Purpose for a Purpose and makes the case that most believers already have one of these gifts in their mix without even knowing it.

The goal of it all? A church that is healthy, growing, and full of love. And the warning Paul gives along the way is just as important: immaturity looks like being tossed around by every clever-sounding lie that feels like truth but isn't rooted in the word of God.

This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who has wondered whether God has actually given them something to offer — and needs to hear that he has.

In this episode:

• Why Christ both descended and ascended — and what that has to do with your gifts
• A breakdown of all five Ephesians 4 ministerial gifts and what they look like in real life
• Why maturity in the church means speaking truth in love and growing more like Christ
• What immaturity actually looks like — and why it's dangerous
• How every part of the body working together produces health, growth, and love
• A closing prayer for the church to step into its gifts and grow toward Christlikeness

📖 Passage: Ephesians 4:7–16 (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

Who are you living your life for? And does the way you actually live it match what you say you believe?

With one word — therefore — Paul pivots the entire letter. Everything in chapters 1 through 3 was foundation: chosen, adopted, saved by grace, sealed by the Spirit, empowered by unlimited resources. Now comes the turn. Therefore, live a life worthy of the calling you've received.

In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Ephesians chapter 4 and Paul gets remarkably practical right out of the gate. Not a list of rules. Not a performance checklist. Just four things — and most of us would struggle to live out even one of them on any given day.

Always be humble. Always be gentle. Be patient. Make allowances for each other's faults.

Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what it actually looks like to pre-decide humility before the rude text arrives, to make allowances for people's failures the way a company builds buffer into a cash drawer, and to choose peace with fellow believers not out of weakness but out of the one unifying reality that holds us all together — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.

This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who wants to know what a life worthy of Christ actually looks like in practice — and who knows they can't pull it off without the Holy Spirit.

In this episode:

• Why "therefore" is the hinge point of the entire letter
• What "a life worthy of your calling" actually means — and doesn't mean
• The cash drawer illustration of making allowances for others' faults
• Why unity among believers isn't optional — and what it's rooted in
• The one Lord, one faith, one baptism declaration and why it matters
• A closing prayer for the Holy Spirit's strength to live humbly and gently today

📖 Passage: Ephesians 4:1–6 (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