Sermon Notes “Live in Love”

Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Sermon:

• “Love is that condition in the healing spirit so profound that it allows us to forgive," Dr. Maya Angelou.
• This quote is a powerful quote. I believe that it perfectly encapsulates who Jesus is and what Jesus taught. Everything that Jesus taught about revolved around the action of love. A love that is so powerful, that it brought change for all.
• As we see in the passage for today, we are taught to be compassionate and forgiving to others. This is because we are members of one body: humanity. We are all growing and evolving into the people that we are supposed to be.   
• The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t be angry, but it tells us to handle our anger properly, so it doesn’t control us. This is opposite to how some interpret scripture, saying that you could never feel these emotions or feeling. Many have been taught that they should always be joyful and happy. We need to feel these emotions and face them in a healthy way.
• If we investigate verse 29, our words should not be used to tear people down and destroy our relationships. Our words should be used to build up others and strengthen our relationships.
• We should deal with our anger in a way that builds relationships rather than destroy them.
• Lying disrupts unity by creating conflicts and destroying trust. It tears down relationships and leads to open warfare in the church. This is important in our personal lives as well as in our church life and our culture.
• If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. So, we must find a way to deal with this emotion in a way that is constructive.
• I believe that one of the best ways to bring healing is communication. We need to be able to communicate our thoughts and emotions with the people that hurt us and vise versa. When we have ears to hear everyone’s point of view, we can understand each other. This allows forgiveness and healing.
• I believe that if we do not practice communicating our thoughts and feelings, even the negative emotions that make us uncomfortable, we tend bottle up our emotions and when we hit a boiling point and we vent out our emotions thoughtlessly. This often destroys relationships and keeps us from loving and forgiving our family and friends.
• Because Jesus forgave us, our forgiving attitude towards others should stand out in striking contrast to the unforgiving spirit shown by most of the world.
• Forgiving means freely given. It is further explained, “To grant as a favor. To give gratuitously, generously, graciously and in kindness. It means to bestow as a gift of grace or out of grace. To give out of grace. To give help to those who don't deserve it. To show grace by providing undeserved help to someone unworthy.”
• We should imitate God. We do this by modeling our lives after Jesus. Our love for others should be of the same kind-a love that goes beyond affections to self-sacrificing services.

Conclusion: Let us be people who live a life that represents God’s love.