live-as-children-of-light

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Live As Children of Light”   (284 KB)

Preview:-

Paul presents a stark contrast-a contrast between darkness and light. These are presented as a stark contrast, it is not an equivocal choice, it is an either or decision. Darkness represents all that is bad, light all that is good.

Ephesians 4:17 – “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” What does this mean? Who were the Gentiles? To use a great simplification, The Jews were the people who believed in and followed after God. The Gentiles were those who rejected God and didn’t live according to his ways.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love” – Ephesians 5:1
We are to live a life of love to be like our father in heaven. God is love, and we are to imitate Him, we must live a life of love.  We are dearly loved children, since in chapter 1 and verse 5, we are told that God has adopted us as His children. We are motivated in this passage as God’s dear children. The synopsis is, summarized as, “Live a life of love.”

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Here is our contrast again. You were darkness. Now you are the light. Our adoption is complete. Our salvation is in place. Now comes our responsibility-“Live as Children of light!” Back to our original point. If you claim to be a Christian-live like a Christian. So in three verses we have the key thoughts of the passage.

Don’t live in darkness, live a life of love, live as children of the life. It comes down to this.
We have a choice, we can be changed into a new person or we can remain the same old person. We can continue with a futile life of we can change. This change only takes place through the power of God and Christ. In this case it is a clear choice between right and wrong-good and evil.

Christians are to be light in a dark world.

The light and darkness are closely mixed together. The light is present. If it were not, we would be immersed in total darkness. But the light and darkness are close by, almost intertwined. In the world, and in our lives. We must push out the darkness and choose the light.

These are five aspects of the contrast between Christian and non-Christian behavior shown in the passage. Behavior, Language, Anger, Time Management, and What’s Inside. Each of these aspects gives ways in which the Christian is to behave.

There is a difference between enjoying life and being given over to sensuality. The difference is one of degree.

Simply put, we are to put off falsehood and speak truthfully. That is the broad principle. Christians must always tell the truth-never falsehood. But remember earlier in this passage, it says that we are to speak the truth in love.

There is to be no obscenity, no foolish talk, no course joking. Ever know anyone who was constantly complaining, always moaning about what is wrong. That is not a Christian attitude. The Christian has a lot to be thankful for, and that attitude will come out in their talk. You can tell a Christian by the way he or she talks!

The next area for consideration is anger. The Bible never says that one is never to be angry. It simply says-in your anger-do not sin! We all get angry. The difference is that we must process and deal with this anger.

Don’t give the devil a foothold. That’s all the devil needs, a foothold. This is actually a military term, a foothold. Anger gives the Devil a foothold to pin us down.

We must get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. Instead, we are to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

The Christian is different than the non-Christian in their use of time. The Christian knows that each day could be his or her last. Therefore, he or she enjoys each day and makes the most of it. Could it be today that you know that this could be your last time to hear the gospel? Are you wise enough to get right with God while this opportunity exists?  The Christian must make the most of every opportunity.

Many people think that alcohol is the path to happiness. The contrast here is clear-Don’t get drunk on wine instead by filled with the Spirit. Ever hear a drunk person singing and making a fool of themselves? They think they are really something, very charming. The Christians is not to be filled with spirits-alcoholic spirits, but the spirit of God.

That spirit causes us to sing-to bubble over with enthusiasm, which literally means, God in us. We sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord.

summary:-

First, we must make sure that we make the choice to live a new life in Christ. Once we have made that choice, then…..

We must make every area of your life subject to Christ: Our behavior, language, anger, time, and motivation.

Let this lesson motivate you to be more Christ-like.

If you need to recommit your life to Christ-please do so.

building-up-the-body

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Building Up The Body Of Christ”   (347 KB)

Preview:-

We are all part of the Body of Christ.

“The body” is a metaphoric concept. The body is a key concept in Paul’s writings, and it it used to tell us a lot about the church.

Ephesians 4:11 -  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,  to prepare God’s people for works of service,so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

In the church, everyone must work at building up the body of Christ.

There are at least three ways that we can take building up the body of Christ. The body of Christ is individual Christians. We must work to build up each follower of Christ. As a minister, I think of the church in congregational terms. We build up the body of Christ when we help the local church to function properly. The third way we build up the body of Christ is when we help the church to function on a world wide basis. Helping spread the gospel internationally, or ministering to the needs of others in distant countries-people that we may have never met- is building up the body of Christ.

In some ways, people on the church staff have a great idea of the contributions that people make to building up the body. When I hear how someone has taken care of someone else; when I see people come to the church building and use their talents, when young people shovel the snow so older people can come in safely, when teachers prepare their lessons so that others can learn, when people build each other up in many, many ways, the church is functioning as God intended it.

Christ is the conquering hero or emperor who ascends to his throne. In Psalms, the king, receives gifts. In Ephesians, the conquerer gives gifts to men. Specifically, there are five groups of people who are given as gifts, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

The result is that the body of Christ might be built up until we all reach unity n the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In other words, the goal of using our talents is to contribute to the overall growth of the church. We want to use our talents to work toward unity, until we are mature and act like Christ in his fullness.

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Qu:- Are you contributing in any way to the growth and development of the church?

Ans:- Many people seem to think that the church exists to serve them. Yes, the church should meet our needs, but the words of Jesus still ring true, “the son of man came not to be served, but to serve.” I am not asking, “Are the leaders of the church doing their jobs?” I am asking, “What are you doing to build up the body of Christ?”

If you haven’t been helping-Its time to start! I might refine the question a little….

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Qu:- What mundane things can you do to help individuals or the church?

Ans:- It doesn’t have to be something great and glorious. It can be as simple as taking a cup of soup to someone who needs it, making a phone call, picking up trash around the church ground, listening to the needs of a friend.

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Qu:- What special talents do you have that you can offer to build up the body of Christ?

Ans:- God doesn’t give us talents just for our own glory. If you have been blessed with a great intellect-don’t use it to show off-use it to help others. If have some great talent-thank God for it and put it to use in helping others. In doing so, you are helping to build up the body of Christ.

marks-of-a-christian

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Marks of a True Christian”   (487 KB)

Preview:-

Sitting in McDonald’s for a few hours won’t make you a hamburger and …..Sitting in church won’t make you a Christian. You must take some action. You don’t just want to talk the talk, you want to walk the walk. The old time version said, sitting in a hen house won’t make you a chicken. The times have changed, but the concept is the same.

This calling challenges us to live a life worthy of that calling. It is expressed in a very similar fashion in three different verses. Philippians 1:27, tells us to walk or live “worthy of the gospel of Christ”. Colossians 1:10 admonishes us, “to lead a life worthy of the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 reiterates, “to lead a life worthy of the God who calls”.

We have established that we are to walk worthy, now we turn to some specifics of that calling. First, humility.   ” Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

The term for humility literally means, lowliness of mind. It is set in contrast to “highmindedness.” It is a person who is willing to put himself down in a positive sort of way. One who is willing to take a lower position to show love for others. In the mind of the people of that day, that was weakness. It may represent much the say for people today. However, that is not the way that God views it. Matthew 5:5 says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. And Matthew 23:12 states, For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The person who becomes like a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The true Christian doesn’t have to go around bragging on what they have done, they are able to show true humility.

The Christian is to exhibit gentleness. Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit. In church, the true Christian should not be terribly hard to get along with. “Cantankerous” is not a good adjective for the Christian. In Christianity, even when we are right, we are not supposed to go around arguing about everything. Instead, we are to go about with gentle instruction.

Eph 4:3 – Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-”. There are no lone ranger Christians. We must live as a part of the community of the faithful.

Eph 4:5 – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Remember that talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk. Just being baptized is not all there is to it, you must not just start the journey, you must finish it.