Sermon Series
Week 5
Ephesians 4:17-5:2 | Living the New Life
Preaching Commentary
Discussion Questions
How can we practically “put off our old self” and live the new life in Christ? What challenges might we face in this transition?
What does it look like to imitate Christ in our daily lives? How does this affect our witness to others?
How does forgiveness…
Sermon Resources
Key Quotes
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The new life is not a matter of mere moral reformation, but of spiritual transformation.
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The Christian's new life is a life of love, forgiveness, and kindness, modeled after the example of Christ.
The Epistle to the Ephesians (Pickering and Inglis, 1961).
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The more like Jesus we are, and the more like the image of God we are, the more people see of God’s glory.
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Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
The Irony of American History
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The forgiveness of Christ is the foundation of the Christian mission.
Key Illustration
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Forgiving Her Husband's Killers
Elizabeth Elliot's story of forgiveness started in 1956 on the banks of the Curaray River in Ecuador when her husband and four other young missionaries were attacked and killed by members of the Huaorani (once called the "Auca").
After her initial shock and grief, Elizabeth and her daughter returned to contact and, in 1959, to ultimately live with the people who killed her husband.
Her choice to forgive demonstrated profound faith and grace. Her actions embodied the message of reconciliation: knowing that forgiveness did not negate the pain or justice but rather allowed for healing and the chance for the gospel to transform even the hardest hearts.
Her willingness to forgive and love her husband's killers opened the door for many in the tribe to eventually accept Christ, showing the power of forgiveness to break cycles of violence and bring about lasting change.
This powerful act of forgiveness is a concrete example of what living a life transformed by the Good News of Jesus can look like.
To learn more:
Elizabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor (Tyndale Momentum, 1981).See also the story of one of the children of the men killed in 1956, Steve Saint, The End of the Spear (Tyndale Momentum, 2007).
Liturgical Resources
Opening Prayer or Prayer of Adoration
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If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Hallelujah!
Blessing and honor to God, the Beautiful and Holy One!
You are helping us walk together
Helping us walk together in fellowship and lightHallelujah! You are
Drawing us together in the journey of faith
Cleansing us
Redeeming us
Fulfilling your goodness and hope through us
Making us light as you are lightHallelujah!
Blessing and honor to God
Blessing and honor to the Beautiful and Holy One!Opening Prayer inspired by 1 John 1:7 © 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Call to Worship
- Adapted from James 1:19, Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 18:21, Psalm 19:14View
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
May these words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer.
Adapted for liturgical use.
Bible Translation: NIV New International Version ZondervanScripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Prayer of Confession
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Gracious God, you have given us great mercy through Jesus, yet we have withheld mercy from others. Our hearts have been hardened by the world and our sin. Would you soften our hearts? And give us a deeper understanding and gratitude of your mercy that we might extend mercy.
Assurance of Pardon
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Our prayers of confession come close to God’s heart because God is merciful and gracious and eager to say: “I forgive you.” Let us receive God’s forgiveness with a resounding “Amen!”
Benediction
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The Lord is gracious and righteous. Our God is merciful. He has delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
In Christ we are forgiven!
Adapted for liturgical use.
Bible Translation: WEB World English Bible eBible.orgScripture quotations marked (WEB) are from the World English Bible. The World English Bible is in the public domain.