Sunday Lesson Notes from July 16th
- Read Ephesians 4: 1-6
- What is the “calling” that you have received?
- To be a disciple of Jesus
- To imitate the way Jesus lived
- To make Jesus the Lord (ruler) of your life
- This is essential to the core of the Christian Faith
- What is the “calling” that you have received?
- Read 1 John and discuss some passages that describe this core of the Christian Faith, living like Jesus
- 1 John 2: 3-6 is a great example, if you claim to be a Christian, you must live like Jesus did.
- Describe some ways you can tell if someone is living like Jesus, refer back to Ephesians 4: 1-6
- The person would be humble and gentle
- The person would be patient and bearing with others
- The person would be forgiving and turning to God for answers
- Describe some ways you might act if you are not trying to live like Jesus, again refer back to Ephesians 4: 1-6
- The person would retaliate and become defensive in relationships
- The person would be quick to anger, judgmental and impatient
- The person would be unforgiving and turning to their own methods to solve problems
- They would damage the unity in relationships for the sake of winning or being right
- What is so great about making every effort to “keep unity”? What is “unity”?
- When Paul told the readers to keep unity, this implied we are already unified with each other. Working to keep unity is the challenge, but it is encouraging that God has already given us the gift of unity in our relationships.
- Unity is working together with others to reach the same goal. It does not mean we have to have the same exact ideas, thoughts or feelings. It means adjusting our ideas, thoughts and feelings as necessary to reach a common goal. Our relationship with God and our relationship with each other is essential to maintaining unity.
- God has given us one Body, Spirit, Hope, Lord, Faith and Baptism. God has made us all-everyone.
- God has made us all and as disciples we belong to Jesus. Because we belong to Jesus, we can imitate his humility and keep peace in our relationships.