Put Away Falsehood, Speak the Truth in Love

In one paragraph

Pastor Nathan opened on Mother's Day by working through Ephesians 4:25 through 5:2, a passage he said is easy to understand and hard to live. He walked the church through a repeating pattern Paul uses: a negative command, a positive command, and the rationale underneath. The sermon closed with a call to imitate God the way a dearly loved child imitates a parent. Before reaching verse 25, Pastor...

Read together

1. Ephesians 4:25-5:2 the main passage being preached through in this sermon
2. Psalm 4:4 quoted as the source of 'be angry and do not sin'
3. Romans 9 cited for 'vengeance is mine and I will repay'
4. Romans 5:8 cited to show that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners
5. James 3 quoted at length about the tongue being a fire and unruly evil full of deadly poison
6. Luke 6:45 cited as 'out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks'
7. Jeremiah 17 cited for 'our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful above all else'
8. Colossians 3 referenced as parallel to the put off and put on language in Ephesians
9. 1 Corinthians 4:14-16 quoted where Paul urges the Corinthians to be imitators of him as their father in the gospel
10. 1 Corinthians 11:1 cited where Paul says be imitators of me as I am of Christ
11. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 cited where Paul says the Thessalonians became imitators of him and of the Lord
12. 1 Thessalonians 2:14 cited where Paul says the Thessalonians became imitators of the churches in Judea
13. Hebrews 6:9-12 quoted about being imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit the promises
14. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 cited as the first memory verse Paschal learned: encourage one another and build each other up

Talk about it

1. Pastor talked about how we do what we know until we know better, and then we do better. Where in your own life have you seen that play out, and what changed when you finally knew better?
2. The pattern in Ephesians is a negative command, a positive command, and a rationale behind both. Which of the four pairs the preacher walked through hits closest to home for you right now, and why?
3. The preacher said some of us are really good at being loving but feel like that means we don't have to tell the truth, while more of us would gladly tell the truth but not with much love. Which side do you tend to fall on, and what does that cost the people around you?
4. James says no one among mankind has ever been able to tame the tongue, but the preacher said the gospel actually does work where human behavior modification ultimately does not. What does that look like in practice when you are trying to get a handle on what comes out of your mouth?
5. The preacher said your life may be the closest thing to the Bible that some people around you ever see. What would someone conclude about God just from watching you this past week?