Preacher: Pastor Ray
As we come to the light, God begins to set us free from the inner darkness of sexual immorality, covetousness (or idolatry) and anger leading to the sin of gossip.
Discussion Questions
Jesus is the light of the world and Christians are called children of light. Read Eph 5:8-14.
– Who is Paul addressing in these verses?
– What is their spiritual state?
Read Eph 5:5-6.
– What is the fate of those who are sexually immoral and who are covetous?
– What kind of false teaching or empty words is prevalent today (which totally ignores the warning of these verses)?
Read Eph 4:26.
– Why is anger not always sinful?
– Why does anger have a time limit?
– What happens when anger is not properly dealt with right away?
– What should we do with our anger?
– What should we do the vast majority of the time when we are angry toward someone?
– What should we do if we cannot let go of our anger toward someone who sinned against us, esp. in the context of the local church? (Read Matt 18.)
Read Eph 4:31.
– Define anger.
– What are some causes of anger?
– What are some types of anger?
– For people who characterize these various types of anger, how does each type deal with their anger differently?
– What happens to those who are around angry people?
Anger that is not dealt with leads to gossip.
– Define gossip.
– What are some types of gossipers?
– What characterizes gossipers?
– What happens to a church when gossipers persist?
– How does Eph 4:29 provide some guidelines in our speech?
Read 2 Sam 13-15.
– How is Absalom a case study in anger and gossip?
– How does Absalom manipulate the hearts of the men of Israel using gossip?
Read Eph 5:13-14.
– What darkness in your heart is the Lord revealing?
– What does it mean for dark things to be made visible by the light?
– What does this phrase mean – “for anything that becomes visible IS light”?