Embracing God's Love: The Path to Peacemaking
Summary
In the sermon, I learned about the importance of understanding God's love, mercy, and forgiveness in order to extend the same to others. This understanding allows us to see conflict as an opportunity to strengthen relationships, preserve valuable resources, and make our lives a testimony to the love and power of Christ. The sermon also introduced the Four G's of peacemaking: Glorify God, Get the log out of your own eye, Gently restore, and Go and be reconciled. These principles are based on God's word and are effective in resolving every type of conflict.
In the second part of the sermon, I learned about the gospel as the solution to our innate weakness as peacemakers. The gospel provides both the model and the motivation for peacemaking. It enables us to resist temptation, obey God's commands, and live a god-honoring life. The sermon concluded with a prayer for God's help in becoming peacemakers, filled with the spirit of Christ to walk in his steps towards the path of peace.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding God's love, mercy, and forgiveness is key to extending the same to others and seeing conflict as an opportunity ([16:57])
- The Four G's of peacemaking (Glorify God, Get the log out of your own eye, Gently restore, Go and be reconciled) provide a comprehensive approach to resolving conflict ([18:28])
- The gospel provides both the model and the motivation for peacemaking, enabling us to resist temptation and live a god-honoring life ([22:03])
- Peacemaking does not come naturally to anyone, but the more we draw on God's power and obey his teachings, the more effective we can be in resolving disagreements ([05:29])
- The root cause of conflict is unmet desires in our hearts. When these desires start to control us, we may condemn others in our hearts and fight harder to get our way ([06:50])
Study Guide
Main Points from the Sermon:
1. Peacemaking is applying the gospel and God's principles for problem-solving to everyday life. It goes against our normal human impulses, but the more we draw on God's power and obey what God teaches, the more effective we can work out disagreements with others. ([04:46])
2. Conflicts arise from god-given diversity, misunderstandings, and selfish attitudes. However, these are not conflict but they create the opportunity for conflicts. The root problem in conflict is the desires that battle in our hearts. ([06:09])
3. The gospel provides both the model and the motivation for peacemaking. Through the gospel, God treats us with extraordinary unearned kindness and his gracious response to us gives us the power to respond to others in an entirely new way. ([22:03])
4. Unmet desires have the potential of working themselves deeper and deeper in our hearts. This is especially true when we come to see a desire as something we need or we deserve and therefore must have in order to be happy or fulfilled. ([09:41])
Bible Chapters for the Group to Read:
1. Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
2. James 4:1-3 - What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
Discussion Guide:
Observation Questions:
1. What are some examples of god-given diversity that can lead to conflicts?
2. How does the gospel provide a model for peacemaking?
3. Can you identify a time when an unmet desire led to conflict?
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does Matthew 5:9 relate to the concept of peacemaking discussed in the sermon?
2. How does James 4:1-3 explain the root cause of conflicts?
3. How can we apply God's principles for problem-solving to everyday life?
Application Questions:
1. How can we draw on God's power to work out disagreements with others?
2. How can we use the gospel as a model for peacemaking in our own lives?
3. Can you think of a current situation where you can apply these principles to resolve a conflict?
Devotional
Day 1: The Gospel as the Foundation for Peacemaking
The Gospel is not just a message of personal salvation, but also a call to peacemaking. It is the foundation upon which we build our relationships and resolve our conflicts.
Ephesians 2:14-18 - "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."
Reflection: Reflect on a recent conflict you've experienced. How could the principles of peace and reconciliation from Ephesians 2:14-18 have been applied to that situation?
Day 2: The Dangers of Unmet Desires
Our desires can often lead us into conflict and quarrels. When we focus on our own wants and needs, we can easily lose sight of the needs of others and the call to love and serve one another.
James 4:1-3 - "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
Reflection: Can you identify a time when your unmet desires led to conflict or quarrels, as described in James 4:1-3? How could you have approached your desires differently to avoid the conflict?
Day 3: The Call to Love One Another
The Bible calls us to love one another, not just in word, but in action. This love is not based on our feelings or preferences, but on the selfless love that God has shown us in Christ.
1 John 4:7-12 - "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
Reflection: Reflect on your relationships. Are there any where you struggle to show love as described in 1 John 4:7-12? How can you actively choose to love in these relationships moving forward?
Day 4: The Anatomy of Conflict
Conflict often arises when we gratify the desires of the flesh instead of walking by the Spirit. The Bible calls us to live by the Spirit and to resist the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16-21 - "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Reflection: Galatians 5:16-21 describes the conflict between the desires of the flesh and the Spirit. Can you identify a recent situation where you gratified the desires of the flesh instead of walking by the Spirit? How can you better align your actions with the Spirit in the future?
Day 5: The Progression of Desire to Conflict
Desire, when left unchecked, can lead to sin and ultimately to death. The Bible calls us to be vigilant and to guard our hearts against the progression of desire to sin.
James 1:14-15 - "But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Reflection: James 1:14-15 describes the progression from desire to sin to death. Can you identify a desire in your life that could potentially lead to sin if not addressed? How can you proactively address this desire to prevent it from leading to sin and conflict?
Quotes
1. "God has provided a way for us to overcome our innate weakness as peacemakers and to learn to respond to conflict constructively. His solution is the gospel, the good news that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Through the gospel, God also enables us to learn how to resist temptation and obey his commands and live a god-honoring life." - 21:21
2. "The key to extending love and mercy and forgiveness to others is understanding the love and mercy and forgiveness God extended to us. Such an understanding allows us to see conflict as an opportunity to reflect God's love to those around us." - 16:57
3. "In this series, we will discover that conflict doesn't have to be painful or destructive. As we learn God's way of resolving conflict, we can approach conflict as an opportunity to make relations closer and stronger, to find solutions that are fair to everyone and best of all please and honor God." - 01:53
4. "We cross the line however when we begin to sinfully judge others, which is characterized by a feeling of superiority, indignation, condemnation, bitterness, and or resentment. When these attitudes are present, our judging has crossed the line and we are playing God." - 13:16
5. "Despite these human challenges, the Bible lays out a shockingly different vision for relationships and how we should address conflict as a Jesus follower. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus's desire and plan is for Christians to live in unity, loving one another and those around us." - 16:11
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