SERMON SERIES
Pastor Jeff O'Guin
THE PEACEMAKER
Peace is Possible
What if becoming the person you want to be starts long before the moment you make a decision? Before you click "buy," before you take one more bite, or before you lash out at the people you love. Can the decisions you make today help you live the life you really want tomorrow? If your life is moving in the direction of your decisions, do you like the direction your decisions are taking you? Let's learn together in this new series, Pre-Decide.
Glorify God
Conflict with others is never pleasant. But it’s inevitable, right? How do we get through it? How can we not allow it to destroy our relationships? The Bible gives us principles that we can use to handle our conflicts. When we use them well, we fulfill the first principle, which is to “glorify God.” Seem impossible? Experience a practical series that will give you the tools you need to work through conflict.
Get The Log Out
When we’re in the middle of a conflict, or live with a past, unresolved conflict, we’re usually focused on what they did, on their fault or their part of the conflict. We think less about our part, or we think our part is less than theirs. But the bible tells that if we want to be a peacemaker and practice building bridges in our rifts with others, we need to first admit to our role in the conflict, and the seek to be forgiven. Has anybody every taught you to do an apology well? Probably not…but we will this weekend. Don’t miss this! It’s worth your weight in gold.
Gently Restore
To be a peacemaker, it sometimes means we have to go to a person and point out their sin,… their part in the conflict. The Bible gives us guidelines and best practices to follow! We are to go gently and lovingly, but only after we have looked at our own sin first. This week we discuss this important principle in being a peacemaker. Expect to learn some practical ways to help you accomplish what is often one of the more difficult responsibilities we have as Christians.
How To Forgive
As a Jesus follower, as far as it depends on you, if it is possible, you are to live at peace with everyone. One of the biblical ways we do this is to forgive. We are commanded to forgive others when they wrong us or when we take up an offense against them. But how do we forgive? How do we overcome our emotions and unforgiveness? We’ll look at these questions as we learn “How to Forgive.”
Be Reconciled
The goal of being a peacemaker to to reconcile and restore the relationships that are hurt by our sinful hearts, words and actions. Our conflicts with others can create a rift or even a huge chasm between us, and it takes a biblical path forward to build a bridge over that chasm so we can be reconciled. We will focus on just what reconciliation is, and how we can get there.
Best Practices
Topics that have been covered in depth so far: overlooking offenses, relinquishing rights, making restitution, and advantages and disadvantages of alternative ways to resolve disputes, and when we can go to court.