06-20-2021

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06-20-2021 Dr. E. Dale Locke  (West, East & Online), Pastor Efrain Silva (Español) Sermon Series: Unity Week 3: Dress Code English PDF file for printing. Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español  1. Practice our theme verse for this sermon series, Ephesians 4:3 – “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” 2. This series is meant to be sort of a “family meeting” for our church to discuss how we can better live into Jesus’ desire for His Church be united so we can be salt and light in the world. Unfortunately, unchurched people don’t always have a positive picture of what Christians are like. If you’ve ever seen the media portray Christians in a way that made you wince, share about that.   3. In week 1 of this series, we spoke about why unity is important. It was one of the last things our Lord Jesus prayed for before He died. In week 2, we began to consider what it would look like, if Jesus’ Church made more of an effort to live in unity. This week, we’ll talk about how to do this.  Share one idea from this series so far that has been helpful for you personally.   4. When Jesus and the Apostle Paul urge us to live in unity, they’re not asking for pretense, nor are they asking for uniformity. They’re asking us to do something that we can only do with God’s power. Tell your group briefly about a situation in your own life – past or present – where you know God wants you to make an effort to live in more unity, but it’s difficult to do that in your own strength. Pray together for God’s help in this.   5. Read Paul’s words in Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV) –      “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.     15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Then read Colossians 3:12-17 in The Message paraphrase written by Eugene Peterson –       “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.     Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” What thoughts or questions come to your mind as you read this passage? 6. Jesus made it clear that His followers must be willing to give up their personal freedom at times.  Why do Christians in America struggle with the idea of giving up our personal freedoms?   7. On the internet, we often observe a vocal minority trying to convince others that they are in the moral center and are in a position to judge everyone else. Why isn’t the internet the best place to influence people toward your opinion?  It’s not just our freedoms that matter, it also matters that we take seriously our responsibilities.  Notice what Paul says about our responsibilities in Colossians 3:  We’re responsible for what we wear – Colossians 3:12:  9. Talk about each of the character qualities that Paul says we should wear and how each one would impact the unity of a group of Christ-followers.  We’re responsible for who we become – Colossians 3:13: 10. What does it mean to “bear with” others?   11. How would an ongoing commitment to forgive each other and bear with one another impact our relationships? We’re responsible for how we’re remembered – Colossians 3:14: 12. Read verse 14 again and consider how your day-to-day habits with regard to love and unity will impact how people remember you after you leave this earth.  What do you want people to remember you for?   13. Our daily decisions and practices gradually solidify us into a certain kind of person. Given how you want to be remembered, is there anything you need to change with regard to your current practice of living out love and unity? Ready for your next step? – If you would like to take a next step in your faith journey, such as trusting your life to Christ or getting baptized, text the word “Next” to 561-264-6079 and follow the steps there, and we’ll contact you to help you do that. News and Announcements:·      New Here?  Let us know who you are by texting “hello” to 561-264-6079. ·      Who Needs God? Summer Discussion SeriesWest: Tuesday, June 29- August 3, 7-8:30pm – English only East: Wednesday, June 30-August 4, 7-8:30pm – Spanish and EnglishA 6-week series where you can discuss faith questions, doubts and reasons why it’s hard to believe. With video teaching from Andy Stanley and table discussion designed to provide a safe place to deepen your own faith foundation or to invite a friend who struggles with faith or doesn't attend church. "Deeper" for 4th-6th graders will be offered simultaneously on the West Campus. Register at https://communityofhope.church/whoneedsgod or just show up!  ­­­­­­·      Kids of Hope Summer Fun – Join us for this year’s summer activities for pre-school and elementary families! We have daytime “Kids of Hope Around Town” outings, as well as evening “Fam Jams” planned for you! This week on Wednesday, June 23, we’ll be at the fountains at Commons Park in Royal Palm Beach from 10-11:30 a.m. Popsicles will be provided!  No registration required. Also, don’t miss our first Fam Jam at 5pm on Thursday, July 1st.  Join us with your family from 5-7:30pm for fun and dinner at either our East or our West Campus.  Register and get more info at https://communityofhope.church/summer ·      Hurricane Preparation – Hurricane season has arrived.  If you would be willing to help people prepare their home for a severe storm, register for our Hurricane Preparation Team at https://communityofhope.church/missions ·      Care Portal Response Team – If you want to be part of supporting vulnerable families in our area, come next Sunday, June 27 at 10:30am  to room 104 to learn how you can do that.   ·      COH Has Job Openings!  - Learn more at https://communityofhope.church/employment ·      Thank you for your financial support, which makes it possible for us to minister to our community!  As summer approaches, consider setting up automated giving to help you be consistent, even when you’re traveling.  To give to Community of Hope, go to https://communityofhope.church/give.

06-20-2021
Dr. E. Dale Locke  (West, East & Online), Pastor Efrain Silva (Español)
Sermon Series: Unity
Week 3: Dress Code
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español

 

1. Practice our theme verse for this sermon series, Ephesians 4:3 – “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

 

2. This series is meant to be sort of a “family meeting” for our church to discuss how we can better live into Jesus’ desire for His Church be united so we can be salt and light in the world. Unfortunately, unchurched people don’t always have a positive picture of what Christians are like. If you’ve ever seen the media portray Christians in a way that made you wince, share about that. 

 

3. In week 1 of this series, we spoke about why unity is important. It was one of the last things our Lord Jesus prayed for before He died. In week 2, we began to consider what it would look like, if Jesus’ Church made more of an effort to live in unity. This week, we’ll talk about how to do this.  Share one idea from this series so far that has been helpful for you personally. 

 

4. When Jesus and the Apostle Paul urge us to live in unity, they’re not asking for pretense, nor are they asking for uniformity. They’re asking us to do something that we can only do with God’s power. Tell your group briefly about a situation in your own life – past or present – where you know God wants you to make an effort to live in more unity, but it’s difficult to do that in your own strength. Pray together for God’s help in this. 

 

5. Read Paul’s words in Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV) –
     “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

     15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

 

Then read Colossians 3:12-17 in The Message paraphrase written by Eugene Peterson –

      “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

     Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

 

What thoughts or questions come to your mind as you read this passage?

 

6. Jesus made it clear that His followers must be willing to give up their personal freedom at times.  Why do Christians in America struggle with the idea of giving up our personal freedoms? 

 

7. On the internet, we often observe a vocal minority trying to convince others that they are in the moral center and are in a position to judge everyone else. Why isn’t the internet the best place to influence people toward your opinion?

 

It’s not just our freedoms that matter, it also matters that we take seriously our responsibilities.  Notice what Paul says about our responsibilities in Colossians 3:

 

We’re responsible for what we wear – Colossians 3:12: 

9. Talk about each of the character qualities that Paul says we should wear and how each one would impact the unity of a group of Christ-followers.

 

We’re responsible for who we become – Colossians 3:13:

10. What does it mean to “bear with” others? 

 

11. How would an ongoing commitment to forgive each other and bear with one another impact our relationships?

 

We’re responsible for how we’re remembered – Colossians 3:14:

12. Read verse 14 again and consider how your day-to-day habits with regard to love and unity will impact how people remember you after you leave this earth.  What do you want people to remember you for? 

 

13. Our daily decisions and practices gradually solidify us into a certain kind of person. Given how you want to be remembered, is there anything you need to change with regard to your current practice of living out love and unity?

 

Ready for your next step? – If you would like to take a next step in your faith journey, such as trusting your life to Christ or getting baptized, text the word “Next” to 561-264-6079 and follow the steps there, and we’ll contact you to help you do that.

 

News and Announcements:

·      New Here?  Let us know who you are by texting “hello” to 561-264-6079.

 

·      Who Needs God? Summer Discussion Series

West: Tuesday, June 29- August 3, 7-8:30pm – English only
East: Wednesday, June 30-August 4, 7-8:30pm – Spanish and English

A 6-week series where you can discuss faith questions, doubts and reasons why it’s hard to believe. With video teaching from Andy Stanley and table discussion designed to provide a safe place to deepen your own faith foundation or to invite a friend who struggles with faith or doesn't attend church. "Deeper" for 4th-6th graders will be offered simultaneously on the West Campus. Register at https://communityofhope.church/whoneedsgod or just show up!  

­­­­­­

·      Kids of Hope Summer Fun – Join us for this year’s summer activities for pre-school and elementary families! We have daytime “Kids of Hope Around Town” outings, as well as evening “Fam Jams” planned for you! This week on Wednesday, June 23, we’ll be at the fountains at Commons Park in Royal Palm Beach from 10-11:30 a.m. Popsicles will be provided!  No registration required.

Also, don’t miss our first Fam Jam at 5pm on Thursday, July 1st.  Join us with your family from 5-7:30pm for fun and dinner at either our East or our West Campus.  Register and get more info at https://communityofhope.church/summer

 

·      Hurricane Preparation – Hurricane season has arrived.  If you would be willing to help people prepare their home for a severe storm, register for our Hurricane Preparation Team at https://communityofhope.church/missions

 

·      Care Portal Response Team – If you want to be part of supporting vulnerable families in our area, come next Sunday, June 27 at 10:30am  to room 104 to learn how you can do that. 

 

·      COH Has Job Openings!  - Learn more at https://communityofhope.church/employment

 

·      Thank you for your financial support, which makes it possible for us to minister to our community!  As summer approaches, consider setting up automated giving to help you be consistent, even when you’re traveling.  To give to Community of Hope, go to https://communityofhope.church/give.

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