Scripture lesson: Genesis 39:1-23
Sermon key verse: Ephesians 4:25 So put away all falsehood and
“tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each
other.
- •Stand by your word
- --If you say something, be sure it is true
- --If you promise something, be sure you deliver
- --If you speak of a person, be sure it is in love
- •Prove yourself worthy of trust
- --Protect people’s things
- --Protect people’s secrets
- --Protect people’s hearts
- •Be who you are
- --Don’t wish you were somebody else
- --Don’t try to be somebody else
- --Don’t pretend to be somebody else
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it
must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.” - Hamlet, Act
1, Scene 3
The Fine Art of Living With People, #2:
Humility
Scripture lesson: Exodus 18:13-26
Sermon key verse: 1 Peter 5:5 All of you, serve each
other in humility, for “God sets himself against the proud, but he
shows favor to the humble.”
· Have an
attitude of service
Moses wore himself out serving the people
Jesus said, I, the Son of Man, came here not to be
served but to serve others. – Mark 10:45
· Have
an attitude of humility
Humility doesn’t mean disrespecting yourself (
Leviticus 19:18)
Humility doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you
(Numbers 12:3;
16:28-31)
Humility means honoring others
Submit to one another
out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians
5:21
Moses humbly accepted his father-in-law’s advice
Jesus humbled himself to death on a cross (Philippians
2:3-11)
God sets himself against the
proud
Pride focuses on self
Pride is acting as if you earned or invented the gifts
God gave you
Pride is acting as if you deserve more than others
do
Pride is expecting others to honor and submit to
you
God punished the proud king of Babylon (Isaiah
14:12-15)
God punished proud Herod (Acts 12:20-23)
An attitude of pride can cover a deep insecurity
· God shows favor
to the humble
Build up others; leave your own reputation to
God
Meet the needs of others; leave your own needs to
God
Focus on loving others; God will see that you are
loved
The Fine Art of Living With People #3:
Forgiveness
Scripture lesson: Matthew 18:21-35
Sermon key verse: Proverbs 17:9 Love prospers when a
fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close
friends.
· What
forgiveness is not
- Forgiveness is not a feeling
- Forgiveness is not pretending nothing
happened
- Forgiveness is not pretending you weren’t
hurt
- Forgiveness doesn’t require trusting the other
person again
· What
forgiveness is
- Forgiveness is deciding not to replay a hurtful
memory
- Forgiveness is deciding not to hold a
grudge
- Forgiveness is deciding not to seek
revenge
- Forgiveness is “getting over it”
· When
you forgive, you are the one who benefits
- Forgiveness breaks the ability of a memory to
control your emotions
- Forgiveness removes emotional poison - “Holding a
grudge and expecting it to hurt the other person is like drinking
poison and expecting the other person to die.”
- Forgiveness sets you free
- When we set ourselves to forgive others, God sets
himself to forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:35)
· Forgiveness
is your decision
- It doesn’t depend on the number of
offenses
- It doesn’t depend on the size of the
offense
- It doesn’t have to wait for an apology
- It doesn’t depend on your feelings
· The
ultimate forgiveness is from God
The Fine Art of Living with People #4: Pay
Attention!
Scripture lesson: John 20:1-18
Sermon key verse: John 13:34 So now I am giving you a
new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you
should love each other.
Paying attention is one of the most important things you
can do for a person
- Paying attention says they are important
- Paying attention says you respect them
- Paying attention says you care about them
Paying attention is a learned skill
- Focus your thoughts on them
- Look in their eyes
- Listen to their meaning
- Draw them out
- Let them finish
- Don’t interrupt
- Respond in a way that shows you understand and you
care
Paying attention cannot be multi-tasked
Paying attention can keep you from looking really
dumb
Pay attention to people the way you want God to pay
attention to you
