Life Group Notes – April 24 2022

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All Nations Church

Life Group Study

Put on the New Self

Week of  April 24^th,  2022

Study by Wayne Arcand

 

This study will look at the subject of anger, how it impacts our relationship with those around us, how it impacts our relationship with the Lord and how the bible tells us to deal with our anger. There is no doubt that we live in angry times. The difficulty for the follower of Jesus is not to let the anger of the world be the major influence in our lives. Anger, fear, intolerance are tools of Satan to distract our mind and heart from the promises of God.

 

Ephesians 4:17-5: 2 (NIV) ¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

²⁰ That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 ²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. ²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5: ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 

1. Who is the apostle Paul writing this passage to?

 

2. What kind of life style do you think Paul is describing in Ephesians 4:17-19?
   1. What is the motivation behind this life style?

 

3. What is the point of transition between living according to the old nature and when we put on the new nature?
   1. What happens at the point of transition? (Ephesians 1:13,14)

 

4. As we read Ephesians 4:22-24, we see contrasting life styles with verse 23 providing the connecting link. Try to answer the questions below and then read Galatians 5:19-26. Do these verses support your answers? Explain.
   1. What do you think is the underlying characteristic of the former way of life?
   2. What is the underlying characteristic of the new life in verse 24?
   3. What does it mean to “be made new in the attitude of our minds”?
5. What we see as a little thing, God may see differently. This passage points out the importance of getting the little things right. There could be consequences for not doing so.

Read this passage from Numbers 20: ⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

 

1. What difference(s) can you find between what the Lord told Moses to do and what he did?
2. What do verses 10 and 11 tell us about Moses’ frame of mind as he was addressing the assembly?
   1. Do you read anything in the first part of the chapter that would support your answer?
3. As you read the Lord’s words to Moses in verse 12, what did Moses do that did not honour the Lord in the sight of the Israelites?
4. What was the consequence of Moses actions?
5. Discuss how the events that are impacting our lives can cause us to take our eyes off the Lord and put the focus on what we are going through.

 

6. We all have triggers that make us happy, frustrated, angry, etc.
   1. Do you get angry easily? Possible answers are:
      1. Yes. Why?
      2. No. Why?

• It depends. On what?

1. What situations make you angry?
2. What happens to our thinking, our speaking, our actions when we become angry?
3. Read Ephesians 4:26:
   1. How can we sin in our anger?
   2. What steps can we take to not sin when we are angry?
4. Consider the discussion we just had about Moses:
   1. What was his sin?
   2. How does this relate to Ephesians 4:26?

 

7. Read Ephesians 4:32-5:2:
   1. Is there a key phrase in these verses that when acted upon will result in us living in a way that encompasses all parts of the passage?
      1. What is the phrase?
      2. How does it encompass all parts of the passage?

 

For Reflection: You are encouraged to pray Psalm 139:23,24 in your quiet time and consider the following three points. First, am I giving God the glory for what he is doing or am I taking the credit? Second, is there someone I need to forgive. Third, am I walking “in the way of love”?  My prayer for you is that God would be glorified in your life.