SF327 - HOW TO HAVE A GOOD FIGHT (Ephesians 4 25-32)

@PAGE NUMBER = SF327

@TITLE = HOW TO HAVE A GOOD FIGHT

@LEVEL ONE = EPH 4:25‑32

@LEVEL ONE = INTRODUCTION

@LEVEL TWO = Fights are inevidable

@ILL TITLE = Never Fight

@ILL TEXT = A couple lived together for sixty years without a single argument ‑ they shared the same hearing aid.

@LEVEL TWO = Why Couples Fight

@LEVEL THREE = 1.  Before marriage couples are not completly honest with each other.

@ILL TITLE = A Few Defects

@ILL TEXT = You probably heard about the newlyweds.  On their honeymoon, the groom took his bride by the hand and said, "Now that we're married, dear, I hope you won't mind if I mention a few little defects that I've noticed about you."

@ILL TEXT = "Not at all," the bride replied with a deceptive sweetness. "It was those little defects that kept me from getting a better husband."

@LEVEL THREE = 2.  Before marriage the man iniates the love relationship.  After marriage he looks upon his bride as someone to take care of him.

@LEVEL TWO = Four Rules...

@PAGE NUMBER = Page 2

@LEVEL ONE = 1A.  KEEP IT HONEST

@SCRIPTURE = 4:25

@LEVEL THREE = 1B.  Commit To Complete Honesty

@SCRIPTURE = "put off falsehood" = to lie, lying

@SCRIPTURE = "speak trutfull"

@LEVEL THREE = 2B.  Show Mutual Respect

@SCRIPTURE = "for we are all members of one body."

@LEVEL ONE = 2A.  KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL

@LEVEL THREE = 1B.  Watch Your Temper (v.26a)

@SCRIPTURE = Prov 18:14 (NIV)  A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

@SCRIPTURE = Prov 18:19 (NIV)  An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

@LEVEL THREE = 2B.  Settle Differences Quickly (v.26b)

@ILL TEXT = It is true, we fight.  But we've never gone to bed mad.  Of course, one year we were up for three months.

@LEVEL THREE = Timing is important

@LEVEL THREE = 3B.  Keep The Devil Out Of It (v.27)

@LEVEL THREE = Satan will monopolize on unresolved problems

@LEVEL THREE = Three step process

@LEVEL FOUR = You will become bruised

@LEVEL FOUR = You will become bitter

@LEVEL FOUR = You will become broken

@PAGE NUMBER = Page 3

@LEVEL ONE = 3A.  KEEP IT POSITIVE

@ILL TITLE = My Wife Is Tired Of Me

@ILL TEXT = "What makes you think your wife is getting tired of you?"  "Every day this week she has wrapped my lunch in a road map!"

@LEVEL TWO = 1B.  Watch Your Words (v.29)

@SCRIPTURE = "unwholesome" = rotten, putrid

@ILL TITLE = My Wife Is An Angel

@ILL TEXT = One mand said his wife reminded him of a n angel ‑ "She's always up in the air harping on something."

@LEVEL TWO = 2B.  Watch Your Attitude (vv. 30‑31)

@ILL TITLE = Hot Water

@ILL TEXT = A woman who had an abusive husband went to her pastor one day to seek advice about the situation.  After listening to her for a while, the minister asked, "Have you ever tried heaping coals of fire on his head?"  Thinking for a moment, the discouraged and somewhat embittered wife replied, "No, I haven't done THAT, but I HAVE used HOT WATER!"

@LEVEL THREE = 1C.  A bad attitude grieves God (v.30)

@SCRIPTURE = "grieve" =  to distress;  to be sad:, be (make) sorry.

@PAGE NUMBER = Page 4

@LEVEL THREE = 2C.  Indicators of a bad attitude

@SCRIPTURE = "bitterness" = poison ‑ Poisoned thoughts

@SCRIPTURE = "rage" = ‑fierceness, indignation, wrath. ‑ Desire to get some one else.

@SCRIPTURE = "anger" = punishment:‑‑, vengeance,  ‑ Desire to get even.

@SCRIPTURE = "brawling" = an outcry ‑ To fuss at.

@SCRIPTURE = "slander" =  evil speaking, railing. ‑ Gossip about.

@SCRIPTURE = "malice" badness,depravity, or (act.) malignity, ‑‑evil, malice (‑iousness), naughtiness, ‑ To act on your anger.

@LEVEL THREE = 3C.  Examples of a bad attitude

@LEVEL FOUR = Openly embarass your mate

@LEVEL FOUR = Cutting sarcasm

@LEVEL ONE = 4A.  KEEP IT CHRIST‑LIKE

@SCRIPTURE = 4:32

@LEVEL TWO = 1B.  Be Kind

@SCRIPTURE = better, easy, good (‑ness), gracious, kind.

@LEVEL THREE = Practice grace

@LEVEL TWO = 2B.  Be Compassionate

@SCRIPTURE = sympathetic:‑‑pitiful, tender‑hearted.

@LEVEL THREE = Learn to feel for your partner

@LEVEL TWO = 3B.  Be Forgiving

@SCRIPTURE = pardon or rescue:‑‑deliver, (frankly) forgive, (freely) give, grant.

@LEVEL THREE = Remember how God forgave you. ‑ Practice it.

@PAGE NUMBER = Page 5

@LEVEL ONE = APPLICATION

@LEVEL TWO = To Have A Good Fight You Must

@LEVEL THREE = Keep It Honest

@LEVEL THREE = Keep It Under Control

@LEVEL THREE = Keep It Positive

@LEVEL THREE = Keep It Christ‑Like

@ILL TITLE = Life Is Too Short To Waste Being Mad

@ILL TEXT = It happened in the city of Detroit, Michigan.  After applying for a marriage license, a man failed to reappear at the county clerk's office until 11 years later to claim the important document.  When asked why he and his fiancee had waited so long to get married, he explained, "We had a few disagreements about details."

@ILL TEXT = Think of it!  Letting years pass by just because of an unwillingness to yield on small points of difference!  Foolish, you say?  Yes, but how many believers waste many precious years by refusing to let the Lord Jesus arrange and govern the details of their lives!