The Riches of Gods Grace - Let's Talk

Ephesians 4:25-5:2King James Version25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:27 Neither give place to the devil.28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.5 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Intro: Let me describe for you a typical scene of family conversation. The father and his favorite son are having a private meeting. The other family members are not included. They are talking about some things that they are intending to do and some plans they are making between one another. The mother is eavesdropping on the conversation. What she hears is not satisfactory to her at all. So she gathers in her favorite son, the other one, and tells him what's going on between dad and the other boy. They devise a plot so that they can override what the father and that son are doing. In the course of the affair, the mother’s favorite son deceives the father’s favorite son and steals his inheritance. The one son finds that his inheritance has been stolen. He is filled with anger and outrage about the matter; and he has made the threat that just as soon as the old man dies, he's going to kill his brother. The mother realizes they have a serious situation on their hands and so she sends her boy away. She says, “When this thing calms down a little bit, I'll send for you.” The truth of the matter is that she never saw that boy again. Am I describing a family conversation that may have taken place in Lenoir? The truth of the matter is I am not. Actually I am describing to you a scene which took place 3,000 years ago, and it is recorded for us in the Bible. The family is the family of Isaac and Rebekah and their twin sons, Esau and Jacob. But it is an illustration of a typical family conversation. I want to talk to you about how to improve communications within your family. Communication is the sharing or exchanging of information, along with the emotions which accompany the information shared between individuals or groups of individuals. When you communicate you not only share what you think about a matter, but you also share how you feel about that matter.