Prayer

Loving heavenly Father, Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, Your love and Your
immeasurable forgiveness towards me. May I reflect You in my thoughts, words and deeds and I
pray that I will be kind, compassionate and forgiving towards others just as You forgave me, in
Christ, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.

Text: and be kind (helpful) to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding),

forgiving one another (readily and freely), as God in Christ (also) forgave you. Eph 4:32 RSV

Theme: "The Lifestyle That Pleases God"

Introduction: Play a Classical Song that says 'Try a Little Kindness'.

Background: In verse 31, Paul talks about things that are opposite to forgiveness: “All bitterness
and rage and anger and shouting and slander should be put away from you, along with all
malice”. These are ways we often react when people hurt us, aren’t they? If we let the hurt take
over, it can create resentment or an internal rage that comes out in destructive behaviour and
destructive speech. These things can consume us and destroy our relationships.

Definition of Terms: According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English,

Kind means being considerate, thoughtful, sympathetic or helpful nature.
Tenderhearted means easily moved to love, pity, or sorrow, compassionate.
Forgiving means willing or ready to excuse an error or offense.
In this context, God teaches in His Word very clearly, that if we consider our sins to be forgiven
by Him, then we are equally responsible to forgive others for their sins against us.

and be kind to one another,

Attitude is everything. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate
hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Being “kind” means being benevolent or good-willed to someone who needs your help. Kindness
is the attitude of a person in a position of strength who does something good for somebody in a
position of relative weakness. In Paul’s day, the word “kind” was used to describe the action of
rulers and patrons and benefactors towards their subjects and clients. It was also often used of
God himself: God is able to be kind because he is so strong. So kindness is an attitude you have
when you have something to give, and you deliberately choose to give it.

tenderhearted,
Jesus Christ had a compassionate heart towards all. He was easily moved with compassion.

forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you

Forgiveness is part of what it means to become a new person in Christ. In Christ, God has made
us a new person. He has given us a new life to live. Living that life involves being renewed. It
means becoming more and more what God has made us to be (see Ephesians 4:22–24).
Forgiveness isn’t a display of weakness. It’s a display of kindness and strength.

Here, Paul describes two attitudes that belong to this new life: kindness and compassion. God
himself provides us with a model of forgiveness. Paul says we should forgive “as God also
forgave you in Christ”. This forgiveness is at the heart of our relationship with God. God has
erased our sins, removed his wrath from us, and raised us from death to life. He has been
incredibly kind and compassionate to us. And we now face a secure and glorious future through
Christ. Because God has forgiven us, we have a reason—and the strength—to forgive others.

Illustration
A story is told of two sisters. One is kind and compassionate to the other, always looking for a
way to help out in times of need. The other is filled with bitterness, jealousy and envy because
she felt her parents were always on the side of the sister being more intelligent and seen as the
good one. This brought so much pain into their lives to the extent they lost their father in the
process. It took them many years after to realize that it would lead them nowhere only but
anguish until they settled their differences.

Application/Challenge
The world today, most especially the family, church and workplace is filled with malice, envy,
unnecessary jealousy, pain and hatred that the good in others are not seen. To the extent of using
charms, poison, firearms, pointing hands at each other's eyes etc.
● Have we forgiven others?
● Is there anyone we have not forgiven, or whom we are not willing to forgive?
● What are people seeing in US, kindness or hatred; deceit or forgiveness?

Conclusion
The world is full of narrowminded people in a narrowminded street. It seems to be the case that
those who are not able to forgive have never come to an understanding how much they have
been forgiven – for the more understanding we have of the grace that we have received the
deeper our gratitude and the greater our capacity to forgive other people. This can only be
received when we give our lives to Christ and build a relationship with Him. Shine your light for
everyone to see, your life is a book before the eyes of everyone around you.