Sermon on Ephesians 4:17-5:2, for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, "Put on the New Self!"
Sermon Outline: 1. A contrast between the old way of life (futility, darkened, ignorance, hardness of heart) and the new life that Christ has given. Put off the old self, put on the new self! Two-fold nature as a Christian—internal battle, old patterns and ways—new patterns and ways. 2. Calls us to be renewed in the Spirit of our mind, put on the new self. Surrender ways of thinking that run contrary to God’s Word. Challenge worldly thinking, and renew your thinking in the Spirit. 3. God’s design for life will run against the grain of so much of what surrounds us and fills our thinking, but it’s more than worth the “trade-in” to swap out our way of thinking for the renewing way of thinking in the Spirit. God’s Word is more precious than gold, and He won’t lead us astray. No arbitrary, meaningless, or useless commands—but for our best. Contrast turning your mind ON and using it well, with...