๐Ÿ“ฃ Ephesians 4:26-27 | The World is Watching

Review of the week and a challenge to be a witness this weekend..

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Happy Fri-day! ๐ŸŸ 

If you missed any of this weekโ€™s emails, you can read them here (scroll down after clicking).

๐Ÿ“ง In todayโ€™s emailโ€ฆ

  • ๐Ÿ“– A review of what weโ€™ve learned this week

  • ๐Ÿ“ฃ A challenge to respond well

  • ๐Ÿ’ช A prayer to be strong in the face of anger

 ๐Ÿง  Memorize

see if you know what words go in the blanks

Be _____ ___ __ ___ ___; __ not ___ ___ ___ __ ____ __ your _____, and give __ ___________ __ ___ _____.

Ephesians 4:26-27

(Answer key below. You can also use our free web app to memorize in your favorite translation. Set up instructions are linked at the bottom of this email.)

Letโ€™s review the ground we covered this week ๐Ÿค” 

Paulโ€™s letter to the Ephesians focuses on unity within the body of Christ and calls believers to live according to their new identity in Christ.

Ephesians 4:26-27 highlights how emotions, particularly anger, must be handled carefully to preserve unity and avoid sin.

On Monday, we covered how Ephesians was written by Paul during his imprisonment (around 60-62 AD) to address the churchโ€™s need for spiritual maturity and unity.

On Tuesday, we dug into the outline of chapter 4.

Paul shares both theological reflection as well as practical Christian living (putting on the โ€œnew selfโ€).

Ephesians 4:25-32 outlines behaviors that preserve unity โ€” speaking truth, avoiding destructive speech, practicing kindness, and forgiving as Christ forgave.

On Wednesday, we talked about how there are 2 very different types of anger and broke down each phrase in our memory verse:

Be angry and do not sin

The two types of anger:

  1. Fleeting frustration is caused by something that displeases me

  2. Righteous indignation is caused by something that displeases God

do not let the sun go down on your anger

The sun goes down every day. Reconciliation must be a daily task for us as Christ followers!

and give no opportunity to the devil.

Unresolved anger becomes a door that the devil can walk through to sow division. Paul urges us to close that door โ€” every day.

On Thursday, we saw how Ephesians 4:26-27 is a direct reference to Davidโ€™s words in Psalm 4:4.

Then, we looked at how Jesus embodied this verse perfectly. He flipped tables in the temple, quoting Scripture:

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

13 He said to them, โ€œIt is written, โ€˜My house shall be called a house of prayer,โ€™ but you make it a den of robbers.โ€

Matthew 21:12-13

And he spoke words of reconciliation, even while dying on the cross:

And Jesus said, โ€œFather, forgive them, for they know not what they do.โ€ And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Luke 22:34

By following Paulโ€™s instructions and Christ's example, we can be agents of restoration and reconciliation in a world desperately in need of reconciliation to God.

Apply and Respond: The World is Watching ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ

One of the main ways the world judges Christians is by how we handle conflict, especially amongst ourselves.

Challenge ๐Ÿ“ฃ 

This weekend, put our memory verse into practice.

Whether itโ€™s conflict with your kids, spouse, friends or coworkers, take a step to address it directly with love and truth โ€” before the sun goes down.

Pray ๐Ÿ™ 

Heavenly Father,

Help me be slow to anger and quick to forgive, reflecting Your love in every situation. When conflict arises, guide me to seek peace and reconciliation.

Protect my heart from bitterness and use me to build unity within Your church. May my words and actions lead others to Your truth and reflect Christโ€™s mercy.

In Jesus' name, Amen ๐Ÿ™ 

Resources to help you dig deeper ๐Ÿ“š๏ธ 

In case you missed it, here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into this weekโ€™s passage:

  • ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Sermon: The Healing of Anger by Tim Keller (link)

  • ๐Ÿ“š๏ธ Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters by N.T. Wright (link)

  • ๐Ÿ“š๏ธ Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen (link)

  • ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Christian historian Wesley Huff defends the reliability of the Bible on the worldโ€™s largest podcast (link)

  • ๐ŸŽฅ The Bible Projectโ€™s Summary of Ephesians (link)

  • ๐Ÿ’ป๏ธ Got Questions: What does it mean to not let the sun go down on your anger? (link)

  • ๐ŸŽต Ephesians 4:25-27 by Verses (Spotify | Apple Music)

Answer key โœ… 

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Ephesians 4:26-27

Our hope is that you learned something this week that brought you closer to God ๐Ÿ™ 

Invite a friend to join us, and have a great weekend! ๐ŸŽ‰

And be on the lookout for some changes to our emails in two weeks (starting on 2/3)! ๐Ÿ‘€ 

Best,

Jake, Kieran and the Malachi Daily Team

Pay it forward

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