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Sermon Outline

It's not you. It's me.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Pastor Mark Johnson January 11, 2015

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 ESV

Lesson 1: You can’t control what the other person is doing.

Lesson 2: Many of us are driving under the influence.

Relationally driving under the influence of...
pride, arrogance, upbringing, culture, ignorance, mental health issue, past abuse, controlling spirit, expectations, desires, demands... and many others.

Just like alcohol or pain meds can impair your ability to drive, personal perceptions can impair your ability to have good relationships.

Three choices in troubled relationships.

  1. Get off the road with them.

  2. Confront for change.

    • Be willing to listen and change yourself.

    • Understand that they may not change.

  3. Live with it, and be happy.

This brings us to the key truth that we will be discussing for the next five weeks.

The only person that you can change is you. You have to stop driving under the influence.

This may not fix everything, but it will lower the probabilities of wrecks.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 The Message

1 Corinthians 13 is the relationship breathalyzer.

Breathe your words and actions into this passage, and see what the reading says.

Love is the foundation for all relationships. Love is about others.

Paul says that no matter how many good things you do, if they are not motivated by love, they are no good at all. Then he gives us the standard for loving actions.

If hate is the opposite of love, then selfishness is hatred’s twin brother.

Get yourself off the juice!

Wrap up.

  1. If you are in pile ups on every road, you are definitely DUI.

  2. If you have one specific road where you are always in a wreck:

    • Check your influence.

    • Identify their influence.

    • Take the relationship breathalyzer.

Here is how:
  1. Apply 1 Corinthians 13 to your situations, and let the Spirit speak to you.

  2. Over the next 5 weeks, read 1 Corinthians 13 every day, and read it in different versions. 

 

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