OceanSide church of Christ

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Kindness
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.                Introduction

A.    A survey was done of the “unchurched”

                                                    i.     1400 people who were not involved with a church answered yes or no questions

                                                   ii.     72% said the church is full of hypocrites

                                                 iii.     44% said Christians get on their nerves

                                                 iv.     45% said Christians are no more spiritual than others

                                                  v.     60% said they would attend church if the person proved he/she cared about them   

B.    The difference in bringing others to Christ could simply be showing them we care about them

                                                    i.     One of the greatest ways to do this is with random acts of kindness

                                                   ii.     Consider the importance of kindness as we enter 2015

II.              Kindness is commanded

A.    Kindness should be part of our Christian lives already (Eph 4:32)

                                                    i.     “Be ye kind” is in the present imperative showing a continuous must

                                                   ii.     Kindness is the fifth fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)

B.    I like to think of kindness as “love in action”

                                                    i.     Love is kind (1 Cor 13:4)

                                                   ii.     It could be said that kindness is the verb form of love

III.            Kindness is compelling

A.    David put his trust in God because of His loving-kindness (Psa 36:7)

                                                    i.     Kindness entices us to trust people and listen to them

                                                   ii.     Some stores have friendlier employees than others so we might choose to shop there instead of somewhere else

1.     Congregations can work the same way

2.     People want to be a part of something real

B.    David worshipped God because of His loving-kindness (Psa 63:3)

                                                    i.     We must show others God’s loving-kindness so they may want to worship and give back to Him

C.    The New Testament teaches the kindness of God leads to repentance (Rom 2:4)

                                                    i.     Some may not ever turn to God until they see His goodness

1.    We must be the ones to show them

D.    Ruth had lost her husband, her bother-in-law, and had to leave home

                                                    i.     However, after moving she met a kind man named Boaz

                                                  ii.     Naomi heard of this kindness and gave God the glory (2:20)

IV.            What can I do (Give people a kindness card with these acts)

A.    Buy someone’s food in a drive thru

B.    Leave a generous tip

C.    Leave change in a vending machine

D.    Do someone’s house/yard work for free

E.    Write a latter/card to someone

F.    Help someone at the store unload groceries for free

G.   What other ideas can you think of to show God’s love through kindness?