For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” —Ephesians 5:8-14

How do people need courage right now?

What keeps people from having courage?

In Plato’s Symposium (400 BC) the four cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, temperance, and

—were introduced as the hinges of a virtuous life.

Greek and Roman thought, as well as Judaism and Christianity, developed doctrines of

.

Christianity virtues are faith, hope, and love, and wisdom/prudence, temperance, justice, and

/fortitude.

Wisdom is to know

and make the

Reveal Answer

decision.

It is not courageous to do the

thing; that is evil.

To know what is right and

to do it is also evil. (James 4:17)

Courage is the

between knowing what is right and the ability to do it.

Courage is the

for heaven to come to earth.

The Sermon Series

• Today – The
  Reveal Answer
  of Courage
• Jan. 16 – The Conviction of Courage
• Jan. 23 – The Candor of Courage
• Jan. 30 – The Hope of Courage
• Feb. 6 – The Fortitude of Courage
• Feb. 13 – The Love of Courage

Additional Notes:

What Courage is Not

Courage is not a

spirit.

The man who recklessly and indiscriminately courts any kind of danger is not for that reason brave; all he proves is…he considers all manner of things more valuable than (his) personal intactness. —Josef Pieper, Professor of Philosophical Anthropology

To be brave is not the same as to have

. (Proverbs 9:10)

Courage is not the

of fear; it is the right ordering of fear.

Additional Notes:

Why Courage Matters

Courage saves us from

our life so much that we lose it. (Matthew 16:25)

To really follow Jesus

great courage for his disciples then and now. (Matthew 10:16-18)

Courage saves us from

.

Acedia is the dreary sadness of a heart unwilling to accept the greatness to which man is called by God…thus denying his true self. —Josef Pieper

Additional Notes:

How to Live a Brave Life: Clarity

When we become clear on what God is asking us to do,

rises. (Luke 4:18-19)

When we get clear on who we are going to help, what we are going to do, and how we are going to go about it, we catch fire with a fresh wind. —Rev. Tom Berlin

At Acts 2 UMC, we are clear that we are a people who “

.”

The great thing about knowing what you are about is that you also realize what you are not about. —Rev. Tom Berlin

When we get clear about our calling,

will emerge.

Additional Notes:

Action Steps

The main thing I believe my life to be about in the next 3 months is

will be my magnificence. Your magnificence is a

Reveal Answer

to your children.

Additional Notes: