Anger and the Heart

What this book is

Anger is a choice. No one can make me mad; anger, sadness and bitterness are choices I make in response to life happening around me. This study starts where every honest look at anger has to start: Who is God? Who am I? Am I born again? What does Jesus require of me? From there it walks through what anger reveals in my heart, how it comes out, the way out through repentance, forgiveness and trust, and what it looks like at home, in the church and in public.

My job is to honor God — always — to make right choices. And it is never the right choice if it dishonors God. Every lesson has simple drawings, Scripture, “Your turn” pages to write in, a verse to memorize and a prayer. It works for personal study or for a class, with a leader guide for every session.

What is inside

First Things First — Settling the Big Questions

Who Is God? · Who Am I? · Am I Born Again? · What Does Jesus Require of Me?

Part 1 — It Starts in My Heart

Anger Is a Choice · The Demand to Have My Way · Anger Before a Word Is Spoken · God Is Slow to Anger — and I Should Be Too · When Anger Is Right · When I Am Angry at God

Part 2 — How It Comes Out

The Excuses I Make · Quiet Anger and Stored Resentment · Before a Word Becomes a Wound · What My Anger Teaches Others · Lessons from People in Scripture

Part 3 — The Way Out

What to Do When Anger Rises · Repentance, Forgiveness and Trust · Building Walls Before the Storm · How God Can Bring Good

Part 4 — Where I Live

Parents and Children · Brothers, Sisters and Old Rivalries · Husbands, Wives and Daily Frustrations · Other Christians and Church Disagreements · Neighbors, Strangers and Public Encounters · A Week of Honest Practice

Topics

AngerResentmentForgivenessHumilityTrusting GodObedienceWordsMarriageParentingFamilyChurchFruit of the SpiritJames 1:19–20James 4:1–10Ephesians 4:25–32Romans 12:9–21