Day 20 9/9/2015: What's on earth am I here for?

THE KEY TO RESTORING A RELATIONSHIP

1 Peter 5:5

Rick Warren

The key: Humility

 

“… clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…”  1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)

 

HOW TO HUMBLY RESTORE A RELATIONSHIP

6 steps of humility 

 

1.  ASK GOD FOR HELP

 

       “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6b (NIV)

  

2.  AFFIRM THE VALUE.

 

       “Have a profound respect for each other.”  Rom. 12:10b (JB)

 

“Do not let selfishness or pride be your guide.  Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourself.”  Phil 2:3 (NCV)

 By two way

1) listening 

2) validate their feeling 

E.g I understand ur feeling, that's hurt. 

Cannot say don't worry...

3.  ACKNOWLEDGE MY RESPONSIBILITY AND SIN.

 

       “Each person must be responsible for himself.”  Gal. 6:5 (NCV)

 

       “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Rom. 3:23 (NIV)

 Ask for forgiveness 

4.  ALLOW THEM TO BE HUMAN

 

“You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”  Col. 3:13 (NLT)

 

Recognizing no one is perfect. 

 

5.  ADJUST TO THEIR NEEDS

 

       “Look out for one another’s interests, not just your own.”  Phil. 2:4 (GN)

 

“We should please others.  If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord.”  Rom. 15:2 (NLT)

 

6.  ABANDON MY OWN RIGHTS

 

       “Marriage is not a place to ‘stand up for your rights.’  Marriage is a decision to serve the other…”  1 Cor. 7:4 (Mes)

 

“Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus had.  Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God…  Instead of this, of His own free will, He gave up all He had and took the nature of a servant.”  Phil. 2:5-7 (NLT &GN)

 

       “May God, who gives endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus.”  Rom. 15:5 (GWT)

 

Day 19 8/9/2015: What's on earth am I here for?

WHY WE NEED EACH OTHER

Rick Warren

“Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”  Rom. 12:5b (NLT)

 

1.  I NEED OTHERS TO WALK WITH ME.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him...”  Col. 2:6-7 (ESV)

 

“It is not good for man to be alone.”  Gen. 2:18 (NLT)

 Walk with people is 

• safer

• support 

• smart

Run alone u may run fast, but run with people, you run far.  

“Let us not give up the habit of meeting together… Instead, let us encourage one another.”  

Heb. 10:25a (TEV)

·         Community is God’s answer to: loneliness 

I cannot grow without other people in my life.

“When you gather, each one of you be prepared with something useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight…  Take your turn, with no one person taking over.  That way… you all learn from each other.”  1 Cor. 14:26, 30-31(Mes)

 

“As each part does its work, it helps the other parts grow, so Christ’s whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”  Eph. 4:16 (NLT)

 

“Open your homes to each other without complaining.”  Peter 4:9 (TEV)

  

2.   I NEED OTHERS TO WORK WITH ME.

“God made us to do good works, which He planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.”  Eph. 2:10 (NCV)

 

“Two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together.”    

Eccl. 4:9 (NCV)

 ·         Community is God’s answer to:

 Fatigue 

“Every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”  Gal. 6:10 (Mes)

 

3.  I NEED OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR ME.

“Look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.”  Ph. 2:4 (TEV)

 

“Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord's followers should.”  Heb. 13:1 (CEV)

 

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”  

Eccl. 4:12 (NLT)

 ·         Community is God’s answer to:

Defeat

“If one person falls, another can reach out and help.  But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.”  Eccl. 4:10 (NLT)

 

4.   I NEED OTHERS TO WAIT AND WEEP WITH ME.

“You should be like one big family, full of sympathy toward each other...”  1 Peter 3:8a (LB)

 

“If one member suffers, all suffer together.”  1 Cor. 12:26 (ESV)

 ·         Community is God’s answer to: despair 

 

“Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep.”   Rom. 12:15 (TEV)

 

“Encourage each other and strengthen one another.”  1 Th. 5:11 (GW)

 

5.   I NEED OTHERS TO WITNESS WITH ME.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”  

John 13:35 (NLT)

 

“The Holy Spirit doesn’t want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.”  2 Tim. 1:7 (LB)

 ·         God’s answer to fear is community .

 

“...You are working together and struggling side by side to get others to believe the Good News.”  Ph. 1:27b (CEV)

 

 

Day 18 7/9/2015: What's on earth am I here for?

YOU’VE GOT TO GET CONNECTED

Essentials for 21^st Century Living

Rick Warren

 

“It is not good for man to be alone.”  Genesis. 2:18

God’s word for “connecting with others”:

 

I.  WHY IS IT VITAL TO CONNECT WITH OTHERS?

 

II. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED?

4 metaphors for being part of a church

 

 

       1.  IT’S LIKE BEING A BRICK OF THE BUILDING.

 

               “You believers are like a building that God owns… Jesus is the most important stone in the building and the whole building is joinedtogether in Christ… You are being built into a place where God lives through the Spirit.”  Eph 2:20+22 (ICB)

 

               “We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.”  Eph. 2:21 (NLT)

 

·         In a BUILDING, the connected parts ___________________

 

 

       2.  IT’S LIKE BEING A PART OF BODY

 

               “Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s Body.  We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do.  So we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”  

Rom. 12:4-5 (LB)

 

               “In Christ’s Body we’re all connected to each other…”  Eph. 4:25b (Mes)

 

               “We are joined together in His Body by His strong sinews, and we grow as we get our nourishment and strength from God.”  Col. 2:19 (NLT)

 

·         In a BODY, the connected parts ___________________

 

 

       3.  IT’S LIKE BEING A FLOCK OF SHEEP

 

“God made us, and we are His.  We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”  

Ps. 100:3 (NLT)

 

               “Take care of God’s flock, His people, that you are responsible for.  Watch over them because you want to, not because you are forced to do it.”  1 Peter 5:2 (ICB)

 

·         In a FLOCK, the sheep are ___________________

 

 

 

4.  IT’S LIKE BEING A MEMBER OF A FAMILY.

 

               “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live.  God’s family is the church…”  1 Tim. 3:15 (GWT)

 

               “Love each other like brothers and sisters.”  Rom. 12:10 (NCV)

 

·         In a FAMILY, the members ___________________

 

 

 

How can I get connected to this church family?

 

“First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God’s will, they gave themselves to usas well.”  2 Cor. 8:5 (GN)