V15ion: Week 4, Better Relationships

Title: Better Relationships    (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) (NLT) Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.   (Ecclesiastes 4:8) (NLT) This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.   (Matthew 16:26) (NLT) And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?   Excuses that hinder better relationships:   Naivety.   Temperament.    Fear.    Past Experiences.   Busyness.    (Deuteronomy 30:19) (NLT) Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!   I choose…   1. To nurture important relationships.   (Colossians 2:19) (NIV) ...the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.   2. To restore broken relationships.   (Romans 12:17-18) (NIV) Do not repay anyone evil for evil...If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.   3. To sever harmful relationships.   (Proverbs 27:19) (TLB) A mirror reflects a man’s face but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.   (Proverbs 13:20) (NLT) Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.   (2 Corinthians 6:14) (NIV) Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?   4. To initiate meaningful relationships.   (Hebrews 10:24-25) (NLT)  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.   My Most Meaningful Relationships:   My relationship with family.   My relationship with a church.
   My relationship with a small group.    My relationship with a team.   Consuming - Contributing = Selfish Consuming + Contributing = Sharing   (1 Thessalonians 2:8) (NLT) We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.   My relationship with God.   (Hebrews 4:16) (NLT) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.