November 22 2015 Cultivating My Friendships

CULTIVATING MY FRIENDSHIPS

Wiser- Part 6

Proverbs 27:19 (LB) "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.  "

SIX MARKS OF A REAL FRIEND

1. I must be COMMITTED

Proverbs 18:24"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."            

Proverbs 18:24 (GN)"Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.  "

2. I must be CONSIDERATE

Proverbs 19:22 (LB) "Kindness makes a man attractive. 

Proverbs 17:9 (LB)  "Love forgets mistakes.  Nagging about them parts the best of friends.  "

3. I must be CONFIDENTIAL

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.  "

4. I must be CANDID        

Proverbs 27:5-6 "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds  from a friend can be trusted "

Proverbs 24:26 (GN) An honest answer is the sign of a true  friendship.  "

5. I must be CONSTRUCTIVE

Proverbs 27:17 (Knox)"As iron sharpens iron, friend shapes friend    

1 Thessalonians 5:11

6. I must be CONSISTENT

Proverbs 17:17  "A friend loves at ALL times, and a brother is born for adversity. 

Romans 5:11 (LB)"Now we can rejoice in our wonderful relationship with God  all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins - making us friends with God!"

October 5 2014 Today's Kids Need Today's Parents (parts 1 & 2)

Today's Kids Need Today's Parents

Memory Verse: “God is the one who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory.” Hebrews. 2:10a (NCV)

Malachi 2:15-16 (NCV)“GOD made husbands and wives—to become one body and one spirit for his purpose—so they would have children who are true to God. So be careful, and do not break your promise to the wife you married when you were young. God says, ‘I hate divorce.’”

I AM RESPONSIBLE TO MY KIDS

BUT I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY KIDS

Five TRUTHS you must help kids understand & believe

Five QUESTIONS you must help kids ask & answer

1. TRUTH: I was planned for God’s pleasure.

Revelation 4:11b (NLT)“You (God) created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”

Isaiah 44:2 (CEV)“I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born!”

QUESTION: What will be the center of my life?

Matthew 22:37-38 (NIV)“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Jeremiah 32:39 (TEV) “I will give them a single minded purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and for the good of their own children.”

2. TRUTH: I was formed for God’s family.

“Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.”

QUESTION: Who will be my companions in life?

1 Corinthians 15:33 (TEV)“Do not be fooled. Bad companions ruin good character.”

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

3. TRUTH: I was created to become like Christ.

Ephesians 1:11 (MSG)“It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for...part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

Romans 8:29 (LB)“For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him... should become like his Son.”

QUESTION: What will be my character?

Philippians 2:5 (NCV)“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.”

4. TRUTH: I was shaped to serve God

Ephesians 2:10 (LB)“It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.”

QUESTION: What will be my contribution?

1 Peter 4:10 (LB)“God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings.”

5. TRUTH:  I was made for a mission.

John 17:18 (MSG) Jesus: “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”

QUESTION: What does God want to say to the world through me?

2 Corinthians 5:18, 20 (NCV)“Through Christ, God has made peace between us and himself, and He gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with Him.... So we have been sent to speak for Christ!”