This week we will consider our church's fifth core value
A Commitment to Authentic Relationships
We will provide opportunities for people to know and to be known, to love and to be loved, to care and to be cared for, to serve and to be served so everyone might experience the power of true friendship. We will do this as our loving commitment to our fellow believers, and as an example of Christ’s love to the world. We will strive to preserve unity while recognizing and understanding that each person has the individual responsibility to be accepting of others and exhibit the character qualities outlined in scripture that promote the love and unity to foster such relationships.
(John 13:31-35; Acts 2:42-47; I Corinthians 13:4-8a)
3. CORE
A Commitment to Authentic
Relationships.
We will provide opportunities for people
to know and to be known, to love and to
be loved, to care and to be cared for, to
serve and to be served so everyone
might experience the power of true
friendship.
4. CORE
Genesis 2:18
Then the LORD God said, “It is not
good that the man should be
alone; I will make him a helper fit
for him.”
10. CORE
Key Quote – Rick Thomas
If your cyber relationships are damaging
your real-world relationships, you will
have to decide if you want to limit your
cyber interactions for the sake of your
real-world relationships or if you’d rather
have the safety–albeit artificial–of the
Internet.
11. CORE
A Commitment to Authentic
Relationships.
We will do this as our loving
commitment to our fellow
believers, and as an example of
Christ’s love to the world.
12. CORE
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another: just as I
have loved you, you also are to love one
another. 35 By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another.”
15. CORE
A Commitment to Authentic
Relationships.
We will strive to preserve unity while
recognizing and understanding that each
person has the individual responsibility
to be accepting of others and exhibit the
character qualities outlined in scripture
that promote the love and unity to foster
such relationships.
A Commitment to Authentic Relationships
We will provide opportunities for people to know and to be known, to love and to be loved, to care and to be cared for, to serve and to be served so everyone might experience the power of true friendship. We will do this as our loving commitment to our fellow believers, and as an example of Christ’s love to the world. We will strive to preserve unity while recognizing and understanding that each person has the individual responsibility to be accepting of others and exhibit the character qualities outlined in scripture that promote the love and unity to foster such relationships.
We will provide opportunities for people to know and to be known, to love and to be loved, to care and to be cared for, to serve and to be served so everyone might experience the power of true friendship.
Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Proverbs 18:1
Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
Are Cyber-Relationships True Friendships? – Rick Thomas
Cyber-Relationships are not fully real.
Knowing people artificially in cyberspace gives you an artificial understanding of relationships. This makes it harder to have real-world relationships, especially those relationships that have real-world baggage. Cyber friends are half friends, and it’s the other hidden half that keeps it from being real.
2. Cyber relationships are “Easy Come, Easy Go.”
There is no question it’s easier to un-friend a cyber friend than a real-world friend. Cyber relationships are easier to access and easier to dismiss. Some people like this context because of the “perceived safety” in these relationships. But is it really low risk and high reward?
If your habit is “easy come, easy go,” where and when will you learn how to have real-world relationships? How are you going to respond when the back half of a person’s previously hidden life is no longer hidden?
3. Cyber Relationships Aren’t Interested In Conflict Resolution.
Cyber-relationships are polluted by a constant stream of unfiltered comments.
Social media has become a feeding ground for anger and extremism.
4. Cyber Relationships Create Bad Relationship Habits.
James could have written his wise words to our modern age when he (kinda) said to be quick to hear and slow to type (James 1:19).
I do wonder sometimes if the cyber person’s lack of self-control is self-controlled in his real-world relationships. Sin has never been so neat that it would allow you to compartmentalize it: I have no control in cyber-space but I have self-control in my real-world relationships. If you type without a biblical filter on the Internet, your closest real relationships probably experience a similar kind of unkindness.
Key Quote
If your cyber relationships are damaging your real-world relationships, you will have to decide if you want to limit your cyber interactions for the sake of your real-world relationships or if you’d rather have the safety–albeit artificial–of the Internet.
There are many people who rather live in a fake world than learning and growing through the hard work of building relationships in the real world. This has been the lure of television. It gives the person who wants to escape from life a “safe” place to enjoy (watch) human interaction vicariously.
Television is a drop in the bucket to what the Internet is doing to us. You can amputate the television. You will never be able to amputate technology. Our lives are rapidly becoming more and more entangled in technology. To live on this planet, you have to live with technology.
Since you cannot fully terminate your relationship with technology, will you create at least one real-world relationship to help you engage technology redemptively?
A Commitment to Authentic Relationships.
We will do this as our loving commitment to our fellow believers, and as an example of Christ’s love to the world.
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Acts 2:42-47
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Six “Devotions”
TEACHING: We are a church devoted to God’s Word through Sunday services, classes and teams.
FELLOWSHIP: We are a church devoted to togetherness through groups, community events and serving.
HOSPITALITY: We are a church devoted to serving others through acts of kindness, missions and local projects.
PRAYER: We are a church devoted to prayer on behalf of others and our community through services and groups.
GENEROSITY: We are a church devoted to giving back to God and our community through finances, gifts, resources and time.
REPENTANCE: We are a church devoted to being a people constantly pursuing a life following God’s design and purpose.
We will strive to preserve unity while recognizing and understanding that each person has the individual responsibility to be accepting of others and exhibit the character qualities outlined in scripture that promote the love and unity to foster such relationships.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.