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Cornerstone
Community Church
Part 1, September
30, 2002
Why?
What if I'm
not married?
All relationships are either "You
Are Here"
We talk all
the time about anything & everything. forgive & seek forgiveness;
loved with no strings attached "at your service" eager to discover
& meet needs "all for one & one for all" face &
conquer difficulties enjoy emotional, physical, spiritual closeness committed
to preserving the relationship "'til death us do part" It's hard
to say anything nice to or about him/her. I never realized he/she had
so many flaws. We've been surprised & let down by the other's faults
We've both been hurt & angry at each other. had conflict over our
differences We have a "list" of grievances We've compared him/her
to others I think I may be missing out on something I have a list of dissatisfactions I've been accused of not understanding and/or trying My needs aren't being met. Others matter more than me. I see the needs but can't do anything about them. I can't express how I feel. I think I've made a mistake.
We go our
separate ways. I've given up my expectations. We're not excited to be
together. We feel like strangers. I don't share what I think & feel.
We could be heading for a split.
Sometimes
I feel lonely even when we're together. I don't think he/she loves me,
at least I don't feel like it. We don't have much to say. We often misunderstand
& misinterpret each other. I'm more committed to other things and/or
people. There's nothing we can do about it. I don't think he/she's very
interested in me. Most of
my thoughts are negative. We fight all the time. I daydream about leaving
&/or being with someone else. I can think of plenty of people I'd
rather be with. We're at war. There's nothing between us anymore. Everybody
knows we're having trouble.
We're just
going through the motions. There's no hope. We may look OK but it's all
"show." All I care about is protecting myself from being hurt
again. I think l~m going to leave. I'm in love with someone else. As far
as I'm concerned it's been over for a long time. Good News: "Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, I can
do everything through him who gives me strength.
Part
2, October 6, 2002 Forgiving
Love "If
you could lick my heart it would poison you." Pattern
"In
your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are
still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26,27 Choice "
" it When I
kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For
day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in
the heat of summer. it. Forgiveness—the
ability to let go of past hurts— is perhaps the single most important
relationship skill we can develop... Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 1. Prepare your 2. Take the 3.
your conflicts. If your
brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the
two of you. Matthew 18:15 I was
wrong. I am sorry. Will you forgive me? 4.
the offender Forgiving...means
letting go of the offense... "Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Get rid
of an bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every
form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Full or Whole
forgiveness takes two people— one seeking forgiveness and one granting
it... Relationships
it. Jesus
it. We all
it. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Part
3, October 13, 2002 Serving
Out of Love
Part
4, October 20, 2002 Enduring Love ...Man
is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. Job 5:7 “If
you’re a Christian... you’re always in a crisis — either
in the middle of one, coming out of one, or going into one.” We can
endure tough times if we don’t... We
can endure tough times if we... Therefore,
strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Heb. 12:12 If you do
not change directions, you will get where you are going.
on Christ Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinful men... Heb. 12:2-3 ...we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Heb. 12:9 Submit
to The Lord
is the everlasting God, “Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, Giving up
is an emotional reaction— Lord,
I have to admit that at times I’m a quitter.
Part 5, October
27, 2002 Guarding
Love Guarding
love protects from threats & makes us safe & secure What threats? Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards... Song of Solomon 2:15 Be self-controlled
and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9,10 Men & Women under attack... Guarding
Love: two points from Proverbs 4:20-71 The Shining
Barrier—the shield of our love. A walled garden. A fence around a
young tree to keep the deer from nibbling it. A fortified place with me
walls and watchtowers gleaming white like the cliffs of England. The Shining
Barrier—protecting the green tree of our love. ...the defense against
creeping separateness. God's Word is the CASTLE that protects us 20 My
son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Our heart is the PRINCESS that needs protecting 23 Above
all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Watch
what you
24 Put
away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Watch
what you
25 Let
your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly, before you. Watch
what you
26 Make
level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Guarding
Love A sin
to avoid: See to
it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many. An example to follow: Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Mark 14:38 Put on
the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. ...so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand
your ground... A prayer
to pray (2 4 1): Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139:23 Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 A truth
to believe: My flesh
and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion
forever. A promise
to claim (and an example to follow): Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6,7
Part 6, November
3, 2002 Celebrating Love Celebrating
Love rejoices in the relationship & helps us feel cherished &
captivated. Man's chief
and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever. "Celebrating
Love"
God The Lord
your God... will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his
love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 We had
to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found." "Celebrating Love" is on God Delight yourself in the Lord. Psalm 37:4 Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dweal in the house of the Lord all the days of my aife, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 71:4 "Celebrating Love" is by God
And now
these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love. 1 Corinthians 69 Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 Celebrating
Love APPLICATION A sin
to avoid: So, as tbe Holy Spirit says: "Today, if jou hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..." See to it, brotb6rs, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by, sin's deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:7-13 Examples to follow: But whatever
was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more,
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord... Philippians 5:7-10 Give me
a kiss, and to that kiss a score; Beloved
Truth
to Believe: The kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
Part 7, November
24, 2002 Renewing Love Mountains promises & goes the distance Something
is rotten in the state of Denmark.
MALACHI 2:10 Have
we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the
covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? 2:13 ...You
weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or
accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 2:14 You
ask, "Why?" It is because the Lord is acting as the witness
between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith
with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 2:15 Has
not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why
one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself
in vour spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 2:16 "I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in vour spirit, and do not break faith. 3 Pillars of Renewing Love 1:14, 2:10 1:14, 2:10 2:15, 16 And
I believe what 1 believe is what makes me what I am Truth
to believe ...you
have taken off your old self with ifs practices and have put on the new
self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Therefore
we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly
we are being renewed day by day. Example
to follow Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of vour mind. ...those
who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings
like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not
be faint. Then the
king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up
to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem,
the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the
greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,
which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the
piliar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow
the Lord and keeP his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart
and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in
this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. Renewing Love in Marriage Marriage is a covenant... 'til death us do part. Renewing
Love refreshes and supports the marriage covenant which helps those who
trust us feel confident and rooted. Choose your love... Love your choice. A successful
marriage is one in which you fall in love many times... always with the
same person. Recommended
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