FIDELITY: a) loyalty ; b) the degree to which the simulation matches the real thing.
Do you feel like your relationship is a bad copy of some other great relationship? Do you wish you could have the real thing?
Beginning Valentine’s weekend of February 13,14 we will explore how to experience true loyalty in love. It is real, and it is available to you! Join Brandon Thomas as he walks us through God’s design for relationships.
Join us Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 12th and 13th, as Brandon and Susan lead couples to discover and experience the joy of marriage lived out in God’s perfect design! God desires us to not only “make it” in our marriages, but to enjoy passion and purpose. It’s going to be a great time for the two of you plus we would love for you to join us at our Saturday night service and then have a “Date Night” after the service from 7:30 - 9:30. We will provide complimentary childcare by reservation only for your Date Night! Register online today for further details and reserve your space!
For more questions, please email jan@keystonechurch.com
Watch this past weekend’s message on The Key to Healthy Relationships.
The Key to Healthy Relationships (Dr. Claude Thomas) from Keystone Church on Vimeo.
Author: John Bain
Third, True friends speak truth into other’s life and hold them accountable in love. “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” – James 5:19-20. It is the role of a true friend to pull his friends from the pit if they fall. The following are some questions for you to ask yourself:
+ Am I building my relationship with Jesus and constantly in the word of God? It is hard to help others when we don’t let Jesus help us first. What we are able to give others should be an overflow of what God is giving us.
+ Are you moving to or away from difficult conversations with your friends who have fallen into sin? It is our responsibility to help our friends, no matter how challenging it may be. We can’t play games when we have an enemy who is playing for keeps. Reread James 5:19-20 and prepare to talk to your friend in need.
+ Do you pray about those tough conversations that you must have with a friend? God will give you the words if you let Him. Let the Holy Spirit and the Bible be your guide, they won’t let you down.
Author: John Bain
Second, True friends are encouragers and are filled with kindness. They lift you up and never bring you down in order to lift themselves up. In Proverbs 12:25, it says; “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Ask yourself these questions to evaluate this part of what you bring to a friendship:
+ Do you deflate or elevate your friends? It is a matter of choice and you should always strive to elevate your friends. This doesn’t mean that you don’t speak truth, but it is always done in a manner that is lifting them up and not tearing them down.
+ After a friend spends time with you, do they leave better than they were when they came? Giving kind words, words of encouragement and sharing hope in Jesus will change a person’s life.
Author: John Bain
Have you ever been or maybe are now at a place in life where you are just beat down? That spot where your world is caving in around you and nothing seems to go the way that you would hope for. Life can deal some pretty tough hands.
It is in these times that I am always amazed at how God uses my friends to lift me up. Where He brings those friends who are filled with kindness, who speak words of encouragement, who speak words of truth and who hold me accountable. No matter how tough the situation, friends showing they care for me deeply give me strength to press on and hope for a better day. The power of friends is incredible.
With this said, it challenged me to do an evaluation of how good of a friend I am to others and what are the characteristics of a true friend.
Over the next 3 posts I would like to share with you what God spoke to me about this.
First, True friends always put the other person’s needs, hurts and life in front of their own. Jesus spoke to this point when he said; “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” It is just that simple, but it is much more difficult in practice. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you look at how you are doing as a friend:
+ When you talk with your friends, are you always the center of conversation? Is it always about what is happening in your life and all of the problems that you are facing, or are you opening up the conversation for both people to share? Here is a good suggestion that I once heard. God gave you two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion.
+ When is the last time that you made a personal sacrifice for a friend?
This weekend, we will be dealing with the subject of conflict. Due to the subject matter of this weekend’s Crazy Love message, we encourage parents of children 13 years of age and under to make use of our excellent children’s programs during the service.
Don’t forget to submit your questions for the Q&A at the end of each service during the Crazy Love series. All questions are submitted anonymously. You can submit your questions at keystonechurch.com.
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