How to Resolve Conflict!

We can often find ourselves dealing with conflict. It could be with someone at home, school, or on our job and sometimes can get worse if not resolved properly.

The two main things that need to happen when conflict between two people or parties are talking and listening. Each side needs to express their thoughts and feelings to one another in order to gain understanding of their situation and what has caused conflict.

Other things needed to resolve conflict that both sides need to have or display are:

-Patience: not being quick to respond and also willing not to take up most of time talking yourself.

-Gaining a mutual understand

-Being responsible and having control over your actions

-Taking things seriously

-If there are two groups or more present, there needs to be a leader, someone to moderate and make sure there's order; also needs to be wise and know how to properly handle everything

-Each person needs to be mature (no disrespect)

-Each person needs to pay attention

-Be aware of your body language: what you're saying could be read differently because of your facial expression, gestures, etc, so be mindful of how you react or look

-Practice beforehand if you have set up to talk to someone (in the mirror, write it out, ask someone to hear you out if need be)

-Evaluate the situation (the cause of the conflict); is it worth it to get upset about; how much forbearance is needed; know when you choose your battles.

-Don't walk away from dealing with it; do you best to actually resolve the issues between you and the other person/party

-It's always good to pray about it. Go to the Lord and ask for discernment, direction, and everything else needed for you to reconcile or make peace with someone else

Verses to refer to about conflict resolution: http://www.openbible.info/topics/conflict_resolution

Disobeience/Sin

A few notes from the sermon (2/09/14)

Things we believe when we disobey, deal with temptation, and/or sin:

-God can't supply what I want/need (He's not sufficient)
-God can't take what I want anyway
-what I want is better and obtainable without God
-things should be going my way
-something looks attractive so I can take it

We can have the wrong motivation even if the idea is to do right.

We should obey God in a difficult circumstance as we do live in a wicked world. No excuses (it's too hard, no one is being obedient, etc).

Serve the Lord as He has called you.

The sermon audio will be posted after Wed. 2/12/14 here: soundcloud.com/sweetcommunion/

Learning about Obdeience (from sermon on 1/26/14)

Matt. 21: 28-32

There were two disobedient sons: one was the rebel and the other a hypocrite.

Their father gave them a task to do and both had a different response for him. The rebel son initially said no, but them changed his mind and complete the task. The other son told his father that he would get it done, but never went to do it, that's why he is consider the hypocrite. Both were wrong in what they did, but the rebellious son is an example of someone who repents. He acknowledge his wrong and went to go do the right thing. 

Jesus is the perfect example of true obedience. He had the right attitude and motive. He did will of His Father (God).

Also to love is another way of showing obedience! John 13: 34&35, 1 John 3:14-24; 5:2&3 

Other verses that were read: John 15:14, Ps. 40:8, Heb. 12:2, and 1 John 2:3-6


To listen to the sermon go to: https://soundcloud.com/sweetcommunion/sun-1-26-14-am

Helpful Tips to Memorize Verses

  *Please refer back a couple posts to the memory verses. More have been added, but to help you out here are some ways you can remember them all! 

 

-Start small.

Choose a short verse to start with… and make it even shorter by breaking it down into pieces. Memorize the first five words in the verse first, and when you’ve got them down, add the next five. As you become more confident, you can add more words, sentences, and even entire verses—but don’t add anything new until you’ve got the previous words down pat.

  -Write it down.

A vast majority of Bible Gateway fans suggested this simple strategy: write the verse you’re memorizing down on paper. But don’t just write it once; write it many times—five or ten times is a good start (and some people write out their memory verses up to 50 times!). Physically writing the words out is an extremely useful tactile memory aid.

  -Say it out loud.

Just as writing a verse out can help in memorizing it, so speaking the words aloud is an excellent way to burn them into your memory. One person suggested turning the radio off during your commute to work or school each day and reciting your memory verse out loud instead!

-Incorporate the verse into your prayers.

When you pray, include elements of the verse in your words to God. Pray that God will help you understand and apply the verse to your life. Pray for God’s help in fixing the verse in your heart and mind.

  -Put it everywhere.

Many people suggested writing your memory verse out on multiple index cards or sticky notes (combine this with tip #3 above!) and putting them all over the place, so that you’ll see the verse many times throughout your day. Tape the verse to your bathroom mirror or computer monitor. Tuck it into your purse, lunch sack, car glove compartment, school textbook, pockets… anywhere you’ll see it. One person suggested making the verse your computer desktop background, and another goes so far as to laminate the verse and hang it in the shower!

-Use music to help.

Do you find it much easier to remember lyrics than spoken words? Try setting the Bible verse to a simple tune (perhaps repurposing a song you already know well) that you can sing to yourself. (If this sounds like a strange suggestion, consider that many famous hymns and worship songs use Bible verses as their lyrics, and were written specifically as aids for Bible verse memorization.)

-Make it a game.

Turn the act of memorizing into a personal challenge! You might write the verse out on flashcards, leaving key words blank, and quiz yourself. Get some friends or family members to help quiz you, or even to memorize the verse along with you and encourage/challenge you.

 -Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Whatever strategy you follow in memorizing a Bible verse, do it repeatedly. Write it down, speak it out loud, sing it out, pray it—but whatever you do, do it over and over until it’s a natural, reflexive action. The goal isn’t to reduce it to a mindless, repeated activity, but to slowly press the verse into your memory through repetition. Repeat your memorization activity over the course of several hours, days, or even weeks to pace yourself—there’s no prize for memorizing a Bible verse fastest; the point is to internalize it over time. And that means you shouldn’t be discouraged if it takes a while for the verse to “stick”—keep at it, and it will take root!

Also...
Enunciate the words
and
Focus on the key words

Valentine's Day Dinner

Memory Verses for Church

Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)

^"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)

"And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to listen than the fat of rams."

Ephesians 6:5-8

 ^"Bondservants,obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,  not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free."

Wisdom vs Foolishness (Bible study notes from Zeal Bible Study)

Ecc. 9:11-11:10

Time and chance happens to everybody.
Good or bad things can happen. No guarantees that all will be well.

1) The wise person will prosper from change. Foolish decisions is harder to taken advantage of them like the wise!

2) Wisdom is better than strength. Fools can only trust what they see.

3) Real wisdom is often despised, but foolishness is suddenly popular.
What seems smart, but isn't always wise to do. 

4) Wisdom must be sought and heard!!! You never have to strain to her a fool!

5) A little folly can ruin a reputation! Fools ruin undeserved reputations.

6) Wisdom makes a man strong, foolishness make a man weak.

7) Patience is the virtue of the wise, but fools always make themselves known. A fool always shows him/herself is a fool.

*Silence can sometimes work to the wise advantage.

8) It is not wise to lower the effective. To the fool ineffectiveness is humbleness.

9) A man's work is his danger. Your excellence can be your weakness too. 9) A man's work is his danger. Your excellence can be your weakness too.

10) A wise man knows that words are tools, so he uses them appropriately.
A fool pulls out his heart, which has little value.

11) Foolishness is laziness. The wise does work to increase in...wisdom, strength, talent, knowledge, etc.

12) Material things can't solve the problems of leadership. A fool thinks that resources can solve the leadership volume.

13) The wise consider matters close to the heart, watching their thoughts, the foolish is always caught by his words.

14) Work whether you know the outcome or not. A fool uses fortunes to determine his actions.

*God is not asking you to take one skill, excel at it, and forget all your other skills. Do the work God put in front of you to do! Don't over think think it, trust God, and take advantage of the doors God opens up for you.

15) Rejoice when you can, as fool can't find the appropriate time to enjoy life.

If you can't take the tough things in life, you set yourself up for failure. Prepare yourself!