Relationships

What does that look like?

• Spending quality relationship time with people such as:
  • Close family (parents, siblings, children)
  • Other household members and neighbours
  • Work colleagues
  • Fellow pupils/students
  • People with similar interests or circumstances
  • People in sports and social circles
  • Church people
• Treating tradespeople, retail workers, call centre reps, etc as people not merely functional operatives
• Accepting people for who they are
• Having fun together, hosting parties, celebration, games, humour
• Building friendship
• Speaking highly of people, thinking the best of people, avoiding gossip
• Not being offended easily
• Communicating clearly and sensitively
• Handling conflict well
• Forgiving people with grace and mercy
• Expressing love and demonstrating that you value people (e.g. using the love languages)
• Encouraging and building people up
• Challenging people to grow and develop: coaching, mentoring
• When people ask, holding people accountable to their commitments
• Being single, dating and/or doing marriage well
• Grieving and dealing with loss and bereavement, and helping others through that too

How does it come about?

• The quality of relationship given to you by significant others (such as parents, friends)
• Modelling by parents, role models and close friendships of how to relate to other people
• Television, novels and other story-telling
• Reflecting on the relationships described in Scripture narrative
• Being trained through reading books, courses and seminars, role play
• Sharing about your relationships with other people in an appropriately confidential setting, such as with a close friend, housegroup leader, in the housegroup meeting, or with a relationship coach or counsellor.  
• Receiving advice and suggestions from friends, mentors and coaches

Resources

Serendipity Bible study

• Accountability - Beyond football and the weather (Serendipity course 2, page M4)
• Dating dilemma - In search of my better half (Serendipity course 16, page M18)
• Communication/conflict - Lasting love (Serendipity course 21, page M23)
• Intimacy - The gift of sex (Serendipity course 22, page M24)
• Parenting - Not just a stroll in the park (Serendipity course 25, page M27)
• Family time - Making meaningful memories (Serendipity course 26, page M28)
• Strong-willed children - Train up a child (Serendipity course 27, page M29)
• Parenting adolescents - Hair, hormones and hassles (Serendipity course 28, page M30)
• Belonging - Finding friends and fitting in (Serendipity course 32, page M34)
• Hassles - Getting along with my parents (Serendipity course 35, page M37)
• Relationships at work - How's your serve (Serendipity course 37, page M39)
• Caregivers - Lifting others up without getting down (Serendipity course 52, page M54)
• Mending fences - Healing significant relationships (Serendipity course 56, page M58)
• Divorce recovery - Picking up the pieces (Serendipity course 57, page M59)
• Grief and loss - Getting through the night (Serendipity course 58, page M60)

Nooma videos

• Nooma 007 | Luggage: "It isn't always easy to forgive."

From our website

Books

Related talks and articles   In the beginning, God - making me 17 Feb 2013: In a few short verses you can learn just how special you are and how God designed you to live. This impacts our attitude to identity, marriage and sexuality. More ... David Flowers

Recent Media Uploads   God makes a difference - Sex (download) James looks at God's view on sex, and discovers that God sees sex not in 50 shades of grey, but in a kaleidoscope of colours. James Garvican, 08/07/2012 It's not good to be alone (download) In Genesis 2 God says that it is not good for mankind to be alone. What does that mean? How did it work for Jesus? What impact does that have on the church, God's family? David discusses singleness and marriage. David Flowers, 12/06/2011 Heaven on Earth: Jesus and the pre-nup (download) As we study Matthew 5:27-37 David explains what the bible says about broken marriages. What is marriage? What is divorce? What should our attitude be? How do we tend to marriage and what happens when a marriage ends? David Flowers, 20/03/2011 Heaven on Earth - Relationships are cosmic (download) Why does Jesus align personal insults with murder? Why does he advise against going to court. Because he is the great relationship reconciler. David Flowers, 13/02/2011