Unity in Relationships

(To help you get the most out of the following assignment I encourage you to listen to the following audio on "The Hope of Spiritual Influence" based on 2 Corinthians 2:14-16   Audio5 - MP3  ,  Outline – PDF . ) The Holy Spirit can be grieved and the Devil given opportunity when you are in conflict if you respond sinfully. On the other hand, the Devil’s scheme for you and the other party can be “grieved” and the Holy Spirit given opportunity to work in the conflict if you submit to handling it His way. The Bible gives many verses to help you and I know how we should handle conflict so that we become an effective spiritual influence in conflict. If you will submit to the Spirit’s Wisdom, you will find the Spirit’s Power at work in your conflict. That is what this study is all about. You will need to come back to these commands again and again depending on how hard the conflict is and how much your flesh has been trained to resist the Spirit in conflict. Study, su...

HAVE YOU HURT YOUR SPOUSE? DO YOU NEED HELP IN TRYING TO HELP HIM OR HER FORGIVE YOU?  THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN. 1.   Acknowledge Your Sin and Label it Biblically – James 5:16 Example: “I was not thoughtful about your interests and desires” (Rom 12:17-18);  “I spoke unwholesome” (Eph 4:29-20); “I lied” (Eph 4:25); “I became bitter or angry” (Eph 4:31-32.  “I was foolish in my decision making (Ps 111:10); “I rushed to judgement or had a judgemental spirit” (James 4:11);  I was quick to believe one side of the story and so foolish according to Prov.18:13,17; The fact of sin was not established because there were not two witnesses (Matt .18:16);  I did not trust God to reveal the truth of the situation in His time (1 Cor. 4:5); I vilified you in my mind (maybe with your mouth), forgetting any good, forgetting mercy and patience and seeking only justice (Eph 4:31-32; Eph 4:1-3; James 2:13) 2.   Share Biblically Why You Sinned - James 1:14; ...

OCTOBER 15 through NOVEMBER 5 Vertical Goals & Prayerful Dependence    - Ephesians 6:1-4 tells us that the goal of parenting is to bring children up “in the Lord”.  This means not only teaching your children to obey the Lord, but to develop in them a heart for the Lord they obey.  The right goals for our children can be heard from David on his deathbed (1 Chronicles 28:9) as he speaks to his young son Solomon.  “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever”.  As parents, we must continue to evaluate our goals in light of the reality of God or we will be influenced by the world to go after that which is passing away. Apart from the Spirit’s influence upon your heart and your child’s heart, your labor is in ...

“Feasting on the Seven Hopes of the Heaven-Bound Saint” One of our greatest needs is hope, or we do not live well (1 Tim 4:10).  In my counseling experience, I have found that the following seven biblical hopes are key to promoting biblical change.  God has given us hope of forgiveness (1 Jn 1:9), hope of transformation (2 Cor 3:18), hope of strength and provision (Heb 4:16), hope of spiritual influence in the lives of others (2 Cor 2:12-14), hope of eternal rewards (Matt 25:21), heavenly dwelling (1 Cor 2:7), and glorious perfection (1 Jn 3:2).  God has promised these things to us, his children.  Stir your faith and desire for these things by listening to the following audio, memorizing and studying the promises in the passages listed. Cross reference them to other verses that repeat the promises. Find songs that echo the amazing hope of these.  Speak to others about what you are learning. Pray for a heart to believe and a heart to desire these promises...

The following document is from "Men Discipling Men" - a yearly conference for men presented by The Master's College Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling Program. It can also be found at the following link: http://www.mdmconference.net/resources/Notes/MDM2011_Bigney_General_Session_Devastating_Pride_Cultivating_Humility.pdf

One of the issues that can hurt the unity of a home more than anything else is a child whom is a real challenge to bring under the Lord's control.  Our Tuesday night series entitled, "Eight Essentials in Child-Training" covers in detail biblical child-training procedures and principles like the following and inspire you to put them into practice. (You can take this in a distance learning format or on site.   For more information, click here .) Many children are often like dry gun-powder waiting to explode when they are given a command from a parent or authority. In my ministry of counseling parents, it is parents with children like these that come most often for counseling. Unfortunately, many of the biblical books on parenting do not take into account these extreme cases of child rebellion or give a specific detailed approach to handling these children. Whether the extreme rebellion is contributed by the child’s health, genetics, personality weakness/strengths is be...

A Four-Week Biblical Counseling Assignment to Help You Establish New Habits in How You Talk If you are going to influence a good relationship with a spouse, child, co-worker, etc, you are going to have to learn to put off speech that hinders, and put on speech that helps.   Communication is the life-blood of all relationships.   God gave us the ability to speak for the purpose of helping others, not hurting them. Even though there are times in many relationships we have to say tough things to each other, the Bible instructs us to say them graciously in the context of a demonstrated heart of love (Eph 4:15).   Prayerfully evaluate how you have been relating/communicating with this person in the light of the following truths.     Based each verse consider how you have or have not been obedient to God’s Word in your relating and communications. Choose a few of the verses that seem to relate with ways you need to improve most and begin memorizing those ve...