LOVING PEOPLE THROUGH SMALL GROUPS (2 OF 4)
by Steve Jones
Scripture: Matthew 12:50
This content is part of a series.
Loving People Through Small Groups (2 of 4)
Series: Love People
Steve Jones
Matthew 12:50
SERMON SUMMARY: In this sermon we discuss how to love people through small groups by: 1) Establishing the Biblical precedent for small groups. 2) Looking at the relational benefits of small groups. 3) Seeing the growth potential of small groups.
INTRODUCTION: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you love ''everyone?'' One person at a time. HOWEVER, small groups can help us take a bigger bite out of the ''elephant'' of loving EVERYONE. Let's talk about ''loving people'' through small groups.
STATISTIC: ''Real Age'' doctors tell us that friends are good for our health. Dr. Oz calls them ''Vitamin F'' (for ''friends''). Research shows that people in strong social circles have less risk of depression and terminal illness. If you take ''Vitamin F'' constantly, you can be many years younger than your biological age. The warmth of friendship stops stress and even in your tense moments, it decreases the chance of serious illness by 50%.
ILLUSTRATION: In his book on Bonding, Dr. Donald Joy cites research indicating you need a lot of connections with people in order to stay mentally and spiritually healthy. Picture your life as a rectangular trampoline (Pic). You need four sets of ''people connections'' holding up that trampoline - one for each side. Those sets are:
Family: First-degree relatives: parents, siblings, children.
Family: Relatives in second or further degrees.
Friends: Both lifelong collections and present confidants.
Associates: People from work, clubs, recreation, and church.
You should have four or five people in each category. Those relationships should have the following characteristics:
1) Both of you have a high investment in the relationship. There is frequent face-to-face contact (not just email, tweets and FB).
2) Your relationship has a strong emotional dimension.
3) Each of you knows that in a serious emergency t ...
Series: Love People
Steve Jones
Matthew 12:50
SERMON SUMMARY: In this sermon we discuss how to love people through small groups by: 1) Establishing the Biblical precedent for small groups. 2) Looking at the relational benefits of small groups. 3) Seeing the growth potential of small groups.
INTRODUCTION: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you love ''everyone?'' One person at a time. HOWEVER, small groups can help us take a bigger bite out of the ''elephant'' of loving EVERYONE. Let's talk about ''loving people'' through small groups.
STATISTIC: ''Real Age'' doctors tell us that friends are good for our health. Dr. Oz calls them ''Vitamin F'' (for ''friends''). Research shows that people in strong social circles have less risk of depression and terminal illness. If you take ''Vitamin F'' constantly, you can be many years younger than your biological age. The warmth of friendship stops stress and even in your tense moments, it decreases the chance of serious illness by 50%.
ILLUSTRATION: In his book on Bonding, Dr. Donald Joy cites research indicating you need a lot of connections with people in order to stay mentally and spiritually healthy. Picture your life as a rectangular trampoline (Pic). You need four sets of ''people connections'' holding up that trampoline - one for each side. Those sets are:
Family: First-degree relatives: parents, siblings, children.
Family: Relatives in second or further degrees.
Friends: Both lifelong collections and present confidants.
Associates: People from work, clubs, recreation, and church.
You should have four or five people in each category. Those relationships should have the following characteristics:
1) Both of you have a high investment in the relationship. There is frequent face-to-face contact (not just email, tweets and FB).
2) Your relationship has a strong emotional dimension.
3) Each of you knows that in a serious emergency t ...
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