Embracing Unity: Navigating Conflict Through Forgiveness
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
"Very often in our attempts to be kind and gracious in our attempts to help, like the monkey helping the fish, we actually make things worse. And that is often the case in conflict as well. Our attempt to try to solve the problem actually may make the problem worse." [00:00:51]
"He said, I think very wisely, one of the greatest stumbling blocks to understanding other peoples, within or without a particular culture, is the tendency to judge others' behavior by our own standards. All of us think that we're the norm. Now, even if you don't believe that, the fact that you resist probably is evidence that you are thinking of yourself as the norm." [00:01:24]
"And if we can bring it to the conscious level, maybe we can suspend judgment until we find out who that person is and how they are. Now, I have a number of questions that I want to ask before we get launched into some specific material. But the first question is, in your experience, what are the causes of conflict? Think about it for a moment." [00:03:06]
"People, even people who are not powerful may want to try to get more power. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And that, of course, if you have two people struggling for power, somebody's got to win and somebody's probably going to lose. Vitaly. egocentric? My way is the best way, my way is better than your way. Yeah, there's... Okay. Yeah, I'm sure." [00:04:14]
"Everybody finds it hard to manage conflict, to deal with it, to somehow respond to it. Why is it so difficult for us? What are the difficulties in dealing with conflict? What do you think? Most of us try to avoid it, if possible, because we don't want to deal with it. Why? Yes. Fear of losing is a big one." [00:08:23]
"And somehow we get tired more quickly and we even get more tired when emotional energy is taken from us there's some research that shows that it takes twice as long to recover from emotional energy units expended than physical energy units expended uh... when i was a pastor uh... some of the men in my congregation couldn't understand why i was tired after a half hour sermon pastor that's nothing you know anybody can talk for a half an hour why are you tired why do you think that's such hard work well um... a couple weeks later i asked him to read scripture one morning and he came to me before the church started and he was" [00:10:18]
"Again, a good sample of why it's difficult. It just really is hard, and most of us wish it would go away. Just go away. Leave me alone. Now, one last question, and this is quite revealing. What are the consequences of unresolved conflict? If the conflict continues, what are the consequences that we can anticipate?" [00:13:55]
"Even loss of peace. Yeah, that's true. You know, if you enjoyed a nice relaxation in the home after work, all of a sudden, it's not so relaxing anymore. You lose the harmony. Okay. What are the consequences of unresolved conflict? Absolutely. Some serious physical problems. Things like ulcers, because of the acidity that builds up." [00:15:09]
"And as we see the situation here with the difficulties and the consequences of conflict, we can see why God calls us to unity because it's such a beautiful way to live. It's such a superior way to live, to live among friends who I can trust, who believe in me and who I believe in, and where we can work together and live together and solve our problems in an open, harmonious way." [00:19:14]
"Jesus says almost never in any other place anything three times. Now, one of two things is going on here. Either Jesus is getting an early scenario. humility, that is loss of memory very early on in life. No, I don't think so either. Or he says, you know what? This is of preeminent importance." [00:26:12]
"Because our unity is attached to showing forth the love of God and that Jesus Christ saves us through the gospel, through the message of Christ. So let's read it now, not with the unity idea, but with the presence of the gospel. Back to verse 21 where it says, may they also be in us. Why?" [00:27:00]
"And then 1 Corinthians chapters 1, 2, and 3 is all about unity, being one in the body of Christ. And as we are one, we reveal God in all His glory and all His wonder. And we reveal the Trinity in their oneness. And then you can also add Ephesians 4, verses 1 to 6, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one body, one, one, one, one, not many, one. And so in our local churches, we strive for unity. We will have differences. But are they differences that we can accept?" [00:30:04]
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"He said, I think very wisely, one of the greatest stumbling blocks to understanding other peoples, within or without a particular culture, is the tendency to judge others' behavior by our own standards. All of us think that we're the norm. Now, even if you don't believe that, the fact that you resist probably is evidence that you are thinking of yourself as the norm." [00:01:24]
"And if we can bring it to the conscious level, maybe we can suspend judgment until we find out who that person is and how they are. Now, I have a number of questions that I want to ask before we get launched into some specific material. But the first question is, in your experience, what are the causes of conflict? Think about it for a moment." [00:03:06]
"People, even people who are not powerful may want to try to get more power. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And that, of course, if you have two people struggling for power, somebody's got to win and somebody's probably going to lose. Vitaly. egocentric? My way is the best way, my way is better than your way. Yeah, there's... Okay. Yeah, I'm sure." [00:04:14]
"Everybody finds it hard to manage conflict, to deal with it, to somehow respond to it. Why is it so difficult for us? What are the difficulties in dealing with conflict? What do you think? Most of us try to avoid it, if possible, because we don't want to deal with it. Why? Yes. Fear of losing is a big one." [00:08:23]
"And somehow we get tired more quickly and we even get more tired when emotional energy is taken from us there's some research that shows that it takes twice as long to recover from emotional energy units expended than physical energy units expended uh... when i was a pastor uh... some of the men in my congregation couldn't understand why i was tired after a half hour sermon pastor that's nothing you know anybody can talk for a half an hour why are you tired why do you think that's such hard work well um... a couple weeks later i asked him to read scripture one morning and he came to me before the church started and he was" [00:10:18]
"Again, a good sample of why it's difficult. It just really is hard, and most of us wish it would go away. Just go away. Leave me alone. Now, one last question, and this is quite revealing. What are the consequences of unresolved conflict? If the conflict continues, what are the consequences that we can anticipate?" [00:13:55]
"Even loss of peace. Yeah, that's true. You know, if you enjoyed a nice relaxation in the home after work, all of a sudden, it's not so relaxing anymore. You lose the harmony. Okay. What are the consequences of unresolved conflict? Absolutely. Some serious physical problems. Things like ulcers, because of the acidity that builds up." [00:15:09]
"And as we see the situation here with the difficulties and the consequences of conflict, we can see why God calls us to unity because it's such a beautiful way to live. It's such a superior way to live, to live among friends who I can trust, who believe in me and who I believe in, and where we can work together and live together and solve our problems in an open, harmonious way." [00:19:14]
"Jesus says almost never in any other place anything three times. Now, one of two things is going on here. Either Jesus is getting an early scenario. humility, that is loss of memory very early on in life. No, I don't think so either. Or he says, you know what? This is of preeminent importance." [00:26:12]
"Because our unity is attached to showing forth the love of God and that Jesus Christ saves us through the gospel, through the message of Christ. So let's read it now, not with the unity idea, but with the presence of the gospel. Back to verse 21 where it says, may they also be in us. Why?" [00:27:00]
"And then 1 Corinthians chapters 1, 2, and 3 is all about unity, being one in the body of Christ. And as we are one, we reveal God in all His glory and all His wonder. And we reveal the Trinity in their oneness. And then you can also add Ephesians 4, verses 1 to 6, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one body, one, one, one, one, not many, one. And so in our local churches, we strive for unity. We will have differences. But are they differences that we can accept?" [00:30:04]
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