CaringResponses

How many of our Bible verses can you remember? We have had a dozen verses presented in this study. Can you say all of them and their Bible addresses? (Be especially careful with the verses from Proverbs.) Give it a go. Psalm 139:13-14               Proverbs 28:13 John 3:16-17                       1 Corinthians 10:31 Romans 12:18                    I John 1:9 James 4:1-2                         Ephesians 4:32 Galatians 6:7                      Proverbs 14:22 Proverbs 14:8                    Proverbs 21:23 NEEDS, DESIRES, OR DEMANDS ?  Let's talk about needs and desires for a moment. There are many needs that are legitimate needs, but when they...

WHAT TO COMMUNICATE Like Carlos, you need to think before you speak . Think about using "I messages," which will communicate to others that you are taking responsibility for your sinful attitudes and actions, as well as your thoughts and feelings about what others have done. "I messages" should not be used to manipulate others to satisfy your desires. Instead, they should be spoken to improve understanding, benefit the listener, and build stronger relationships.  How well people listen to you is partly up to you  and your choice to communicate respectfully.  You will choose to communicate many things, such as: * What you think                * What you see * What you believe            * Questions you have * How you feel                     * Experiences you have had * What you need           ...

  He who guards his mouth and his tongue     keeps himself from calamity.     Proverbs 21:23 In our last lesson we compared respectful and disrespectful ways of communicating. And we learned that our communication can be verbal and non-verbal. We will cover non-verbal communication more thoroughly in the next chapter, but for now we need to understand that even our bodies can send messages that are respectful or disrespectful.  Look over your T-charts from last lesson and refresh your memory on the differences of being respectful and not being respectful. Before you communicate, you need to think about the verbal and nonverbal messages you are going to send to other people. Verbal communication means that you send messages using words, sounds, or tone of voice. This is done by: * Talking                     * Screaming * Whispering              *...

A famous rabbit once said: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Our lesson today is about communication. The way we say something is as important as the actual words we use to say it. Now Thumper had been warned by his mother about the dangers of gossip, but we should take care in all our communication to avoid being mean and vengeful. That even means our unspoken body language too, which we will cover in the next lesson. Here are some helpful Bible verses on the subject of communication. This week's Bible verse is in purple. Sin is not ended by multiplying words,     but the prudent hold their tongues.    Proverbs 10:19 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,     but the tongue of the wise brings healing.     Proverbs 12:18 A gentle answer turns away wrath,     but a harsh word stirs up anger.     Proverbs 15:1   He who guards his mouth and his tongue     keeps himself f...

Your work from last lesson should look something like this. If you have different answers, can you defend why you wrote them down?  Those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.    Proverbs 14:22 Complete at least three of these six assignments: 1. From the appendix find worksheet4.jpg. It will help clarify the S.T.A.Y. process. Try to fill in the blanks below from memory. But if you need to, look at your worksheet. S.T.A.Y. S means __________ T means __________ A means __________ Y means __________ The most challenging step is the THINK step. It requires that you focus your mind and heart as you work through all the possible choices and predictable consequences. I would like to emphasize that you should pray about each choice you have identified and ask God to help you choose the best one. Although the THINK step is the most challenging, it is harder, in my opinion, to ACT. Acting on the best choice will always require a humble heart. I don't know about you, bu...

 Those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.    Proverbs 14:22 Stop and think about that Bible verse for just a second. Did you see it? Did you see the promise that is given in the verse? The Bible is full of promises that we often overlook. In case you missed it, here is the promise: The Word of God says that you will find the good qualities of love and faithfulness in your life if you plan what is good !  Wow. That's pretty amazing as well as simple. If we plan something good we will find love and faithfulness. And who doesn't need love and faithfulness?  Let's get to planning something good! In our last lesson, Tony was faced with some tough choices following his cheating blunder.  Isn't it strange that BECAUSE of his poor choice to try to cheat, Tony now has MORE CHOICES to make which could either help him or make his situation worse. Roll Play Activity: Let's work this out by using the 5As and not the Blame Game. Act out how Tony could tak...

 We have had many lessons and we have learned many things about how to resolve conflicts. We are now in the last section of our Caring Responses course. These last four chapters will focus on how we can learn to prevent conflicts. In order to reduce conflict in your life, you must learn to depend on God to change your heart and alter your choices. In addition to a heart-change, you will need to learn how to identify what you said or did that contributed to a conflict so you can change your behavior in the future.  ALTER means to CHANGE When we are in the heat of conflict it is typical human behavior for us to talk to everyone else about the problem instead of going directly to the person with whom we are having a conflict. This is disobedient to the way we are supposed treat others. And even when we do go to the other person, we often do it in a way the stirs up anger instead of resolving the conflict. (C. Sande, p. 128) Only Jesus can help us overcome our sinful tendencies an...