Craving a Community 2. Two Are Better Than One 3. Marriage Made in Heaven

2. Craving a Community • 2. Two Are Better Than One • 3. Marriage Made in Heaven • 4. Three Relationship Everyone Needs in order to Grow.

3. Two Are Better Than One

4. Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

5. Your job will never love you like a friend. 8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth

6. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless—a miserable business Friends help you laugh!

7. Friends help you work. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor

8. 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up Friends help you up!

9. Accidents happen, illnesses attack, jobs are lost, friends and family members die and emotional trauma strikes at any given time. These are times in your life when your relationships are the most valuable.

10. Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

11. Friends take care of each other. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone

12. 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Friends protect each other.

13. Psalm 55 Protect your friends. Stand up for them. Speak up for them. True friends always have your back.

14. Having successful relationships takes honesty. You must earn the right to be honest by first being real and authentic. Without genuine relationship, your attempt at honesty, may be viewed as self righteousness.

15. Proverbs 27:17 17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

16. You can not build all of your friendship with needy people who make you feel needed. First of all, it will drain you and hurt the other relationships in our life; and secondly it will give you a false view of yourself. You will begin to give out advice you don’t live by. (Iron sharpens Iron)

17. Many relationships fail because they remain superficial. You must give and receive honesty. There are two people in every relationship you must be honest with: your friend and yourself.

18. Having successful relationships takes humility. Philippians 2:3-4 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

19. Pride builds walls, humility builds bridges. “God gives grace to the humble” pride blocks God’s grace from our relationships. We have to have grace to grow, change, and pour into others… That is why forgiveness had to be obtained before sacrifices could be offered.

20. Having successful relationships takes courtesy. Ephesians 4:32 “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

21. “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell Community does not require compatibility as much as it requires acceptance. Only being in relationships that are easy is lazy and doesn’t portray Christ.

22. Having successful relationships takes frequency. Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

23. Relationships will never fit into your schedule. Busyness is one of the greatest enemies of relationships.

24. Having successful relationships takes intentionality. Relationships can’t be convenient, they must be a conviction. Relationships are an investment not an expense. “Want a friend be a friend” – John Maxwell

25. One good friend can change your life.