Christianity is it a relationship or a religion. One reason why people believe in religion is because they want blessing and to escape Gods punishment. This is actually a pagan believe. There’s actually a definition for religion in the bible, it can be found in James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world; and it’s nothing to do with rituals. The centre of Christianity is not about the laws but the condition of your heart. An example would be the rich young man, who kept all the laws, but ultimately his god was not the LORD but in his possessions. His heart was not set on God and unless our heart is set on God we can never truly experience eternal life. Being a Christian we must not run away from loving other, especially the people who are difficult to love. Here are a few steps we can take to build relationships with other:-
1) Spend time with others
2) Touch (kind of like hugs but please don’t touch people in the wrong way la)
3) Giving gifts
4) Serving others
5) Words (use your tongue to build other)
We just have to find out how people want love to be expressed to them. We must always remember we are made differently and we perceive thing differently and sometimes conflicts will arise. When they do we must learn to:-
1) Compromise (not your principal but with people)
2) Forgive (don’t hold back any resentment….it’s not healthy too)
3) If you are in the wrong admit your mistake, feel sorry, be willing to
apologize and pay compensation if necessary and be willing to rebuild the relationship
We must also respect other and remember to do onto others what we want done to us. If need be we must also be willing to go the extra mile but at the same time not let others to purposely take advantage of us.
You may download the sermon slides as well as the recording below:-
The Sermon Slides:-
RELATIONSHIP vs RELIGIONThe Sermon Recording:-
RELATIONSHIP vs RELIGION**If you can't hear it clearly try using earphones**