Fighting for Friendship - Practical Wisdom for Building and Maintaining Friendships

Conrad Hilario

Proverbs 18:24

Due to the superficial level of friendship in our culture today, we are seeing drastic levels of loneliness. People don't put an emphasis on friendships because of many modern challenges, including technology. There are many qualities that we find in scripture that help guide us to successful friendships. We find that good friends speak honestly, give wise counsel, have relational awareness, and don't influence others to sin. We can look to David and Jonathan's relationship as an example on how to strive towards close friendships.

Who is Like Yahweh? The Old Testament God and New Testament Faith

Jim Leffel

Colossians 1:13-20

Who is God and who are we as God's people supposed to be? To know God does not just include gathering knowledge about God, but really knowing Him in a relational and personal way. As you read through scripture in the Old Testament it is emphasized over and over that God is love. It is through His love that He reveals His glory, engages relationally, and is working through history. Learning about the heart of God is and always will be fundamental to representing Him.

The Revolutionary Christian Ethic of Love

Ajith Fernando

1 Corinthians 12:31-14:1

We can desire spiritual gifts, but we have no option of the way of love. God provides the love and we must obey. Love does not automatically happen; it is a decisive choice. Love should be a key goal in a Christian's life but it is not just a means to an end, it is an end in itself. Love is worthwhile because: 1) it never ends, 2) it causes people to be transformed, and 3) it abides.

Humility and Love

Lee Campbell

Matthew 11:28-30

One of the most common and greatest sins is pride, something that hinders our love for both God and people. As we seek to become more humble believers in Christ, we must first understand the biblical definition of humility, that it is to see ourselves as we are and to think less often about ourselves. It is the freedom from self that inclines us to love others and to love God. Thus, we should seek to humble ourselves before the Lord, cultivating both a hunger for the glory of God and a hunger from God. This, combined with meekness, can truly change the way we love others.

Loving Real People - Lessons from 1 & 2 Corinthians

Kelsey Shannan

2 Corinthians 1-13

We need God's wisdom when it comes to loving other people. Paul instructs the Corinthians to open wide their hearts to one another and shows that he is willing to sacrifice for them and be completely vulnerable with them. He is also unafraid to bring up real issues in their lives, being realistic about the power of sin but confident in the power of God to change them. This kind of patient endurance with people requires prayerful discernment and dependence on God.

Looking Back on Life - and Ahead to Life!

Larry Crabb

Romans 7:5-6

When the anticipation of heaven is rendered insignificant in comparison to a longing for a better life now, it becomes difficult if not impossible to love others well. When making our primary goal to live a better life now, we will not be willing to sacrifice and suffer in order to love others. But when our goal becomes loving God and learning to understand the trinity deeper, we will discover the joy of abiding in Christ and having fellowship with the Father.

Love Can be Polarizing

Chris Risley

1 Kings 1:5

In any given body of Christ, there often are believers in a variety of different places in their maturity with Christ. When people become stagnant in their faith and possibly heading in the wrong direction, we are called to lovingly step into their lives. This workshop defines polarization, addresses some key considerations, obstacles, issues to address, steps, and how to strike the right tone. With these things in mind, we can be better equipped for the ongoing conversations needed to polarize people.

Guard the Truth

Larry Crabb

1 Kings 1:5

The farther we grow with Christ, the more we understand the depths of the Gospel, at the center of which is love. It is a truth that we must guard fiercely. First, we should seek a vision of divine love the way it is practiced among the Trinity. Second, brokenness over failure to love is the opportunity to learn what love and grace are. And third, we should avert our focus from our smaller story to the larger story that God is telling. As we move toward and experience these truths, we come to understand the truth of grace more deeply. \r\n

God is Love

Jim Leffel

John 13:35

This presentation explores two key areas of love in the Christian context. First we must explore the meaning of love, which leads us to the message of love, known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Finally, we can explore the mission of love, the call to go out and share this with the rest of the world.