Conflict and the Cross

Move 1- If we seek to avoid conflict we are either passive or aggressive.

Move 2- Union with Christ invites us to listen/receive correction and establish boundaries.

Move 3- Paul dealt with conflict by a) listening and submitting to correction b) establishing healthy boundaries

Move 4- I don’t have permission to hurt people as I seek to live out my freedom in Christ.

First Sentence- psychologist 👨‍⚕️ David Benner- the problem isn’t so much that we tell lies, but that we live them.

What does it risk if they fail to hear from me?

No one likes conflict, difficult conversations are a necessary part of maturing relationships.

Conflict invites us deeper into the experience of our union with Christ. The more we act on the truth, the more the truth will be worked into our lives.

What am I proposing?

Seeking unity is awareness of conflict.

We do our best to navigate conflict, not avoid it.

We work to be assertive

Not aggressive

Can’t go off on people.

We don’t shame people.

We don’t make things about us.

Not passive

Know our boundaries

As we work to manage conflict, we must get busy with the central tasks at hand.

🤠*****NOTES ON THE TEXT *****

Paul dealt with conflict by listening and submitting/Paul did in fact meet with the Jerusalem church (2:1-10)

He met in secret to get validation on his message (1)

Not allowing disunity to occur because of his union with Christ.

He admits he has insecurities (2)

Agreement was reached (9)

Paul deals with conflict by estabilshing healthy boundaries/Paul opposed Peter (2:11-14)

See slide

The foundation of our unity is the cross

Points of agreement- we don’t have God’s favor because we obey

Point of disagreement- union with Christ is the foundation

Why won’t they do it?

Dead Dog Story-

His son Trey at his eulogy

Life’s race was never designed to be run alone. My dad had struggles he ran with alone.

The enemy says showing vulnerability, transparency, and honesty bring shame, show weakness, and kill relationships. God says those things are the only way that we can walk confidently in who he has created us to be.

If I can walk away from this… surrender my pride, allow others to serve me as I want to serve them and allow my relationships to be filled with truth and honesty along with encouragement and love then the enemy does not win. The enemy never wins. God has already won the ultimate victory and now we just have to live like it.

His wife, Christi of 30 years-

“He struggled with addiction and with depression and those were two things that he couldn’t — as much as he was willing to help other people and do for other people — he couldn’t conceive that somebody would help him and do it for him in that kind of situation,” Christi said. “The shame of this really was just more than what he could take.”

We know he poured his life into other people. He offered grace, and mercy, and forgiveness to everyone else. But somehow he couldn’t extend that to himself.

99% of women on the site were bots.

What are the next steps?

How do we be authentic without being jerks?

Empathic Listening